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After decades of decay, Cadillac began a transformation in the waning years of the last century that would allow the brand to compete against modern luxury brands. Decrepit beasts like the late Eldorado and Seville were euthanized and, while the decision to switch mostly to alpha-numeric naming was dubious, Cadillac finally started creating cars that could compete directly with the best from Europe and Japan, and the first generation CTS was one of them.

In spite of this progress, the Germans still had something Cadillac lacked, namely AMG, M and RS models. So Cadillac devised the V-Series, the first of which was the 2004 CTS-V. Just as BMW does with the M3 and M5, Audi with the RS4 and RS6 and Mercedes with innumerable AMGs, the CTS-V had a bigger, more powerful engine; beefier brakes and tires; a suspension to match and an upgraded interior. This, however, is an arms race that has yet to subsie in spite of ever higher fuel prices. With BMW, Mercedes and Audi now offering even more powerful engines, Cadillac has stepped up to the plate with an all-new CTS-V and we had a chance to drive it at the even newer Monticello Motor Club in New York. With a new supercharged LSA engine closely related to the LS9 in the Corvette ZR1, the CTS-V makes some big promises.

American automakers started trying to create what they called Euro-sedans way back in the mid-’80s. At the time, they thought a European sedan was nothing more than a de-chromed version of a regular sedan that was stiffly suspended with a little more tire. The result of this thinking was cars like the Chevy Celebrity EuroSport and Pontiac 6000 STE. Needless to say, none of these were competitive with Audi or BMW were offering. Cadillac didn’t even try to compete at back then since it was still selling big Fleetwoods and De Villes. Fast forward two decades and GM has well and truly learned how to build cars that can attack the heart of the German sport sedan segment, as the regular 2008 CTS, which has drawn largely rave reviews since its debut last year, has demonstrated.

We got a close look at the CTS-V in June at the Milford Proving Ground and went for a ride in one so we already knew the car was fast. With 556 horsepower and 551 lb-ft of torque, how could it not be? But many past GM efforts performed well on the controlled surfaces of a proving ground environment but fell flat on their faces in the real world. So before we hit Monticello, we embarked on a 90-minute route from White Plains, NY that took us through a mix of urban stop-and-go, freeways, small towns and some twisty mountain roads.

The driving environment of the CTS-V is largely the same as the standard CTS, but with some upgraded trim like micro-fiber inserts in the seats and around steering wheel that feel rich to the touch and look great. The standard seats are based on those in the standard CTS, but unless you have an extra-wide girth, we recommend opting for the 14-way Recaros – you won’t be sorry. The standard seats are reasonably supportive and comfortable, but the lower cushions are too short. The Recaros have adjustable thigh supports, as well as adjustable everything else.

The CTS-V does transmit more of the road surface to your back-side than the regular sedan. You will not mistake it for one of those floaty, ’80s-era Fleetwoods. Nor is it anything like an early C4 vintage Z51 Corvette. The magnetic ride damping system does a great job of filtering out the unpleasantness while still letting you be aware of what’s passing underneath. Similarly, the audible feedback of the tires and exhaust are louder than a base CTS but far less than a typical aftermarket exhaust system. It’s a nice balance that lets you know you’re driving a serious automobile with very serious sporting pretensions, but that it doesn’t mind getting up and going to work each morning.



Visually, the CTS-V stands out in a crowd more than either its lesser siblings or its predecessor. The big mesh grille now has twice the open area of the previous V, a necessity to flow enough air for the up to seven heat exchangers. The CTS-V is also the first GM car to be equipped with an electric park brake. The base CTS has one of those old school foot operated jobs, but Cadillac engineers wanted more foot room for the manual transmission CTS-V.

The EPB leaves extra room for the dead pedal on which you can rest your left foot when not using the clutch. With 551 lb-ft of twisting force, the clutch needs a lot clamping force. Fortunately, the use of a dual plate clutch like the one in the ZR1 means that your left leg won’t end up being twice the size of your right. The clutch effort is nicely weighted and the travel is well matched to the accelerator and brake.



Once we got to Monticello, there was a briefing from CTS-V lead performance integration engineer Chris Berube. Along with all the technical details about the engine, he gave us a warning about shift points. Showing us the power and torque curves, he noted that most engines reach a power peak somewhere below their maximum rpm. Even without looking at the tach, you can feel the loss of acceleration as you approach the red-line. Such is not the case with the LSA power-curve. It has no peak, rather it just ends at the red-line. If the valve-train and other components could withstand higher sustained speeds, it could make even more than its advertised 556 horsepower. Thus, it’s very easy to hit the CTS-V’s rev-limiter before you know what’s happening. The speedometer and tach have red tracer LEDs that follow the needles as they arc around the dial, and as you approach red-line they start to flash.

This new Monticello track is absolutely astounding. It’s a 4.1-mile, 22-turn natural terrain circuit designed by veteran road racer Brian Redman and track architect Bruce Hawkins. We’ll tell you more about the Monticello Motor Club in a separate post later, but suffice it to say that this was a perfect locale for the debut of the CTS-V. It took some getting used to since none of us had seen the track before, especially since it’s so long, and with 500 feet of elevation change, there are many different types of turns. It’s challenging for drivers of any skill level, especially driving a monster like the CTS-V.

