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2011 Cadillac CTS-V Coupe

Vehicle: 2011 Cadillac CTS-V Coupe
Price as tested: CDN$71250

Performance: If you are regular Directshift reader, you should already know CTS is our favourite General product right now. Everything else from the sedan to the stunning sportswagon has impressed us. CTS has added a gorgeous coupe to their stablemate. The subject of this review is the rocket version of the coupe, CTS-V. Is it able to measure up to its Teutonic rival’s tough standard? We will find out after this review.

The CTS-V is powered by an awesome LSA 6.2 liter V8 with Eaton blower. Unlike many of its rival’s turbocharger, supercharger doesn’t produce any kind of lag. All it have is the smooth delivery of streamlining performance right from the low range to the upper rev range. The result is a monster with 556 ponies and, more importantly, 551 lb/ft of torque. Given this V8′s proven reliability and dependability, along with its ability to take on the Eaton blower with stiffening internal components. The CTS-V will enjoy a life in fast lane without losing anything, in terms of quality and reliability. The throttle response is quick and linear, without the annoying abrupt take-off as with many of yesterday’s American muscle cars. Also unlike many of the muscle cars in the past, CTS-V feels anything as sophiscated and elegantly delivery of power as many of its German rivals do. Its exhaust note is both healthy and entertaining to any enthuisast’s ears. Our CTS-V is mated to a 6-speed manumatic with paddle shifters. Its not only the manumatic gearbox has GM’s traditional of delivery a seamless operation, its gear ratios are perfectly mated to this awesome V8′s tractable character no matter you are on 1st or 6th gear. The paddle shifters have encourged enthuisasts to shift manually on the steering. However, if you want to ultimate fun of the V. Better go for the standard 6-speed manual. Not only does the gates are well-defined and throws are crisp. The clutch provides excellent feedback and progressive enough as a real sports car. Why I said that? Because the driver has to put the shifter into manual mode before they can activate the paddle shifters. Unlike the system in Audi and Porsche, which can down and upshifts at any given time. That’s a slight disppointment given how well-engineered CTS is.

Handling: Any great sports car has to start with an excellent foundation. As been proven in all the CTS, its platform is solid and rigid without any chassis cracks and rattles. Then add Cadillac’s magentic ride suspension which have transformed the CTS from a good handling car into a great handling car in the V. The result is nothing less than astounishing. As it has minimal body rolls, while both understeer and oversteer have superb control. The steering provides feel and feedback, while the response is sharp and precise. Then combined with a rear-wheel-drive 50/50 perfect balance and a stability control which has different level of adjustment for instrusiveness, CTS-V’s awesome handling is an icing on the cake. What really seals the deal for me is how supple the ride quality with the V. In the past, sports car tends to ride roughly. With the magentic ride suspension, the CTS-V rides as nicely as any luxury car. Dynamically speaking, CTS-V is simply world-class.

Brakes: With large 4-wheel Brembo discs and ABS, CTS-V’s braking performance has to be rated as one of the best I have ever tested. Not only those Brembo are fade-free after a couple of harsh stops. They are fade-free no matter how hard you want to nail the pedal. Then the ABS only steps in necessarily have rounded out the excellent dynamic package.

Interior: Other than the superb Recaro sports seats, the rest of the interior is typical CTS. That means the same mickey mouse dual climate control switches placed on the center console. The use of leather and plastic materials in CTS’s cabin, again, are top-notch. The instrumentation gauges are clear and analog, while all the controls are initutive and logical.

If you want proper head and legroom in CTS-V, there are both sedan and wagon versions to choose from. Its really hard to get in and out of CTS coupe’s backseat. Not to mention the trunk liftover is high and side sills rather narrow.

Conclusion: The CTS-V is truly an amazing performance car. As it provides an intoxicating combination of performance and luxury, without losing any of its American character. So what is the silver lining behind coupe’s impracticality? Cause there are more practical sedan or the versatile version to choose from. That means there is a CTS for everyone.

