[ronz_2507]

This may be a long post as it describes all the aspects, which went into getting the beast.

It may be clichéd lines but I am going to use it anyway:

‘Life is too short to drive boring cars.’
‘If you don’t look back at her after you have parked YOU BOUGHT THE WRONG CAR.’

That’s enough of lines, I am sure you get the point. Its same emotion every time I park my American Beauty – My Cadillac CTS.


I relocated to Dubai last year in 2018. For a car lover this place is like a candy store for a kid. After getting the driving license (which is another story) I was absolutely lost on what I would like to buy. Everyday the choice would change though I had a few broad criteria on what I wanted:
• Fun to drive
• Unique
• Quick (0-100 less than 6 seconds)
• 4 doors

A colleague of mine was selling his Ford Explorer 4*4, while the vehicle was amazing and ticked most of the boxes I did not want to get a SUV now. I wanted something low to the ground and FAST! I scour the net for good deals and narrow my search to the below:
• Jaguar XE
• Alfa Romeo Guilia
• Cadillac ATS 3.6
• Dodge Charger RT
• Volvo S60 Polestar – Only in Rebel Blue
• BMW 3 series (328i, 330i or 335i)
As you see my car wasn’t even in the list above, so below is the criteria which ensued.

Jaguar – Didn’t find decent XE which I liked, found a few XF however they were either too old or warranty would expire in a couple of months. While I have nothing against Jag owners, however I didn’t want to get a premium car without the safety of the warranty.

Alfa Romeo – I still maintain this is one of the most beautiful cars on the road. But the price of any of them was way out of my budget.

Cadillac ATS – Most of the ATS I found were the 2.5 NA engines and I was just not interested in them as they don’t have very good performance and 2.0T engines were very new and I didn’t get any which fit the bill. There were a few 3.6 V6 in my budget, however like the Jag on the bitter end of their warranties.

Charger – Mostly V6s were available in my budget, the V8s are very popular and found them very common so dropped the idea.

Volvo S60 – Loved one talked to the owner however before I could come to an agreement the car was sold! Never found one in the trim and colour I wanted the elusive beast!

BMW – Expensive so dropped the idea I wasn’t interested in anything less than the 328i.

After this I went to the Cadillac dealer one afternoon to just check out the ATS with no intention to buy, however to my surprise the dealer had the certified fleet to the back. They had just received a black CTS 3.6 V6 from a customer who wanted to upgrade to an Escalade as per the sales representative. That’s when I see my beauty! It ticked all the boxes lets go by the list again:
• Fun to drive – Oh yeah
• Unique - Definitely
• Quick (0-100 less than 6 seconds) – 6.1 seconds I can live with that
• 4 doors – Of course
He started her up and it was the top trim with all the bells and whistles the snarl of the V6 was beautiful. Granted not a rumble of a V8 but boy oh boy.

Loved the car, was really tempted to sign the papers however went home to do some research only to realise that this was the car in the Matrix highway scene. Almost felt as if the car was calling for me, checked online for reviews and I was sold. Called the sales person next day saying I am coming in the evening and booking the car. Did the paperwork fast forward a few days and I get the message from the dealership "Sir congrats on your purchase your car is ready for delivery. We thank you for your business." Reach the dealership and meet the sales representative but dont see the car ask him about where is my car. He smiles and says we are just wiping it and will just bring it around in the mean time you could please work with my colleague to finish the paperwork. I finish the paperwork and then she pulls up into the showroom and boy did it look BEAUTIFUL!!. All features are explained to me and we click some pictures.


Its only after that the feeling sets in this is mine!

Fast forward to the review what I absolutely love about the car.

• Looks - Those vertical DRLs and the design of Cadillac with their Art and Science philosophy is stunning!
  Attachment 1843929

• V6 Snarl - Yes its not a V8 but the V6 isnt a slouch either its over 3litres of American sophistication at 331bhp and 373Nm of torque boy does it pull hard and the cold starts sound amazing!