Like the team responsible for the ZR1, the CTS-V crew strove to build a car with immense performance that was at the same time very usable on both the street and track. A driver with less skill can thrash it without getting bitten back at every wrong move. For those with a higher degree of skill, the CTS-V offers a higher ceiling for exploring even greater limits. Switching the stability control system to Competitive mode raises all the thresholds before the system will intervene, which allows you to hang the tail out in a controlled drift before reeling it back in.



Switching the magnetic ride control from Touring to Sport will noticeably reduce body roll. Sport mode is probably a bit too harsh for use every day, unless you live somewhere with really smooth pavement. Ride quality wasn’t an issue on the perfectly contoured pavement of the Monticello track and the stiffer damping allowed the car to respond to our inputs much quicker than in Touring mode.

With a mass nearly 900 lbs more than the ZR1 and considerably less Michelin rubber wrapped around its wheels, the CTS-V could never be expected to be as nimble as the two-seat Chevy. However, any car with this much power that can put it to the ground with no hint of wheel hop or axle tramp is clearly doing something right. Cadillac uses an asymmetric half-shaft setup that has different natural frequencies on each side of the rear axle, which prevents the two wheels from getting into a race condition. Combined with the traction control system that uses signals from the stability control to vector the torque and help turn-in, driving the CTS-V extremely fast comes naturally.

Production of the new CTS-V starts in October and Cadillac hasn’t finalized pricing yet. We’re told to expect a base price of about $60,000 with only a handful of options, but the only option you really need are those Recaro seats. That’s more than $20,000 less than a BMW M5 or a Mercedes-Benz AMG E63 – and the Cadillac is faster than both. For those who crave the supercharged grunt of a ZR1 but regularly need space for more than one passenger, the 2009 CTS-V will get you shockingly close in a remarkably sophisticated package that’s a bargain in this segment.

After decades of decay, Cadillac began a transformation in the waning years of the last century that would allow the brand to compete against modern luxury brands. Decrepit beasts like the late Eldorado and Seville were euthanized and, while the decision to switch mostly to alpha-numeric naming was dubious, Cadillac finally started creating cars that could compete directly with the best from Europe and Japan, and the first generation CTS was one of them.

In spite of this progress, the Germans still had something Cadillac lacked, namely AMG, M and RS models. So Cadillac devised the V-Series, the first of which was the 2004 CTS-V. Just as BMW does with the M3 and M5, Audi with the RS4 and RS6 and Mercedes with innumerable AMGs, the CTS-V had a bigger, more powerful engine; beefier brakes and tires; a suspension to match and an upgraded interior. This, however, is an arms race that has yet to subsie in spite of ever higher fuel prices. With BMW, Mercedes and Audi now offering even more powerful engines, Cadillac has stepped up to the plate with an all-new CTS-V and we had a chance to drive it at the even newer Monticello Motor Club in New York. With a new supercharged LSA engine closely related to the LS9 in the Corvette ZR1, the CTS-V makes some big promises. Read on after the jump to see if it delivers.

While we were in Virginia attending the inaugural race of the Jetta TDI cup series, Volkswagen provided us hacks with a some new Jetta Sportwagens with which to make the 45 minute morning and evening commute between the Berry Hill Inn and the race track. Like the last generation Jetta Wagon, the new Sportwagen is branded as a Jetta in North America because Jetta is Volkswagen’s top-selling model here. The rest of the world, however, knows this estate-bodied Volkswagen as the Golf Variant. No matter, because the Golf/Rabbit and Jetta share all their important hardware and are, for all intents and purposes, the same car.

In typical fashion, the new Sportwagen has grown since the previous model was retired and is now nearly as big as the last-gen Passat wagon. My first impression upon climbing into the Sportwagen was how it felt nearly as roomy as the 2000 Passat wagon that resides in half of my garage at home. VW provided an assortment of cars with both 5-speed three-pedal and 6-speed two-pedal transmission arrangements. Unfortunately, all were paired with the base 2.5L inline five-cylinder engine. Check out my impressions of the new Jetta Sportwagen after the jump.

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HATCI opened up in Superior Township, MI in late 2005 and the first major assignment for the engineers and technicians at the facility was the ‘09 Sonata refresh. About 150 engineers,

 designers and technicians occupy the 200,000 sq. ft building with more being added on a regular basis. The 2006 Sonata was designed and

developed primarily at headquarters in Korea. The update was handled almost entirely at HATCI and focused primarily on taking what was fundamentally a pretty decent car and making it more desirable all around. They wanted to go from a car that people bought mainly because it was a good value to one that customers actually wanted to be in.

As a mid-cycle refresh, major styling changes were obviously well beyond the budget. Hyundai National Product Planning manager Scott Margason explained that in this segment, styling changes have relatively little impact on the buying decision. Other functional changes are far more important. To that end, Hyundai’s designers created a new nose with a more prominent grille and reworked headlights. The taillights and bumper covers also got some revisions. Aside from the grille, though,

observers would have a hard time distinguishing a 2009 Sonata from a 2008 based on outward appearance.