Competitions:
Audi RS5
BMW M3
Mercedes C63 AMG

OVERALL VERDICT FOR 2011 Cadillac CTS-V Coupe
=====================================
Performance: 5/5
Handling and ride/fun-to-drive: 5/5
Interior/ergonomics/user-friendliness: 4.5/5
Fit-and-finish/build quality: 4.5/5
Cargo/accessibility/layout: 3/5
Value-for-money: 5/5

Overall rating: 4.5/5

2010 Cadillac CTS-4 Wagon

Vehicle: 2010 Cadillac CTS-4 3.6 AWD Wagon
Price as tested: CDN$63930

Performance: The American wagon is coming back! The subject to this test drive is Cadillac’s foray into an arena that has been dominated by German for years. The Cadillac CTS wagon.

The CTS wagon has the same powertrains as its sedan silibing, sans the awesome ZR1-derived V8 in CTS-V. The base CTS comes with a 270hp 3.0 liter V6. However, our loaded tester comes with the upsized 3.6 liter DOHC V6 with direct fuel injection and variable valve timing. 304 hp and 273 lb/ft of torque have extracted from this engine. However, given its weight of 4310 lb as tested. The CTS wagon feels somewhat porky even with the uplevel 304hp engine. Imagine how slow it would be with the basic 270hp. However, the level of refinement of this V6 is simply world-class. Not only does the engine is a smoother operator, the NVH and refinement are able to match anything as good as equivalent Lexus when it comes to quietness. Another great aspect of the powertrain is the smooth 6-speed automatic gearbox. Not only does it shifts smoothly with coordination. The gear ratios have matched this powertrain exceptionally well. Without the short low 1st and 2nd gears, it would make the CTS wagon feels even slower off-the-line. Fortunately, that is not the story. Its able to launch it with authority. The 5th and 6th gears are tall enough for comfortable cruising. However, the lack of paddle shifters on the steering wheel doesn’t encourage enthuisasts to play with the rpm. Which is a pity consider CTS’s sporty demanor. Mesh the sensitive throttle, typical of GM product, CTS seems to accelerate adequately if not breathtakingly. Cadillac has promised to bring us a CTS-V wagon to challenge the likes of RS4 Avant in Europe. It just can’t come soon enough!

Handling: Does the extra box affect the docile dynamics of the CTS we already loved? Definitely not. It all starts with a great chassis, with is ultra-solid and completely feel of any rattles. Then match with a nicely-calibrated suspension and a good AWD system, the CTS wagon simply handles like its on rail. When it comes to cornering prowess, the CTS wagon is able to give the class-leading A4 Avant Quattro a-run-for-its-money. Not only does the roadholding abilities of the CTS is simply superb, the AWD matched with Cadillac’s StabiliTrak have given it a very forgiving driving feel. Its extremely hard to get the CTS out-of-line with both of these excellent active safety features. On the other hand, the steering provides very good feel and feedback, with level of precision one has never seen in an American wagons in the past. While there are still some amount of body rolls and understeer when pushed hard, it remains composed. The AWD certainly worths the extra dough in Canadian winter, as it put safety and security, along with an entertaining drive in one single package.

Brakes: With 4-wheel discs and standard ABS, the CTS wagon has excellent pedal feel. The stopping distance is short and pedal is easily modulated. Unlike previous GM products, CTS’s pedal feels alive even after a couple of hard stops. ABS doesn’t step in unnecessarily is an added bonus.

Interior: When set the wagon apart from the sedan is the amount of versatility in this CTS. In the sedan, you have to reach deep inside to get anything. In the wagon, there is a squared cargo space that anyone can put anything else inside without a sweat. Match with the split fold down rear seats, one can put anything as large as a fridge inside this CTS. With wagon’s awesome practicality, you have to wonder why there are still anyone buying an equivalent sedan especially in CTS’s 33 cubin-in of squared cargo space.

In the front, its what you would expect from a Cadillac. There are plenty of soft-touch plastic and nicely stitched leather all around the dashboard and door panels. Those leather seats provide excellent support without feeling confining. Except for the tiny buttons for dual-zone climate control, its really hard to find flaw in the best interior Cadillac has ever made.

