Serving as the replacement for the CTS mid-size sedan, the CT5 was presented to the Chinese motoring media earlier in September 2019 at the Chengdu Motor Show. Based on this hands-on review from OrbCar, the Cadillac appears to tick all the right boxes while sitting still.
The presenter, Chu Xiaomin, didn’t get the chance to test-drive the luxurious sedan that Cadillac builds at the Lansing Grand River Assembly Plant in Michigan. The fastback body style might take inspiration from the 1940s, but if you look closer at the car’s profile, the all-new CT5 is far prettier than the model it replaces from whichever angle you glance at it.
From my limited understanding of the Chinese language, Chu is especially impressed by the quality of the cabin, technological features such as Qi wireless charging, and the headroom for the rear occupants. Given her height, we’d rather wait for a six-foot-plus adult to showcase how much space there is back there. Doug DeMuro, for example, is 6’3”.
What comes as thoroughly impressive is that the CT5 looks better in terms of cabin materials quality than the XT4 compact crossover, and to some extent, the XT6 mid-size crossover. We still can’t understand why the CT5-V comes with a twin-turbo V6 instead of a blown V8, more so when the CTS-V rivaled the ‘Vette Z06 in terms of suck-squeeze-bang-blow.
Pricing in the United States for the CT5 starts at $37,890 for rear-wheel drive, a ten-speed automatic transmission co-developed with the Ford Motor Company, and a four-cylinder turbo. AWD is available for an additional $2,600, and if you were wondering, customers can choose between two outputs. The entry-level model features 237 horsepower and 258 pound-feet while the –V levels up to 355 horsepower and 400 pound-feet of torque.
The biggest question in regard to the CT5 and CT5-V is how the luxury sedan handles in the twisties. The GM Alpha 2 vehicle architecture is an evolution of the Camaro platform, engineered with a focus on driving dynamics. Going forward, the VSS-R (an acronym for Vehicle Strategy Set – Rear-wheel drive) will replace the Alpha series.
From my limited understanding of the Chinese language, Chu is especially impressed by the quality of the cabin, technological features such as Qi wireless charging, and the headroom for the rear occupants. Given her height, we’d rather wait for a six-foot-plus adult to showcase how much space there is back there. Doug DeMuro, for example, is 6’3”.
What comes as thoroughly impressive is that the CT5 looks better in terms of cabin materials quality than the XT4 compact crossover, and to some extent, the XT6 mid-size crossover. We still can’t understand why the CT5-V comes with a twin-turbo V6 instead of a blown V8, more so when the CTS-V rivaled the ‘Vette Z06 in terms of suck-squeeze-bang-blow.
Pricing in the United States for the CT5 starts at $37,890 for rear-wheel drive, a ten-speed automatic transmission co-developed with the Ford Motor Company, and a four-cylinder turbo. AWD is available for an additional $2,600, and if you were wondering, customers can choose between two outputs. The entry-level model features 237 horsepower and 258 pound-feet while the –V levels up to 355 horsepower and 400 pound-feet of torque.
The biggest question in regard to the CT5 and CT5-V is how the luxury sedan handles in the twisties. The GM Alpha 2 vehicle architecture is an evolution of the Camaro platform, engineered with a focus on driving dynamics. Going forward, the VSS-R (an acronym for Vehicle Strategy Set – Rear-wheel drive) will replace the Alpha series.