• Handling - Yes for an American car, she can handle yes she is not as sharp as a 3 series but its not far behind. I shows that GM has worked on the CTS and ATS to not handle like a boat. The adaptive suspension is soft at low speeds but as the speeds pick up the ride firms up and she is ready for the twisty roads.
  

• Auto Park- The car can park itself in a parallel parking spot, while I can park the car at most of the places but this feature is definitely no gimmick and at certain instances it parks way better than me for which I absolutely love it. I just need to control the accelerator and brake else the car steers on its own and prompts when to put the car in forward or reverse.

Things I dislike about the car

• Quality of plastics/rubbers - While the majority of the car is build beautifully however there are chinks in the armour. Some of the plastics have come off which was an easy fix with some super glue. The rubber padding on the interior cup holders have come undone as they were stuck with glue which had come off and the rubber padding on the key is slowly starting to peel. Yes its annoying but they are tiny/minor grievances which some super glue has easily fixed.

Overall I absolutely love the car and with the safety of the manufacturer warranty I love the ride handling and yes everytime I park I do look back at her

[ronz_2507]

Other things I love about her

• DRLS - Those vertical DRL's which is signature of Cadillac. I just love the way the car looks in the evening. They almost resemble fangs! They are quite bright and do good job as partially lighting up roads in the evenings or dark parking garages.
  

• V-Sport Wheels - I was lucky to get optional 18 inch stain grey V sport wheels which just adds to the look. The Brembo brakes which come with the car show beautifully under those wheels. I do intend to paint them to a brighter color to show off the design with the necessary Cadillac logo.
  

• Interiors - The fit and finish is beautiful and while it may not be subtle like the Europeans, however I have always loved the American design language. Though there are a lot of reviews which bash the infotainment system CUE (Cadillac User Experience), honestly while its a minor annoyance its not something which one doesnt get used to and learns to live with it. The touch sensitive central panel is just stunning and the hidden compartment which can be accessed by just swiping the metal panel is really suave and a great party trick to show after the auto park feature.

• Metallic Paddle Shifters - The mettallic paddle shifters feel beautiful and just add to the sporty vibe of the car. Its a shame why CTS doesnt sell a whole lot more compared to its rivals.

• Jerkyl and Hyde nature - She is a sedate drive with a smooth and quiet ride when I just want to cruise in the evening (though such instances are rare). However, press the throttle a little and she will totally transform into a snarling angry animal and lunge forward (this is me most of the time). Switch off the traction control and ESP and a open stretch of road, it is an absolute joy to feel the engine pull, engine snarl and finally getting pinned back in the seat.

Things which I feel could have also been better

• V8 burble - Yes I have said that the V6 snarl is beautiful but there is no replacement for a V8 burble.

• No Android Auto - My car doesnt have android auto however newer ones have it integrated and this is something I really miss after using it a couple of times on the loaner cars I got when the car was in service.

A full tank is about 70 liters with 5 liters in reserve which I refuel when ever I get the reserve indicator. It costs me around 120-125 AED to fill her up on the Super (98 octane fuel here).

The real sweet spot of the car is in sport mode cruising on the highways at 140-150kmph. GM engineers have definitely worked on the chassis as she feels comfortable on the ghats as well here but at the end of the day she is a long car and its the CTS-V which is a monster! with crazy wheels and adaptive dampers.

The issue is the way she masks speeds is shocking. I have to keep a special eye here with the large number of speed cameras as it is extremely easy to snatch up the fines quite easily.

As far as maintenance is concerned well the car is under warranty and service contract for a few more years so not very concerned.

Lastly would I consider my next car as a Cadillac - Maybe, but will definitely try to get a V8 next time.