Moving to the inside is a whole different story. Here, it’s immediately clear where HATCI spent its money. And they certainly seemed to spend it wisely. In an unusual move for mid-cycle facelift, the interior of the Sonata was gutted and completely redesigned, drawing many cues from last year’s Veracruz CUV. The previous, rather lumpy and disjointed design has been replaced by a modern and coherent look.

The center stack is all new with satin-finish metallic trim along the sides and clean simple controls for the radio and climate controls. The lower portion of the stack features two decent sized storage cubbies. Smooth-opening doors close off both compartments. Hyundai also developed a new in-dash navigation system that includes a touchscreen display and voice operation. The nav unit includes a gyroscope to sense vehicle motion and also reads wheel speed data, allowing it to continue dead reckoning the vehicle position even when driving in urban environments where tall buildings can interfere with the line of sight to GPS satellites. In keeping with Hyundai’s value orientation, the nav system costs $1,250 compared to the $2,000 charged by most manufacturers.

According to Margason, one of the complaints about the previous Sonata iteration concerned its seats, specifically the lower cushion feeling both too narrow and too short. After a lot of benchmarking and customer evaluation, Hyundai determined that it needed to change the angle of the bottom cushion. Lengthening the cushion by about 18mm and tilting it up by just over 2 degrees was enough to dramatically change the way it felt.

Both the four-cylinder and V6 engines were upgraded by the HATCI engineers. The 2.4L four-pot picked up 13hp and 4lb-ft, putting it at 175hp and 168lb-ft. The engine now has variable valve timing on both the intake and exhaust cams, a new intake system for better airflow and what Hyundai calls an “enhanced performance sound”. It’s also rated as a partial zero emissions vehicle (PZEV) in California. The four can be had with either a five-speed stick or five-speed automatic, although only about four percent of buyers opt for the three-pedal setup. Hyundai is currently ramping up production of the fours at its plant in Alabama and by the end of the year all engines for the Sonata should be locally built.

The 3.3L V6 also got some intake upgrades and new calibrations that bump power up 249hp (from 234) and torque to 229lb-ft. The six is only available with the automatic.

After we got the rundown on the new model from Margason, we paired off and set out on our journey of discovery. All the available test cars had automatics and Gary Witzenburg and I set off in a four-cylinder Limited model. It was immediately apparent that the front seats did feel better than most competing Asian brands. I’ve often complained about the short seat cushions on many vehicles — particularly Toyotas — but the Sonata definitely came through here. The new front seats aren’t quite as good as those in the Accord, which I personally find to be exceptional, but they are very good.

The new dashboard layout is much easier on the eyes than the previous iteration. It looks more modern and stylish, and the Limited model, as expected of a “luxury” trim level, had “wood” trim that flowed from the doors into the dash. There’s plenty of room inside the Sonata in all directions. Like the new Accord, the Sonata’s 121.7 cu.ft. interior causes the EPA to rank it as a large car.

Unlike the Honda, which is over 5 inches longer, the Sonata manages to stay relatively compact on the outside. The current Mazda6 is the only car in the class to come in under the Sonata’s 188.9 inch overall length. The Hyundai is among the widest, though, at 72.1 inches. That means there’s plenty of space in the back seat as well as the front.

On the road, no one is going to mistake the Sonata for a sports car. The suspension does a good job of absorbing the worst that Michigan roads can provide, and even crossing railroad tracks at an angle doesn’t upset the car. The ride’s not floaty, but it does feel a bit isolated. Some might find the rim of the steering wheel to be a bit on the skinny side, and feedback is essentially nonexistent.

The four-banger operates smoothly under all conditions, but even the extra power of the 2009 model won’t have you mistaking this for anything but a mainstream mid-size sedan. Flooring the go pedal demonstrates the so-called “enhanced performance sound”, but the accompanying thrust is merely adequate. That said, “adequate” is more than enough for most drivers, and the 2.4L Sonata does just fine merging onto a highway. As with other aspects of the car, transmission shifts were uneventful. That is, they were generally smooth enough to be unnoticeable unless you were listening to the engine or watching the tach.

After our stopover at the Chelsea Teddy Bear factory, we swapped the four-cylinder Limited for a V6 SE model. The SE gets stiffer spring rates, improved damping and more roll stiffness than its counterparts. On the inside, the faux lumber is replaced with satin-finish metallic trim that should probably be standard across the board. On the road, the V6 SE was composed through the curves and generally felt a little more tied down than the other versions. As expected, the V6 felt a lot stronger than the four and was as refined as anything from the Japanese brands.

Overall, there’s nothing about the Sonata to get the enthusiast’s blood boiling, but this segment isn’t about that.

The changes to the ‘09 make this car a vastly more pleasing place to spend time. It’s more attractive, the seats are more comfortable and the car will get you where you’re going with minimal commotion. The Sonata has significantly more room than the Camry and the styling inside and out is less controversial than the latest Accord. We’ll be waiting for our chance to spend a little more time with the new Sonata.

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