Short Take Road Test
The 2004 Cadillac CTS won't get much attention. Although it features a new 3.6-liter, 24-valve DOHC V-6 with variable valve timing, revised suspension tuning, and some new trim, it's stuck between the still-fresh memory of the car's introduction as an early 2003 model and anticipation of the 400-hp V-8-powered CTS-V that's coming at the end of this year. But we pronounced the CTS the best Cadillac ever last year, and the 2004 edition is an improvement.
GM's all-new global V-6 gets its first showcase in the CTS, and it carries virtually every currently fashionable engine technology. The aluminum-block engine puts 60 degrees between its cylinder banks and incorporates a structural oil pan; the intake and exhaust cams are chain driven and hooked to a continuously variable phasing system; the plastic intake manifold uses a two-stage variable-volume plenum; each spark plug has its own coil; the throttle is electronic; there's enough computing power aboard to run the Social Security Administration; and the CTS runs on regular gas. What it all amounts to, says Cadillac, is 255 horsepower at 6200 rpm (35 more horses than the 3.2-liter, 54-degree iron-block V-6 still used in manual-transmission CTSs) and 250 pound-feet of torque at just 2800 rpm (32 more pound-feet than the 3.2). At least at first, the only transmission available with it is GM's 5L40-E five-speed automatic.
The global V-6 will also be standard in Cadillac's new nearly-an-SUV SRX that is based on the same Sigma chassis architecture as the CTS and will power the ritzy Ultra version of the Buick Rendezvous. Turbocharged and direct-injection versions of the new engine in displacements ranging down to 2.8 liters are under development and will soon show up in Saabs and Opels. After that, even GM likely doesn't yet know how many more applications it can find for this engine family.
With its thick torque curve, the new V-6 is a better match for the automatic than the lackluster 3.2 and runs in near silence. The V-6 doesn't have the velveteen eagerness of a BMW straight-six or the edgy zing of the Acura 3.2TL Type-S's VTEC engine, but it does have an appealing nonchalance about its work. A better exhaust note—any exhaust note—would add to the car's personality. We didn't get a chance to strap on the test gear, but the '04 CTS will surely be quicker from 0 to 60 mph than the 3.2-and-automatic combination. Somewhere around 6.8 seems a reasonable 0-to-60 performance estimate for the '04 automatic CTS. Next year expect Cadillac to do the decent thing and offer the 3.6 with a five- and maybe six-speed manual.
With no older CTS to drive alongside it, the tweaks to the base suspension (it's slightly softer but supposedly more responsive) are hard to evaluate, but the initial turn-in seems better and the Sport-package suspension with 17-inch wheels is now offered across the range. The new chrome trim around the center console, armrest, and ashtray adds some class to an interior that can seem stark.
It will be tough for the CTS to hold the "best-ever Cadillac" title this year with the CTS-V, SRX, and XLR all making their appearances. As the least expensive Caddy, however, it may still be the best value. —John Pearley Huffman
