Tag Archives: Crest Cadillac

After the drive, thoughts on the 2010 Cadillac CTS-V

Posted on by
3

The story so far: I picked up a 2010 Cadillac CTS-V from Crest Cadillac in Plano to test drive last weekend.  Saturday with TexasJim, then Sunday Drive are the other articles in the series.

I dropped the Cadillac CTS-V off at Crest Cadillac Monday morning and picked up my 2005 Cadillac CTS.    I would like to say another big Thank you! to Crest Cadillac for hosting the test drive.

Cadillac CTS-V

Overall the Cadillac CTS-V is almost perfect, and an amazing car for the price.  I wanted to wrap up by adding a few notes on the experience.

The Recaro Sport Seats are a desirable option even if you don’t plan to track the car.  They are comfortable and offer additional features such as seat cooling vents and additional adjustments compared to the standard seats.

The Bluetooth interface and Ipod integration both worked seamlessly.  My cell phone would re-pair each time I got in the CTS-V with no fuss.

In terms of seating and gadgetry the CTS-V is Wife-Approved, which is the highest award given in this category.

The uber-panzer CTS-V averaged about 16 mpg while I had it in a mix of city and highway driving, with no attempt whatsoever to conserve fuel at any point.  As I have mentioned, the Cadillac CTS-V is on my list of great places to invest gas money.  I appreciate a test drive is different from living with repeated refills of premium fuel, but the fun per gallon of this car is so high I think it is well worth it.

Overall the LSA supercharged V8 engine is delightful.  It revs freely, it pulls from idle to redline, it is well behaved in every situation.  At idle it does remind you that it is there, but not in an objectionable way.    I am very excited to see this powertrain in more Cadillac vehicles.  This makes me continue to think we should have the 3.6L as the base engine in the CTS, with the LS3 V8 as the premium engine and the LSA as the V Series power.

The MR Suspension — my son commented that the CTS-V did not feel any different from my ‘soft’ ride FE1 CTS.  After reflecting for a second, I think that is the point.  I have seen these cars screaming around the race track, and now I have seen them comfortably easing around town, to church, etc.  This car is perfectly tuned for almost anything you want to throw at it, and it all happens behind the scenes automatically.

I love the sculpting of the dome on the hood, required to clear the supercharger.  It gives just the right hint of “attitude” from the driver’s seat.

Conclusion: Having weighed the features, advantages, and disadvantages of the Cadillac CTS-V, I find it a very desirable package.  A lightly used CTS-V is on my watch list as a future vehicle.

My Host for this test drive is Crest Cadillac of Plano, Texas.  They are located at 2701 North Central Expressway, Plano, Texas.  You can contact them by phone Toll-free at 1-866-697-9144 or locally at (972)578-7511, or on Twitter or Facebook

2010 CTS-V Test Drive: Sunday Drive

Posted on by
Reply

The story so far: I picked up a 2010 Cadillac CTS-V from Crest Cadillac in Plano to test drive this weekend.

Midnight Sapele Wood

One feature of the CTS-V I am driving is the Midnight Sapele Wood accents.  This is a shot in direct sunlight to try to give an impression of the color of the wood trim.  The wood trim inserts are on the doors, the steering wheel, and along the center console and shifter.

The Sapele is a large tree native to tropical Africa, and is a member of the Mahogany family.  It is sought after for its durability, and beautiful graining.  The heartwood is pink when freshly cut, but it matures to a red-brown or purple-brown color.  For the CTS-V the Sapele has been darkened to create the midnight effect, while maintaining clear graining.

Navigation screen showing XM Information

Sunday Drive

Sunday afternoon I took the Cadillac CTS-V out for a wandering drive near Lake Lavon.  I left the navigation system up, but just kind of meandered in a general direction out near and around the lake.  I alternated between windows down and sunroof open to enjoy the afternoon, and all buttoned up and quiet to enjoy the Jazz playing on XM.

Coming out of a left hand sweeping corner I was delighted to discover that the CTS-V would downshift and chirp the wide, grippy rear tires when accelerating from 60 mph.  Nothing dramatic, and constantly under control.  But ‘normal’ cars just don’t have enough power to do that.  The LSA engine in the CTS-V is simply spectacular.  It has torque in spades throughout the rev range, which makes it easy to drive at a creep into the drive way or at full song down a long straight away.  The six speed automatic was first released in the STS-V and XLR-V, and I think the programming / calibration of this great transmission are most at home and in sync with a high power engine.

I don’t have the right venue to test the CTS-V’s absolute cornering limits, but I can say with some confidence that if you exceed them on the highway you are probably ‘doing it wrong’.    I wondered if because the CTS-V has such a powerful engine whether it might be a handful in day to day driving.  It absolutely is not.  It is so perfectly accomplished and composed that you really would have to go out of your way to get in trouble with this car.

When you look at the configuration, the CTS-V is not trying to be a BMW, Mercedes, or Audi.  This is a classic American solution to going faster — an efficient, high-output, tuned large displacement V8 up in front where God intended the engine to be, huge brakes, strong suspension, and the largest wheels and tires that fit.    The CTS-V is an American Sports Sedan.

Thanks to Crest Cadillac

My Host for this test drive is Crest Cadillac of Plano, Texas.  They are located at 2701 North Central Expressway, Plano, Texas.  You can contact them by phone Toll-free at 1-866-697-9144 or locally at (972)578-7511, or on Twitter or Facebook

2010 Cadillac CTS-V Test Drive – Saturday with Texas Jim

Posted on by
Reply

The story so far: I picked up a 2010 Cadillac CTS-V from Crest Cadillac in Plano to test drive this weekend.

This afternoon I drove out and met up with Texas Jim to look at the CTS-V and discuss.  Jim drives a 2006 Cadillac DTS Performance Sedan, and I wanted to let him size up the Recaro Sport Seats in this CTS-V to see how they would suit.  We took the CTS-V out for a bit of a stretch, then had a nice chat.

Jim reports that the seats worked just fine for him, although we did not have time to try a 12-15 hour cross-country trip as is his habit.  I got a couple of shots of the cars together.

CTS-V and DTS Performance Sedan

Driving Impressions

Driving the 2010 Cadillac CTS-V is a like having Charlie Lau or Ted Williams personally coach you in batting.  The CTS-V is absolutely competent and poised, and incredibly strong.  It has been perfect in every situation I put it through, whether it was squirting through traffic, idling in drive-through lane at Boston Market, or navigating there and back again for a random meet up spot to be announced after we get there.

There are almost no supercharger sounds from within the CTS-V, but it makes a variety of delightful burbles and growls as it surges forward when requested.

The wheel-hop that fairly or not plagued the 1st Generation CTS-V is definitely solved in this CTS-V.

I was concerned about the city/highway MPG rating for the CTS-V but now I am convinced that every gallon that passes through this amazing super car dies happy, having satisfied its purpose in life.


Mandatory Gripe: The outside rear view mirrors are more narrow and taller than the mirrors on the 1st Gen CTS. I suspect they are more aerodynamic, but they will take some getting used to before I am comfortable with the narrow aspect.

My Host for this test drive is Crest Cadillac of Plano, Texas.  They are located at 2701 North Central Expressway, Plano, Texas.  You can contact them by phone Toll-free at 1-866-697-9144 or locally at (972)578-7511, or on Twitter or Facebook

FTC Disclosure:  Jim paid for our soft-drinks for our after drive chat.  Thanks Jim!