At the back, the more upright C-pillars actually improved the headroom for the back seat passengers. There are plenty of legroom for 3 passenger aboard at the back of the CTS.

Conclusion: Here in DirectShift, we already considered a sportswagon a true “SUV”. It got the sporty dynamics of a sports sedan, practicality of a wagon all wrap up in one attractively attired package. This CTS wagon is such of a well-engineered sportswagon. You have to wonder why there are still so many people buying an SRX?

OVERALL VERDICT FOR 2010 Cadillac CTS-4 Wagon
=====================================
Performance: 3.5/5
Handling and ride/fun-to-drive: 5/5
Interior/ergonomics/user-friendliness: 4.5/5
Fit-and-finish/build quality: 4.5/5
Cargo/accessibility/layout: 4.5/5
Value-for-money: 4.5/5

Overall rating: 4.5/5

Special feature: What should GM do to restructure themselves?

With the Bush adminstration announced to provide short-term loan of 17.4 billions of bridge loan to both General Motors and Chrysler Corporation today. GM will be the one to watch as Chrysler, whose future remains in doubt, given their lackluster product portfolio. As for Ford, this company already on the restructuring process of cutting dealers and improving their products significantly in recent years. It should be the most healthy and strongest down the road.

So, what do we at DirectShift think of how GM should restructure themselves in order to survive? GM products have improved significantly in the last couple of years, since Bob Lutz and Rick Wagoner have taken the helm of this company. The biggest improvements have to be the exterior and interior styling, dynamic abilities, refinement, use of materials and level of fit-and-finish. Take the Chevrolet Malibu and Cadillac CTS, these 2 cars are head-and-above those of their unremarkable predecessors.

With General currently having 8 brands but with less than 20% of market share, they have to reduce to 3 brands maximum in order to substain its profitability. It isn’t like 2 to 3 decades ago when GM still had 50% of market share to substain the profitability of so many brand overlapping each others.

Here is what we think which brands should go and stay within GM’s portfolio:

Hummer: With full-size SUV sales in the toilet, this brand should ditch as soon as possible. It has absoultely no viable future holding for Hummer whatsoever.

Saab: Before GM became the major stockholder of this once-proud Swedish niche carmaker, Saab products have flair, character, performance and dynamic qualities with its tiny but interesting 2 product line-up. This brand is the classic example of how an American giant mismanaged an unique Swedish brand. They simply have milked their current line-up for way too long with infusion of new technologies and designs that used to be the hallmark of Saab. The rebadging of previous Impreza and Trailblazer as 9-2X and 9-7X also have pissed many long-time Saab loyalists without gaining new customers. While 9-3 and 9-5 were once considered as contenders to German heavyweights when launched couple of years ago, they haven’t aged gracefully with all of their competitions received new design or already facelifted. GM should sold Saab back to Swedish company, by maintaining its uniqueness and niche. We are pretty damn sure Swedish firm will know how to manage Saab far better than what GM did. Give this company enough resources, their engineers are able to come out with innovations to stand out.

Pontiac: This is another GM brand that should be going away. The Solstice can give it to Chevrolet as Corvette “Junior” and G8 replaces Impala as Chevrolet’s flagship sedan. There aren’t any vehicles in this brand that aren’t overlapping with other brands.

Buick: Except for Mainland China, Buick doesn’t have much brand recognition and cachet anywhere in the world. While keeping the exciting Mainland Buick portfolio like the upcoming Opel Insigina rebadged Regal, take the entire Enclave/Lacerne/Allure with it to China. Kill this brand in North American market.

GMC: GMC is basically a rebadged Chevrolet Truck. This is the classic example of how GM loved to have product overlapped each others. Kill GMC and leave Chevy Truck is more than enough. Even with only Chevy Truck, its market share and profitability are enough to substain its market share given both full-size truck and SUV sales are tanking.

Saturn: GM have got Saturn really really right in the last 2 years. This company will be well-served as an alternative to another affordable European brand: Volkswagen. All the Astra, Aura, Vue, Outlook and Sky are all great cars. It will also be served well for customers who want more European flavor as an alternative to more mainstream Chevrolet. Given Ford will be bringing the European models like the Fiesta and Kuga sometimes next year, By merging Saturn with European Opel, Saturn will likely be the one that customers will cross-shopped. Its going to be sad if GM decides to ditch this brand. As Saturn has the freshest and strongest line-up in the industry right now.

