2012 Cadillac CTS Sedan Review

2012 Cadillac CTS Sedan Road Test Review

By Bob Plunkett

We're scooting down narrow and winding Old Talking Rock Highway through the hills of Georgia while putting the pedal down on a new sports touring sedan that's well equipped for the task of tracking quickly but adeptly through so many curves.

Our vehicle -- the 2012 Cadillac CTS 3.6 Performance sedan cast with a new V6 engine pumping top-of-class power below a chiseled hood -- behaves itself superbly on this dicey road, rear wheels throwing torque muscle into each turn as the 245/45R19 Continental SportContact3 summer tires claw for traction.

Tap flanking finger paddles posted behind the suede-wrapped steering wheel to play the upshift/downshift game when slicing apexes in the curvy stuff at a swift clip.

Or put your foot into the pedal on the rare straightaway but hang on because this thing leaps to action.

At its debut in 2003 the car made history as the first rear-wheel-drive (RWD) vehicle in Cadillac's fleet since 1979 and the first to offer a manual transmission for a RWD Caddy in half a century.

In 2008 a make-over for Generation 2.0 of CTS brought fresh package styling and a wheel track two inches wider with traction in conventional RWD or on-demand all-wheel-drive (AWD) and two powertrain choices.

For 2012, a lighter and more powerful V6 applies to the top two trims of the 2012 Cadillac CTS and all editions wear a new shield-shaped front grille bearing Cadillac's Wreath & Crest emblem. [Read full review]