Distilling the hooliganish aspects of the previous-generation CTS-V into a more approachable formula that will play well to speed-seeking entry-level sedan and coupe shoppers, the ATS-V shares only its segment with its BMW M and Mercedes-AMG rivals. The rest is pure Detroit-via-New York, an appealing, and most importantly, a fun mix of cutting edge chassis tuning, under-hood engine technology, and eye-catching styling that looks to bolster the beachhead already established on German shores by the standard edition of the ATS.
Models and Prices
The 2016 Cadillac ATS-V comes in a
single model, but there are two body styles to choose from. The ATS-V
sedan starts at an MSRP of $61,460, while the ATS-V coupe will charge
you an additional $2,200 (MSRP $63,660) for the privilege of lopping off
the rear doors. Each model is equipped identically, and comes standard
with features such as 4G LTE Wi-Fi connectivity, a wireless cell phone
charging system, parking assistance, a rearview camera, an adaptive
suspension system, satellite radio, 18-inch wheels with
unique-to-the-car Michelin tires, a carbon fiber hood, the Cadillac CUE
infotainment interface, more aggressive aero and styling as compared to
the non-V ATS models, sport seats, leather upholstery, and automatic
climate control.
There are also a number of packages available for the car, including the $5,000 Carbon Fiber package (carbon fiber front splitter, rear diffuser, hood vent trim), the roughly $6,000 Track Performance package (contents of Carbon Fiber package plus Performance Data Recorder system, lighter battery, floor mat), the $1,850 Safety and Security package (numerous active safety features including GM's Safety Alert Seat warning system), and a $2,500 Luxury package (HID headlights, sport alloy pedals, navigation, folding rear seat).
You can also order items such as a sunroof, different steering wheel options, and Recaro sport seats with 16-way power adjustment a la carte. As you can see, while the ATS-V's pricing is quite competitive, especially when taking into account what comes standard with the car, it's easy enough to push the sticker all the way up to nearly $80,000 if you try hard enough.
Things are decidedly less 'wow' inside the ATS-V, where one is greeted with an almost direct copy of the non-V model's cabin. While this is no real handicap to the car, aside from the availability of the sporty-looking Recaros, there's not much to suggest that you're piloting something special based solely on the Cadillac's interior. This is especially true of the vehicle's gauge cluster, which beyond its red accents, fails to communicate any of the ATS-V's dynamic personality or recognize its performance focus.
The rear seats in both the sedan and the coupe aren't as accommodating, especially when compared against rivals like the BMW M3 and M4. It would be a stretch to press the two-door ATS-V into family duty, but the sedan makes a reasonable daily driver for hauling around the younger set - especially when compared to, say, a Corvette, Porsche Cayman, or the Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class.
PDR also offers full vehicle telemetry, making use of GPS to track lap times while it overlays the video with gear ratio choice, vehicle speed, brake, accelerator, and steering input, as well as g-forces. It's an impressive toy, and with a few hiccups, it worked well enough for me out on the track. There's also a standard head-up display (with configurable vehicle information readouts) that lets you keep your eyes on the road ahead without missing your shift points.
2016 Cadillac ATS-V Crash-Test Ratings: The Cadillac ATS-V has yet to be crash tested by either the NHTSA or the IIHS.
There are also a number of packages available for the car, including the $5,000 Carbon Fiber package (carbon fiber front splitter, rear diffuser, hood vent trim), the roughly $6,000 Track Performance package (contents of Carbon Fiber package plus Performance Data Recorder system, lighter battery, floor mat), the $1,850 Safety and Security package (numerous active safety features including GM's Safety Alert Seat warning system), and a $2,500 Luxury package (HID headlights, sport alloy pedals, navigation, folding rear seat).
You can also order items such as a sunroof, different steering wheel options, and Recaro sport seats with 16-way power adjustment a la carte. As you can see, while the ATS-V's pricing is quite competitive, especially when taking into account what comes standard with the car, it's easy enough to push the sticker all the way up to nearly $80,000 if you try hard enough.