Chevrolet: This has to be the mainstream brand that GM needs to tackle Honda and Toyota. The new Malibu has proved to be a real contender in mid-size family sedan segment. The upcoming Cruze is going to be a hot contender. Electric car Volt, performance-oriented Camaro and Corvette all serve as its halo cars.

Cadillac: The new CTS has proved Caddy is coming back. CTS-V is a really wonderful sports sedan that can easily give any AMG, RS and M a-run-for-their-money. GM should market Cadillac as a comfort and luxury-oriented brand instead of performance-oriented brand, say Lexus/Mercedes versus Audi/BMW/Infiniti/Acura. Their core products should focus on both refinement and comfort. Leaving the V-Series to go after performance crowd is more than fine as halo cars. First the new CTS, the upcoming SRX also looks promising.

2008 Cadillac CTS

Vehicle: 2008 Cadillac CTS RWD with Performance Package
Price as tested: CDN$52820

Performance:There are 2 powertrains available on the new CTS. Both are 3.6 liters of displacement. The only difference is the uplevel 3.6 comes with direct fuel injection while the standard one doesn’t. Subject to our tester comes with latter, which is good for a whopping 305 horses and 273 lb/ft of torque. The level of refinement and flexability have to be considered as one of the best in the industry. Throttle response is brisk and linear, without the usual over-sensitive character associate with previous Cadillac products. On the other hand, its operation is quiet and smooth, which could easily be mistaken as Caddy’s more expensive Northstar V8. Even if the maximum torque arrives at 5200rpm, 273 lb/ft provides plenty of torque down low without sacificing the high rpm breathing of this very powertrain. Another bonus to this engine is GM’s wonderfully smooth 6-speed manumatic. Unlike Caddy gearbox of yesterday, this one allows enthuisastic driver to rev pass redline before up and downshifting. Not only its a huge step forward for a once-conservative company, its also a huge step up for enthuisasts to enjoy this great car. As usual, GM’s automatic gearbox is smooth with decent gear ratios. With an excellent set-up, anyone can enjoy the sweetspot of the powertrain.

Handling: When you mentioned Cadillac, hardly anyone would mentioned driving dynamics along the same sentence. With the introduction of the new CTS, not anymore. It all begins with an excellent platform that is stiff, at the same time, completely free of cracks and rattles. That can give the suspensions a place to hang its hats. On the subject of the sports suspension comes with optional Performance Package, amazing is just the understatement to describe how capable it is. The suspension is capable enough to handle through all the black top twisties without losing a sweat. On the other hand, it doesn’t lost the composure of being a luxury car. The ride motion is well-controlled with a sense of Teutonic suppleness dialled in the whole suspension system. It absorbs all the roughness and patholes exceptionally well. The Stabiliztrak system, which is Caddy’s word for stability control, doesn’t kick-in until driver completely out of control. That’s a refreshing change from GM stability control of yore. It allows a sense of oversteer slide-out before it steps in. Both the understeer and body rolls are minimal. Steering provides tons of feedback and response, with top-notch precision when driven through a tight circuit. What a car! We can only imagine how great the upcoming CTS-V would be.

Brakes: Another area where Cadillac engineers have taken a huge attention is the braking system. GM’s brakes used to feel mushy and lots of fade after hard stops. What a big difference this CTS makes. The pedal feel is solid and reassuring, without all the mushiness once associated with Caddy.

Interior: Slip behind the wheel of the new CTS, you would be amazed on how well-made it is. Instead of wrapping the dashboard up with plastic, Cadillac designers decided to wrap it up with the same grade of leather as those on the seats. All the leather on the dashboard are very well-stitched and put together, the same goes for those nice seats. The wood and aluminum trim have a desirable effect as it gives the black interior a nice constrast. Both the climate control and stereo are ergonomically layout. If there is one drawback, however, its the screen for climate control is too tiny sitting right beside the center console. Its best if Caddy can put those information in the navigation system. Even if Cadillac’s target audience for CTS is young professionals, however, those elder ones would certainly attract by its overall package. That slight ergonomic pitfall could hurt CTS in the long run if they don’t fix it sooner.

