The 2009 Cadillac CTS-V is a stylishly-creased sports sedan with aggressive body lines.
A luxury sports sedan is a wonderful thing. A comfortable and well-equipped interior paired with an engine that has a little oomph behind it, and you can enjoy the fun with up to four other people. There are quite a few choices in this category; the Audi S6, BMW M5, and Mercedes E63 AMG spring to my mind right away. They are all German and they are all excellent. However, the most thrilling member of this class prefers Levi jeans stained with last night’s apple pie; The 2009 Cadillac CTS-V, the American embodiment of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hannibal Lecter.
Cadillac has taken their much loved CTS luxury sedan and stuffed a 6.2L V8 into the engine bay. Not the 403 hp one you might find in the Escalade, not a V8 that produces 435 hp like a base Corvette, and not even a 505 hp V8 like the one in the Corvette Z06. No, the 6.2L V8 stuffed into this luxo-muscle barge, squeezes out 556 hp to the rear wheels. 300 hp used to be a pretty impressive number and 400 hp is still a number that leads to some very spirited driving. The CTS-V smashes through the 500 hp barrier with the dual-exhaust growling through each shift of the six-speed manual transmission.
The Cadillac CTS-V can be driven quite serenely and that is part of what makes it a true luxury sports sedan. The magnetic ride control can provide a relatively soft feel and it can also switch into sports car stiff in the blink of an eye. That growling exhaust note takes a nap and the rear of this Cadillac emits a soothing burble. I wouldn’t ruffle any feathers pulling into the valet court of a fancy golf club. Thankfully though, on the way out I could leave dual strips of black rubber from the 18th hole back out to the highway. I may not be invited back for another round, but I don’t mind because I don’t want to stop driving this Cadillac.
On the inside, the Cadillac CTS-V has everything you would expect to find in a luxury car plus a few goodies for when the roads get twisty. Dual-zone climate control keeps passengers happy and the endlessly adjustable seats help me find the perfect driving position. The navigation screen rises out of the dash when I need it, but also hides away for times when I don’t. This feature actually helps keep the flowing lines of the interior intact and less complex appearing than it actually is. This CTS-V is equipped with the optional suede covered steering wheel and shift knob. At first I thought this was gimmicky and something that will eventually become impossible to keep clean, however on my first really hot day with the car, my hands thanked whoever checked this one off the option list. Another option that this CTS-V wears on the inside is the Recaro high-performance seats. It took me some time to find the right setting of these heavily bolstered units, but once I did I was locked in comfortably and it made my driving experience more enjoyable.
I expected the driving experience to be a bit wild with the CTS-V, constantly working the steering wheel as I fought off gobs of wheelspin due to all that power. I was wrong. This Caddy puts the power to the ground perfectly and the whole affair is exciting, yet extremely manageable. This is not simply a straight-line one-trick pony. The CTS-V can handle the curves and it can handle them well. The aforementioned Audi S6 has the AWD to help it eat up corners, the BMW M5 has world-class leading handling, and the E63 AMG has tons of power on tap – but the CTS-V slaps them across their efficient faces, does a burnout as they look down in shame, and sets a production sedan lap record on their own turf, the world-famous Nurburgring.
The 2009 Cadillac CTS-V as an MSRP of $57,920.00, and the one tested here checks a few boxes on the order form to bring the price up to $66,835.00. To compare that to the other vehicles I mentioned here; the 2009 Audi S6 starts at $75,900, the 2009 BMW M5 starts at $85,500, and the 2009 Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG starts at $87,700. They are all amazing luxury sports sedans that any owner should be proud to have in his driveway. Personally though, I will take the CTS-V and invest the rest of the money I saved in tire money, gas money, and still have enough left over for new Levi's and another slice of pie.