[ronz_2507]

All about her


Costs and Upkeep.
She is directly from Michigan and was made in Dec 2014 (so technically 2015). As per standard Cadillac policy my car has 4 years bumper to bumper warranty or until 100,000kms and service paid for the same time. I had bought my car during the months of Ramadan so the dealership agreed to throw in an additional year of extended warranty of critical components so now my car is very much under warranty till the end of Dec 2019. I do have an option of purchasing additional warranty before the current one expires which I shall definitely be doing and isn’t too pricey for a car of this standard. Extended warranty is approximately 3,600aed per year (appox 70,000 INR).

The service contract is paid for till the end of 2021 or 150,000kms which ever earlier so I am not too worried on that front.

Service intervals are either once in a year or every 10,000kms. As I love to drive with phenomenal roads here.




I cover this period in 4.5-5 months so on an average will be going in for service for 2 times in a year. The service is free for routine stuff as its all paid for unless there are any out of the ordinary repairs.
So far I have changed the tires as they were from new and as per law here I would need to change tires once they hit 5 years. This was expensive as I wanted to install the same tires, which the car had come with so the entire set of 4 tires cost 70,000INR. So the car runs on the same factory spec Pirelli P Zero Run flats.

The next expense was changing the battery which cost me 16,000INR. Apart from this there has been no other expense so far.


However the smiles per miles cannot be accounted for.

[ronz_2507]

Living with her

Well yes she is an unconventional choice for a premium car. However, I didn’t want the same convention as everyone so I am happy with my choice. The unfortunate part of this decision is come resale time she wouldn’t be able to fetch the top bucks. However, I more concerned about does the car make me happy now? The answer is YES! So resale well it would hurt but I can live with that.

In case you would like to know kitna deti hai – on 98 octane I get an average of 9.1kmpl.

As she is almost a full size sedan, interiors are quite comfortable. Yes it’s a ingress and egress may be an issue for anyone coming from a full size SUV but otherwise its fine. The back seat I would recommend is definitely a strict 2 seater as the 3 seat doesn’t have much leg room owing to the transmission tunnel. Most of the time its just myself and 1 other passenger or maximum 2 passengers so I cant complain on this aspect. The boot is massive! It can definitely swallow multiple full size bags and still have room for more. I have moved houses in this so yes I know it can definitely take a lot of stuff.





The air conditioning and ventilated seats are something which were actually quite surprising for me. It’s a standard notion here that usually Japanese and Korean cars are very good for air conditioning here while the Americans not so much, however despite being a black car with black interiors I do not have any complaints from the air conditioning at all. Yes with the heat the interiors do heat up but within a few minutes the air conditioning cools down the interiors and the ventilated seats definitely help.

[ronz_2507]

CUE

CUE – Cadillac User Experience, is the name of the infotainment system. It’s got a ton of negative review online for its many shortcomings, however to be honest I do find a lot of these issues as over hyped complains. Yes I agree it may not be the perfect system, however coming from the ConnectNext mess in our Hexa back home CUE is like rocket science. CUE at times may be sluggish but I have never faced any issues with the system. The car has BOSE speakers and they sound phenomenal.


Other Hearts

The CTS comes with 2.0 turbo charged engine, 3.6 V6 Naturally aspirated, 3.6 V6 twin turbo charged and the insane 6.2 supercharged V8.

The 2.0T develops close to 270bhp, 3.6NA – 331 bhp, 3.6TT – 440 bhp and the 6.2 V8 develops 640bhp!

My baby pushes 331bhp, which is adequate however as already mentioned before I do miss a V8 burble.

Here I have been fortunate to be part of the Cadillac UAE group and have met many other members and have gotten a great resource incase of any information for my baby.

The only thing, which is sad, GM has officially pulled the plug on the CTS name. The next generation shall now be named as CT5.

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Initial Ownership Section. Thanks for sharing!

[Prathiiik]

Great review of a great car, Ronz2507! Your Cadillac looks beautiful in that black shade. I remember drooling over a white CTS back at home in Burdubai. The owner also had a white Escalade parked right next to the CTS, making me stare at both for 5 full minutes while walking past. I'm a big fan of these 4 door rockets which combine fun and practicality. For me, the best part about the CTS is the way it looks, - no unwanted curves, creases or loud designs, just simple clean lines which make the car look clean and classy.