There are plenty of head and legrooms at the back. As expected, rear passengers also have the chance to enjoy the high-quality wrapping of the interior.

Although the trunk liftover remains high, the easiness of lifting the cargo into the back of CTS is much more convenient than its predecessor. However, the split fold-down rear seats add more than enough cargo space for this compact Cadillac.

Conclusion: Without a doubt, the new CTS is the best Cadillac ever. This car is not only a giant leap forward over its predecessor, it also stands for a whole new direction for Cadillac as a company.

OVERALL VERDICT FOR 2008 Cadillac CTS
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Performance: 5/5
Handling and ride/fun-to-drive: 5/5
Interior/ergonomics/user-friendliness: 4.5/5
Fit-and-finish/build quality: 5/5
Cargo/accessibility/layout: 4/5
Value-for-money: 5/5

Overall rating: 4.75/5

2007 Cadillac DTS

Vehicle: 2007 Cadillac DTS Performance with full-leather seats
Price as tested: CDN$67885

Performance: With 4.6L DOHC Northstar V8 pushing 292 hp and 288 lb/ft of torque, there is no shortage of power in the DTS. The performance prowess of this 292 horses have created some problem for DTS’s fundamental chassis, which we will get back to it later on. Northstar V8 has always been famous for its world-class refinement, quietness and flexability. The latest application still haven’t lost any of its magic. The throttle response is typical GM featherweight. With DTS Performance’s High Output Northstar’s 288 lb/ft arrives as low as 4400rpm, all you feel is plenty of rushes in the low end. This V8 feels surprisingly revvable in high rpm although it doesn’t have the rapsy engine note as its German rivals. In terms of transmission, DTS only comes with 4-speed auto unit. Although its shifting quality has up to GM’s high standards, in this day and age, a 5 or 6-speed automatic should be standard given its 67k price tag.

Handling: If you are looking for a capably handled Caddy, look at CTS and STS. The DTS’s status of life serves as a comfortable long-distance cruiser. With its soft suspension and springs, it doesn’t encourage any drivers to push it hard into a mild corner. However, its just ride so softly and comfortably on highway miles thanks to its floaty suspension. Cadillac intended to tune floatiness in DTS’s suspension in order to keep its loyal customers. As you would expect from this kind of setting, there are tons of understeer and body rolls. Not to mention the steering feels numb and dead. You can feel the leather stitches on the steering instead of any road imperfections. The biggest dynamic shortfall has to be horrible torque steer. Whenever a front-driver has over 292 hp, it speaks for disaster. This 292 horses DTS is simply disasterous when accelerating from standing still. One has to pull the steering straight because the torque steer is just scary. Plus I don’t think GM engineers have put through any engineering to stop wheelspin when accelerating. The ultra-instrusive StabiliTrak only able to work during understeer. This system should kick-in whether there is heavy torque steer consider DTS’s elder target audience.

Brakes: DTS’s 4-wheel discs and ABS provide surprisingly good pedal feel. Although its initial bite remains GM mushy, the travel and modulation have improved over previous units. GM engineers should incorporate the same engineering in STS’s braking feel into DTS, that would make it a much more pleasant system to handle.

Interior: Consider DTS costs 67 grand, there are still some cheap pieces from GM parts bin. On the other hand, its switchgears and overall ergonomics have significantly improved over GM’s previous disasterous executions. Both the climate and stereo are placed ergonomically. The optional full-leather seats are simply superb. Those Tuscany leather zooms classy smell and suppleness. Instrumentation gauges are clear and analog. With 8-way power adjustable driver’s seat, the driving position is easily found.

What DTS exceeds is the back seat. There are tons of head and legrooms. Even the one seats in the middle is very comfortable.