Design
- The 2016 Cadillac ATS-V is an all-new design.
Things are decidedly less 'wow' inside the ATS-V, where one is greeted with an almost direct copy of the non-V model's cabin. While this is no real handicap to the car, aside from the availability of the sporty-looking Recaros, there's not much to suggest that you're piloting something special based solely on the Cadillac's interior. This is especially true of the vehicle's gauge cluster, which beyond its red accents, fails to communicate any of the ATS-V's dynamic personality or recognize its performance focus.
Comfort and Cargo
- The 2016 Cadillac ATS-V is an all-new model.
The rear seats in both the sedan and the coupe aren't as accommodating, especially when compared against rivals like the BMW M3 and M4. It would be a stretch to press the two-door ATS-V into family duty, but the sedan makes a reasonable daily driver for hauling around the younger set - especially when compared to, say, a Corvette, Porsche Cayman, or the Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class.
Features and Controls
- The 2016 Cadillac ATS-V introduces the Performance Data Recorder feature.
PDR also offers full vehicle telemetry, making use of GPS to track lap times while it overlays the video with gear ratio choice, vehicle speed, brake, accelerator, and steering input, as well as g-forces. It's an impressive toy, and with a few hiccups, it worked well enough for me out on the track. There's also a standard head-up display (with configurable vehicle information readouts) that lets you keep your eyes on the road ahead without missing your shift points.
Safety and Ratings
- The 2016 Cadillac ATS-V imports the standard ATS' safety options.
2016 Cadillac ATS-V Crash-Test Ratings: The Cadillac ATS-V has yet to be crash tested by either the NHTSA or the IIHS.
Engines and Fuel Economy
- The 2016 Cadillac ATS-V introduces a twin-turbo V-6.
Driving Impressions
Tackling a track like the Circuit
of the Americas in a car such as the 2016 Cadillac ATS-V is a rare
opportunity. The extremely-quick, yet technically-challenging track
features a 3/4-mile back straight along with enough runoff in all
directions to reduce your need to worry about mucking up one of its
challenging sets of S-curves. It's possible to gain an almost complete
understanding of a vehicle's performance envelope at the COTA facility,
and to have an absolute blast in the process.
It's clear to me that for all its muscle, the ATS-V's strongest asset is its chassis. Cadillac has worked hard to improve the V model's rigidity by 25 percent, and in concert with the very latest version of the brand's Magnetic Ride Control adaptive suspension system, the end result is communication between the driver and the asphalt on a level above that of current segment bogey, the BMW M3/M4. Five stages of Performance Traction Management (PTM) allowed me to dial in a comfortable level of wheel spin and rear drift before the electronic nannies intervened (with a full-off setting also offered), and the car's electronically-controlled differential provided constant and progressive throttle-steer when sideways. I'm not saying that the Cadillac feels as precise or planted as the M twins, nor am I claiming that it's significantly faster lap after lap, but it's impossible for me to deny that the ATS-V is much more engaging to drive - and as a result, a lot more fun.
I don't want to minimize the contributions of the twin-turbo V-6 in the symphony of joy that is the Cadillac ATS-V's dynamic suite. The car's 445 horses, docile enough on the street, were whipped into a frenzy with the go-pedal mashed, and the resulting acceleration is both smooth and startling. GM claims that the car will see 60-mph from a standing start in just 3.9 seconds - a full second faster than the first-generation CTS-V that started it all back in 2004 - and while the best I could do was 4.1 in an auto-equipped car, I have no doubt that the factory number is feasible should the traction stars align perfectly on a well-prepared drag strip.
Six-speed editions of the ATS-V aren't left out of the 60-mph sprint either, thanks to the no-lift-shift technology programmed into the box: Simply keep the accelerator pinned while working the clutch and the car will let you swap cogs without complaint. Each transmission come with a very useful launch control system that automatically engages with the vehicle's PTM system active. I didn't get to test out the veracity of the Cadillac's claimed 189-mph top speed, but both the sedan and the coupe felt perfectly stable at 146-mph on COTA's seemingly endless rear straight.
