2008 Cadillac CTS

The 2008 Cadillac CTS saw a major redesign of the model in an attempt to correct some of the flaws with the original. The CTS was intended from the beginning to be luxury sports sedan, unfortunately the original didn't match its competitors in terms of either luxury or performance. The result was not surprisingly rather sluggish sales. It also caused a major redesign of the car. In large part they have been successful with this as the CTS can now match any car in its class in terms of either luxury or performance. It still tends to focus more on luxury than on sport but at least the new version is in same league as its competitors.

The main problem with the original Cadillac CTS was that it was bigger and taller than most of the other cars in its class. The result was a car that was not particularly nimble. With the new version they have addressed this by making the car smaller but at the same time making it wider. This greatly improves the handling and makes it feel more like a sports car. They have also stiffened the suspension as well in order to improve the handling. It is still softer than most of the other cars in its class but at least you get the sense that you are driving a sports sedan rather than a luxury car.

There are two different engine options available for the 2008 Cadillac CTS although both are 3.6 liter V6's. The difference is that one offers direct injection which adds about fifty horse power to the base models 258 horse power. Standard is a six speed manual transmission although a six speed automatic is available. You can also get the car with either all wheel drive or rear wheel drive however you can only get the base model engine with the all wheel drive version. Interestingly both engine options give the same gas mileage.

One of the other issues that original CTS had was that for a luxury sports sedan the interior was hardly what you would have expected. Again they were far outclassed by their competitors. The new version has rectified this problem by substantially upgrading the interior. They have used higher quality materials and the trim is much more attractive. They have also greatly improved things like the navigation system and the stereo.

Of course it goes without saying that all of the expected safety features are there. Anti-lock brakes, airbags, stability and traction control, everything that you would expect in a top of the line car. The 2008 Cadillac CTS is certainly a dramatic improvement over its previous version. The car definitely has a more sporty feel. That being said it still seems more like a luxury car than a sports sedan. Whether the improved performance is enough to pull customers away from their competitors remains to be seen. However they are definitely off to a good start.