Conclusion: DTS remains a crown jewel in Cadillac’s line-up thanks to its loyal customer base and comfortable road manners. While STS and CTS are going performance-oriented, German chasing attitude. DTS is and will always been a true American luxury sedan. However…………………………………………….!!

a similarly equipped and equally comfortable Buick Lucerne cost 20 grand less than DTS. Both DTS and Lucerne got the same floaty suspension, even interior materials are identical except for full-leather in DTS. Buick is the default choice except you insist in getting a full-size sedan with Cadillac Crest.

OVERALL VERDICT FOR 2007 CADILLAC DTS
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Performance: 4/5
Handling and ride/fun-to-drive: 2/5
Interior/ergonomics/user-friendliness: 4/5
Fit-and-finish/build quality: 3.5/5
Cargo/accessibility/layout: 3/5
Value-for-money: 1/5

Overall rating: 2.5/5

2003 Cadillac CTS

Vehicle: 2003 Cadillac CTS with 5-speed auto and sports suspension

Performance: CTS is powered by a 3.2 liter V6 engine that bumps out 220hp and 218 lb/ft of torque. The instant throttle response is quick and linear. The low-end torque also performs relatively well, however, this engine tends to run breathless at high rpm. That remains a problem as you used “sports” mode in the smooth 5-speed auto box. The auto shifts accordingly with its fuzzy logic control. The sports mode has given a choice that you can shift at higher rpm for sportier driving. That lies the problem which this V6 easily runs out of breath somewhere above 4800 rpm. The good news is CTS will benefit from a new engine sometimes in 2004.

Handling: With its RWD, near 50/50 perfect balance and a stiff chassis. CTS handles very well with its optional sports suspension. The suspension absorbs bumps comfortably without jerking the ride. Steering provides feedback that feels downright European, it offers decent on and off-center feel. Body roll remains an issue, however, its very well tempted. The whole dynamic package has given driver reasonable control + confidence through corners without sacificing the ride comfort. However, there are 2 major drawbacks. All these drawbacks have to do with its Stabiliztrak stability control system. Firstly, you can turn the Stabiliztak off. That means you stuck with this system 100% of the time. Secondly, this stability control kicks in like madness as you try to let the tail out. Its a very annoying and instrusive system. Considered Cadillac wants CTS to challenge the best of sports sedans from Germany and Japan, they need to give drivers more thrill. Thrill doesn’t mean stability system kicks in at anytime.

Brakes: The brake application for CTS is excellent. The pedal feels firm and direct. Effort is balanced.

Interior: The leather seats are very comfortable inside the CTS. The instrumentation gauges are easily read and stereo/climate controls are ergonomically placed. On the other hand, there are couple of complaints.
The steering feels too large for a sports sedan. Its tilt function doesn’t serve well to find a perfect driving position. This steering belongs to Escalade, not CTS. Secondly, the grey plastic and wood trim look out of place with black leather. Wood trim feels like an afterthought in CTS’s interior design implementation. Thirdly, center area consists of trip computer, stereo and climate control look blocky despite they are placed close to hand. Lastly, there are some cheap plastic surface around the cupholders and ashtray area. The good news is Cadillac has ordered to redesign the CTS’s interior due next year.

The back seats are comfortable, with plenty of head and legroom. The trunk is large, comes with uninstrusive trunk hingles and cargo net. The problem is the liftover is a bit high because of the exterior design.

Conclusion: Cadillac has done a very good job on the CTS, in terms of driving dynamics and braking. CTS will be a real contender as soon as it receives a redesigned interior and a new powerplant that won’t run out of breath at high rpm. The most importantly, they need to put a switch for Stabiliztrak.