It's clear to me that for all its muscle, the ATS-V's strongest asset is its chassis. Cadillac has worked hard to improve the V model's rigidity by 25 percent, and in concert with the very latest version of the brand's Magnetic Ride Control adaptive suspension system, the end result is communication between the driver and the asphalt on a level above that of current segment bogey, the BMW M3/M4. Five stages of Performance Traction Management (PTM) allowed me to dial in a comfortable level of wheel spin and rear drift before the electronic nannies intervened (with a full-off setting also offered), and the car's electronically-controlled differential provided constant and progressive throttle-steer when sideways. I'm not saying that the Cadillac feels as precise or planted as the M twins, nor am I claiming that it's significantly faster lap after lap, but it's impossible for me to deny that the ATS-V is much more engaging to drive - and as a result, a lot more fun.
I don't want to minimize the contributions of the twin-turbo V-6 in the symphony of joy that is the Cadillac ATS-V's dynamic suite. The car's 445 horses, docile enough on the street, were whipped into a frenzy with the go-pedal mashed, and the resulting acceleration is both smooth and startling. GM claims that the car will see 60-mph from a standing start in just 3.9 seconds - a full second faster than the first-generation CTS-V that started it all back in 2004 - and while the best I could do was 4.1 in an auto-equipped car, I have no doubt that the factory number is feasible should the traction stars align perfectly on a well-prepared drag strip.
Six-speed editions of the ATS-V aren't left out of the 60-mph sprint either, thanks to the no-lift-shift technology programmed into the box: Simply keep the accelerator pinned while working the clutch and the car will let you swap cogs without complaint. Each transmission come with a very useful launch control system that automatically engages with the vehicle's PTM system active. I didn't get to test out the veracity of the Cadillac's claimed 189-mph top speed, but both the sedan and the coupe felt perfectly stable at 146-mph on COTA's seemingly endless rear straight.
Final Thoughts
The 2016 ATS-V is exceptionally
fleet of foot, sufficiently malevolent in appearance, and above all,
more fun to get to know above 100-mph than its leading European
frenemies. Above all, it's a Cadillac, not a clone, and that gives it a
distinct charm that should help the automaker further cement its
performance credibility amongst luxury buyers. Handling chops and hefty
horsepower are one thing, but personality goes a long way in building
brand image and drawing in a cult - just ask sport sedan also-rans like
the Lexus IS F.
If we lived in a meritocracy, the $61,000 Cadillac ATS-V would have no trouble carving out a respectable luxury sport niche. In a world more focused on image and marketing, however, Cadillac is still seen as a challenger to the similarly priced BMW M3 and Mercedes-AMG C63. The ATS-V is the latest in a wave of products designed to flip that impression, and it does so with both hands.
More: Can the 2016 Cadillac ATS-V First Drive really take on the Germans on
their own turf and win? Or is it enough to have made the attempt? We
drive the latest American luxury sports car and make the call.If we lived in a meritocracy, the $61,000 Cadillac ATS-V would have no trouble carving out a respectable luxury sport niche. In a world more focused on image and marketing, however, Cadillac is still seen as a challenger to the similarly priced BMW M3 and Mercedes-AMG C63. The ATS-V is the latest in a wave of products designed to flip that impression, and it does so with both hands.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
Cadillac supplied the vehicle for this review.
By Benjamin Hunting
- Most fun luxury sport sedan / coupe in its class
- Reasonable base price
- Exceptional chassis
- Standard adaptive suspension system
- Twin-turbo V-6
- Available Recaro sport seats
- Aggressive styling improves on already-elegant ATS design
- Priced very close to reigning segment king, the BMW M3
- Exhaust note is more muted than I would like
- Cramped rear seat
- Unlike the exterior, the car's interior styling doesn't make a strong impression
Cadillac supplied the vehicle for this review.
By Benjamin Hunting
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