Driven: 2008 Cadillac CTS 3.6DI

[SVT666]

I really dig this car.  I was kind of scared to drive it because of all the good press and how good it looks.  I was scared it wouldn't live up to my expectations.  I had nothing to worry about.  This is a great car.  I do have one concern though which is listed in the Cons below.

PROS:
- Acceleration is pretty swift
- Cornering is flat and planted even during the transition between tight sweepers
- The steering gives good feedback and is a tad on the heavy side
- The brakes drag it to a stop like a boat anchor
- The seats are nice and comfortable
- The engine has a real nice growl at WOT
- The transmission shifts are smooth and imperceptible
- The manumatic shifting is nearly instantaneous which means it's 10X faster to react to manual inputs than the Infiniti G37 is
- Large trunk
- I sit much lower in this car than I do in my SVT Focus
- I love the interior.  The luxury is exactly what I want and it still has the sporty look and feel that I desire
- Lots of room in the back seat
- Massive sunroof
- Pop-up NAV still gives audible directions once lowered...which is definitely a good thing because when it's up it's kind of unsightly
- Center stack looks great
- Steering wheel is almost perfect
- RWD driving dynamics
- The car looks fantastic

CONS:
- Almost too quiet unless at WOT
- Front end gets a little floaty if you let off the gas suddenly while accelerating.  It was kind of unnerving
- Back window is tiny.  Not nearly as small as the Camaro's, but smaller than the Taurus'
- The seats lack the lateral support I expect from a sport sedan
- The NAV unit is hideous when it's up, though it is kinda cool that it goes up and down
- The stock wheels look like crap, but that's easy to fix
- BIG CONCERN:  50,000 miles on the clock and the interior made noise when I was cornering.  I don't know if it was because the interior was cold, although it was just a little above freezing but neither of our own cars make noise like that even when it's -4F.  Some of it was the noise leather seats make when someone is wearing a leather jacket (like the salesman), but to me there was also noise coming from the interior panels whenever the car leaned into a corner.  Maybe it was all his jacket, but maybe not.  I should drive it again and ask the salesman to leave his leather jacket behind this time and see what kind of noises are present.  This one issue could be the "make or break" issue for me.

CONCLUSION:  If the interior noise issue isn't an issue because it was all caused by the salesman's leather jacket, then there is no question....my next car will be a white or black CTS 3.6DI RWD.  If the noise issue is real, then I will need to drive another 50,000+ mile CTS to see if it makes any noise.  If it does, then the G37 Sedan will most likely be my next car.  Aside from that, I am a big fan of the CTS.

[Vinsanity]

- BIG CONCERN:  50,000 miles on the clock and the interior made noise when I was cornering.  I don't know if it was because the interior was cold, although it was just a little above freezing but neither of our own cars make noise like that even when it's -4F.  Some of it was the noise leather seats make when someone is wearing a leather jacket (like the salesman), but to me there was also noise coming from the interior panels whenever the car leaned into a corner.  Maybe it was all his jacket, but maybe not.  I should drive it again and ask the salesman to leave his leather jacket behind this time and see what kind of noises are present.  This one issue could be the "make or break" issue for me.

My interior also makes a noise when cornering, which I determined to be from leaning against the center console. I didn't notice the same noise from a newer model, though, but the one I rented had less than 10k miles on it.

I'm surprised to hear that the seating position is lower than the Focus. Although that may be an impression due to the high beltline?

Everything else I have to agree with. The 3.0 engine is also so quiet to the point that it makes the acceleration feel lethargic.

[SVT666]

No, the seating position is much lower and that was evident just getting out of the CTS.  To be fair, I had the seat set as low as it would go.  The noise couldn't have been from me leaning on the console though because I had both hands on the wheel.  I hope it's not an issue because I really like this car.

[68_427]

Did you drive a car with the spot or FE3 suspenders?  The rims on those models look pretty good IMO.

[SVT666]

Probably not since those weren't the wheels.  Those aren't bad, but I think I would just source out some V wheels.

[Vinsanity]

No, the seating position is much lower and that was evident just getting out of the CTS.  To be fair, I had the seat set as low as it would go.  The noise couldn't have been from me leaning on the console though because I had both hands on the wheel.  I hope it's not an issue because I really like this car.

Sometimes I do find my body leaning against the center console even with both hands on the wheel during moderate-speed left-hand turns (as a result of the lack of lateral support from the seats). Even the inside door panel makes a small squeak during a right-hand turn from my left knee pressing against it. If it's a dealbreaker, then you should probably know that my car developed a small rattle at around 70k miles that randomly appears out of the blue, even on smooth roads. It was likely the result of some bad potholes I hit the few times I have to drive on the horribly maintained streets in LA.

[SVT666]

Damn.  This is the quality issue I am worried about with buying a GM product. 

[Vinsanity]

Damn.  This is the quality issue I am worried about with buying a GM product. 

yeah, to be honest, I'm surprised you're considering a return to GM after that piece of shit Sunfart you had. But don't get me wrong, my experience with my car is positive enough that I'd strongly consider a newer one myself if I chose to replace my car in the near future.

[Vinsanity]

here was my first impression of the 2011 CTS loaner I had:

http://www.carspin.net/forums/index.php?topic=11274.msg1523415#msg1523415

this one had the 3.0DI motor.

[MrH]

It's more a design issue than a quality one.  Interference fit + PC/ABS without any sort of buzz-squeak-rattle tape on it = the squeekies.

[GoCougs]

Oh, boy, have I ever become accustomed to PC/ABS, PC, and ABS, recently at work...

[GoCougs]

here was my first impression of the 2011 CTS loaner I had:

http://www.carspin.net/forums/index.php?topic=11274.msg1523415#msg1523415

this one had the 3.0DI motor.

Jesus - $2k work of AC work?  :shootmeinthehead:

[SVT666]

here was my first impression of the 2011 CTS loaner I had:

http://www.carspin.net/forums/index.php?topic=11274.msg1523415#msg1523415

this one had the 3.0DI motor.

I know what you mean about how it gives you the feeling that it doesn't want to dive into corners.  It almost resists you, but once you do it just digs in and goes.  My car is the opposite.  It begs to be flung into corners and it's the driver that has to resist it, but that has gotten me into trouble before so maybe the change in character isn't a bad thing.

The squeaks do bother me though.  I wonder if there is anything I can do about it if I do buy it.

[Vinsanity]

Jesus - $2k work of AC work?  :shootmeinthehead:

yeah, I know they pretty much had to rebuild the A/C system. Somehow, about 6 ounces worth of tiny bits of metal made its way into the system and locked up the compressor. I'm beginning to suspect that this was also the result of a particularly bad pothole (it felt like driving off/into a curb)

I know what you mean about how it gives you the feeling that it doesn't want to dive into corners.  It almost resists you, but once you do it just digs in and goes.  My car is the opposite.  It begs to be flung into corners and it's the driver that has to resist it, but that has gotten me into trouble before so maybe the change in character isn't a bad thing.

The squeaks do bother me though.  I wonder if there is anything I can do about it if I do buy it.

Listening closely during another drive around town last night, the leather-on-leather sound you're hearing is probably exactly that; the leather on the side of the seat is contacting the leather surface on the side of the console. Again, I'm not sure if this is also the case with the newer model. I guess you could pad it with some small cushions or something, and they would be fairly out-of-sight