OVERALL VERDICT FOR 2003 CADILLAC CTS
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Performance: 2/5
Handling/fun-to-drive: 3.5/5
Interior/ergonomics/user-friendliness: 3/5
Fit-and-finish/built quality: 3.75/5
Value-for-money: 2.25/5

Overall rating: 3/5

2004 Cadillac SRX

Vehicle: 2004 Cadillac SRX 5-seater V8 AWD with 1SC package and premium “Ultraview” sunroof
Price as tested: CDN$71405

Handling: One of the biggest highlights of SRX has to be its dynamics. Not only does it finally get rid of Caddy’s typical mashmellow softly sprung feel, it has enough solidity and driver connection to compete with its European rivals. The SRX begins with a very stiff and sound chassis that is completely free of rattles and flex, along with the excellent magnetic ride control that provides top-notch handling/ride compromise. The result is a crossover that handles exceptionally well. The steering is sharp, fast and responsive. It also provides plenty of road feel through the thick rim. The only drawback of the steering system is it remains on the light side. The magnetic ride control provides a optimum balance of ride and handling. This system has given the vehicle very minimal body rolls when pushed through corners, even with a bit of understeer. On the other hand, the absorb of washboard pavements and expansion joints are wonderfully comfy. The best thing is this system provides a ride quality that combines the European ride firmness and a bit of softness instead of Caddy’s usual floaty landyatch tuning. The confidence-inspiring handling really impressed during the rainstorm, same goes to the advance AWD system.

Performance: Our tester comes with a Northstar V8 4.6L that has 320hp and 315 lb/ft of torque. Power has never been an issue with this engine. Northstar has to be considered as one of the world’s finest V8 engines. It has excellent refinement and smoothness. The throttle response is fast and responsive, although it feels overly responsive at certain extent. The 5-speed auto tranny is typical GM quality. That means its a very smooth unit that provides responsive up/downshifts and driver never has to hunt gears. My pet peeves have to do with its manumatic. The first issue has to be with its responsiveness. This manumatic feels sluggish on upshift, I meant really slow type. Secondly, it doesn’t allow you to rev pass redline before upshifts. Thirdly, it doesn’t automatically downshift to 1 when you come to a complete stop. In many manmatics, even when you are driving 100 km/h @ 5th gear and you hit the brake pedal without downshifting yourself. It automatically downshift to 1st at complete stop. On the SRX, it remains at 5th gear when you stop at a signal. That means when you accelerate the vehicle again, it starts all over at 5th or 4th or 3rd or 2nd. GM really needs to rethink this system.

Brakes: Given SRX’s weight, the 4-wheel discs with ABS provide very good pedal feel. Unlike many GM cars I have driven, this one has one solid feel. Its easily modulated with balanced pedal effort.

Interior: SRX begins with a great sets of leather seats. The leather material feels soft and supple, while provide excellent back and thigh support. The climate control, stereo and driver info center are of easy reach. It also has a clear and analog instrumentation in front of the driver. However, these are the drawbacks. Firstly, SRX still stuck with CTS’s interior. While CTS’s interior already not that pleasing to look at to begin with, its about the same for SRX. Secondly, the tranny indicator on the dashboard uses a very light orange preface. While its already really hard to read in a rainy day when I turned on the headlight, good luck reading it under sunlight. Thirdly. While the rest of the interior uses high quality materials, some of them even soft to the touch. The glovebox stuck with a cheap POS plastic that is completely out of place in a 70+ grand Caddy. Its acceptable in a 13k Cavalier, its unforgiving in a 70+k SRX.

The 2nd row of seats have plenty of head and legroom. Unlike the Pacifica, SRX actually has a center position.

The cargo space is huge. It has lots of cubbyholes and is covered with expensive carpet lining. If you take the 5-seat instead of 7-seat version of SRX, it has larger luggage space than many SUVs.

Conclusion: Judging by the fact the Pacifica and SRX are shared the same concept, latter executed far better. It got a powerful Northstar V8, handles exceptionally well and the 2nd row got the middle position. The SRX V6 should give huge pressure to Pacifica even if you have to pay some premium for the Caddy.

As for the vehicle itself, it has to be the best Caddy I have driven for quite a while. SRX also has one significance for this brand. It signifies Caddy’s on a renissance with rave of great new products on the horizon, also a comeback to the marketplace.

OVERALL VERDICT FOR 2004 CADDY SRX V8 AWD
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Performance: 3.5/5
Handling and ride/fun-to-drive: 4.75/5
Interior/ergonomics/user-friendliness: 3/5
Fit-and-finish/build quality: 4.25/5
Cargo/accessibility/layout: 5/5
Value-for-money: 4.25/5

Overall rating: 4.25/5