Cadillac ATS acceleration – good enough?

The Cadillac ATS acceleration has been noted: Cadillac says 5.4 sec 0-60 mph for the Cadillac ATS 3.6L V6.  They do not note if that is with or without roll-out.

On the drag strip run-out is the first distance — up to 12 inches — that the car can move before tripping the timing lights.  Some magazines measure acceleration with, some without roll-out.  I prefer if both with and without values are stated so there is no confusion.

Cadillac ATS Acceleration depends on light weight

The Cadillac ATS is a new breed of high-tech, light-weight Cadillacs.   The advantage of this lean, sporting approach is that the Cadillac ATS acceleration should be very good.

Cadillac ATS Acceleration depends on light weight

 

Cadillac ATS Acceleration depends on efficient power delivery

The Cadillac ATS will be offered with 3 power plants — an economic yet surprisingly capable 2.5L Four, a 2L Turbo Four for 272 hp, and the 3.6L V6 for 321 hp.  The V6 is the engine quoted in the press release.  We don’t know yet the equivalent performance for the 2L Turbo.

Competition improves the breed

How does that compare with the competition?

Model / 0-60 time:

  • Audi A4 2T 6.2 sec
  • Mercedes C250 Sport 7.2 sec
  • BMW 328i 5.9 sec
  • BMW 335i 4.7 sec — Motor Trend [full first test]

So while the 321 hp V6 Cadillac ATS acceleration sounds good for most drivers, it will not compare well with the BMW 335i once we get to comparison tests.

There are a couple of issues with comparing against the 335i — first, it is underrated. Although BMW says the 3L Turbo 6 makes 300 hp it clearly makes more power.    It can put down 293 whp on a chassis dyno, which equates to 344 crank hp.  BMW also uses a trick 8 speed automatic.   GM and Cadillac have new transmissions in development but not yet in production.

In the video: How do you put a metric on what the soul of the car is?

Cranking Cadillac ATS acceleration up to 11

For most owners, planned Cadillac ATS acceleration will be terrific and a good improvement over the Cadillac CTS.

What if Cadillac were to deliver the upcoming twin turbo 3.6L as the premium engine for next year’s Cadillac ATS, then bring the ATS-V in with an LSA 556 hp powerplant from the CTS-V?

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