Cadillac is trying to keep the sedan's head above water as the tide of crossover fever rises ever higher.
The rest of General Motors has already given up. Almost every car formerly sold under the Chevy and Buick labels is no longer sold under either label — leaving almost nothing but crossovers, trucks and the Corvette, which — like the battleship Tirpitz in its fjord — holds a lonely vigil.
But not all is lost — yet.
Cadillac has several new noncrossovers on deck, including the new CT4.
What It Is
The CT4 is the successor to the ATS sedan, which has been discontinued.
Like the ATS, the CT4 is a compact-sized, rear-wheel-drive luxury sport sedan, available with all-wheel drive. Unlike the ATS, the CT4 will not be available with a V-6 engine. But a new 2.7-liter four-cylinder engine is available that makes about the same power.
Cadillac claims the CT4 performs better — and gets better mileage than the V-6-equipped ATS.
It is also the first other-than-Tesla to offer full self-driving capability.
Prices start at $33,990 for the rear-drive luxury-trim-equipped CT4 with a turbocharged 2.0-liter engine paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission.
Premium and Sport trims are available, in both rear-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive iterations.
For those wanting V-6 performance and four-cylinder mileage, Cadillac offers a new 2.7-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine paired with a ten-speed automatic. It produces 309 horsepower in the rear-wheel-drive Premium Luxury trim — which lists for $40,990 with rear-wheel drive and $44,100 with all-wheel drive — and 325 horsepower in the highest-performance CT4-V, which also gets a limited slip rear differential and standard magnetic ride control.
It stickers for $45,490 with rear-wheel drive and tops out at $46,590 with all-wheel drive.
What's New
The CT4 is an all-new model.
What's Good
It's less expensive than Euro-badged competitors.
It has a strong standard engine.
It drives itself.
What's Not So Good
It has a very cramped back seat.
It has an extremely small trunk.
Driverless technology is a Catch-22.
Under the Hood
The outgoing ATS came standard with a four-cylinder engine and offered a V-6. The new CT4 offers only a four-cylinder engine — in line with trends away from bigger engines in favor of boosted engines.
The idea is to reduce gas consumption without reducing power.
The standard 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine produces 237 horsepower. It's paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission. Your pick of rear- or all-wheel drive.
The optional 2.7-liter four-cylinder engine makes as much as 325 horsepower (in the V trim), which is nearly as much power as the larger 3.6-liter V-6 that was optionally available in the old ATS — and much less thirsty.
In part, that's because it's paired with GM's new ten-speed automatic. This transmission has multiple overdrive gears on top, reducing revs — and saving gas.
Official Environmental Protection Agency numbers weren't available in mid-February, when this review was written, but GM expects the CT4 equipped with a 2.7-liter engine to do much better than the ATS V-6's 20 mpg in the city and 30 mpg on the highway.
And it gets to 60 mph in the low-five-second range.
On the Road
The signature feature of the CT4 is the option to let the car drive itself. Engage the Super Cruise and take your hands off the wheel and your eyes off the road.
Of course, you're not supposed to do that.
GM — like Tesla — says that the driver must always be ready to "intervene" when the situation demands it and should always be paying attention to what's going on — as opposed to what's on the phone.
Which is fine — and responsible, given that self-driving technology isn't infallible. But the temptation to leave the driving to the car is there — and probably shouldn't be, so long as the driver is still expected to be responsible for driving the car.
At the Curb
Looks aren't the problem here. Space is.
The CT4 is a great-looking car that's probably too small a car for many. Though it's significantly larger on the outside than the outgoing ATS — which was 182.8 inches long overall, versus 187.2 inches long for its almost-midsize replacement — it's just as small inside as its predecessor.
Leg (and head) room for the driver and front seat passenger isn't a problem, but the backseat has only 33.4 inches of legroom (slightly less than the 33.5 inches of the ATS), and headroom back there is almost 2 inches less than up front (36.5 inches).
That plus a 10.7-cubic-foot trunk makes this fun-to-drive sedan as impractical as a fun-to-drive coupe.
But with an extra pair of doors.
The Rest
One area where the CT4 is smaller that's not a problem is its price. The car's starting price is almost $7k less than the starting price of the old ATS, and even the loaded CT4-V starts out almost $20k less than the old ATS-V.
The Bottom Line
The ATS was too small — and too expensive. Its replacement isn't expensive — and that may just make up for the smallness.
Eric's latest book, "Don't Get Taken for a Ride!" is available now. To find out more about Eric and read his past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.
View Comments