Looks like you've already been to the Hatta dam, how did the car perform on those Twisties? Also, 9.1 kmpl isn't bad for a big 3.6 L V6!

In my opinion, the pre owned route is the best way to buy a car in Dubai. One can get cars like the Patrol for the price of an Explorer, or even a 5 series for the cost of a new Accord!


Wishing you many more happy kilometres and smiles with your CTS, let the V6 keep making you grin every time you floor it

Drive safe!
Prathik

[james]

Congrats on the CTS, Ronz! Great looking car with straight simple lines and it certainly looks like you got a good example of one. This seems to be the second big American here after Raj_5004's Chrysler 300s. My wife saw a caddy cabriolet the other day and hasn't stopped talking about it. Wont be surprised if she decides to get one if we upgrade.

Originally Posted by ronz_2507

Living with her kitna deti hai – on 98 octane I get an average of 9.1kmpl.

Is this more of highway or 50:50 highway/City?

Cheers!!

[ronz_2507]

Originally Posted by Prathiiik

Looks like you've already been to the Hatta dam, how did the car perform on those Twisties? Also, 9.1 kmpl isn't bad for a big 3.6 L V6!

Thanks She is a joy to drive especially with the paddle shifters. I put it in sport mode and boy does she grip! In now way does it feel like a big american car and can easily keep up with any of the sporty sedans. I prefer the roads of Jebal Hafeet as there the twisties are even more and so is the elevation.

Yup the fuel economy part is the surprising aspect of it!

[ronz_2507]

Originally Posted by james

Congrats on the CTS, Ronz! Great looking car with straight simple lines and it certainly looks like you got a good example of one. This seems to be the second big American here after Raj_5004's Chrysler 300s. My wife saw a caddy cabriolet the other day and hasn't stopped talking about it. Wont be surprised if she decides to get one if we upgrade.


Is this more of highway or 50:50 highway/City?

Cheers!!

Thanks James, yes his review prompted me to write a review of my car as well. May I know why caddy cabrio as I dont think its a modern one would definitely be a beautiful vintage.
The fuel economy is definitely mixed driving I usually range between 8.5 - 9.5 kmpl

[james]

Originally Posted by ronz_2507

May I know why caddy cabrio as I dont think its a modern one would definitely be a beautiful vintage.

Im unsure myself. Maybe a XLR or a chop top CTS.

Cheers!

[ronz_2507]

Originally Posted by james

Im unsure myself. Maybe a XLR or a chop top CTS.

Cheers!

If its a XLR then it truly is a rare beast.

[Vinay23]

The ATS and the CTS are my all time favourite american sedans. The creases and the shoulder line give it a very VERY distinctive look, in a good way of course. The CTS is a testament of a deviation from the staple mercs and beemers, which now lack the pull that they had a few years back (excluding the G30 5 series and the W222 S class).

Your car indeed is a sleeper. On the outside it looks like an executive sedan meant for the mundane 9-5 office comuters, but then when it comes to the engine. Phew. 3.6 ? check. V6 ? check. What more could you ask for?


Have a great time with the car and happy motoring.

[ronz_2507]

Originally Posted by Vinay23

Your car indeed is a sleeper. On the outside it looks like an executive sedan meant for the mundane 9-5 office comuters, but then when it comes to the engine. Phew. 3.6 ? check. V6 ? check. What more could you ask for?

Thanks for that yes I agree it definitely stands out with the design edges and sharp lines. A few pictures below


Regarding the engine below is the picture of where all the magic happens.


I recently discovered the infotainment screen can play videos

[ronz_2507]

Its been raining the past couple of days here and also was helping my sister move houses so had a few minor scuffs below are some more pictures of the beauty queen post cleaning and buffing out the small scratches. Also attaching some other pictures from a recent weekend drive to the Oman border.