[Auto] 2020 Cadillac CT5 Review: Get the Turbo Six, When You Can Find One

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The verdict: Starting $10,000 less than the Cadillac CTS it replaces, the new 2020 Cadillac CT5 maintains a generously sized interior in a more affordable package. 

Versus the competition: The CT5’s turbo V-6 and generous size for its price are a rarity, though there are some questionable interior choices for a luxury car. 

The Cadillac CTS is finito for 2020, replaced by the Cadillac CT5, which has been redesigned and repositioned to be a more appropriate competitor for compact luxury sedans like the BMW 3 Series, Audi A4 and Mercedes-Benz C-Class. The Cadillac CT5 has standout attributes, but that doesn’t make it any less of an odd duck compared with the CTS; in fact, its awkward place in the class is what defines the CT5.

Related: 2020 Cadillac CT5-V Test Drive: Great Car, Awful Timing

Despite a distinct pricing advantage compared with its compact rivals — it starts at $37,890 with destination charge — the CT5 has a nearly identical footprint and interior volume as pricier mid-size luxo-sedans like the BMW 5 Series, Audi A6 and Mercedes-Benz E-Class. The CT5 seems to be taking a page from the Book of Genesis — the version written by Hyundai, that is — offering a large car at a low price. That said, even Genesis seems to be changing its ways, given the redesigned 2021 Genesis G80 is now priced closer to the traditional mid-sizers, leaving a nice spot for the CT5.  

Another distinct difference between the CT5 and its German rivals is that it lets you add its more powerful optional engine without forcing you into an entire performance package. Opting for a BMW M340i, Audi S4 or Mercedes-AMG C43 is the only way to get competitors’ up-level turbo-six engines, but they also come with sport suspensions and seats that can compromise comfort — and your wallet. Cadillac has a competitor for those hotter versions — the CT5-V, which has 360 horsepower (see the review) — but it also offers a less spicy 335-hp 3.0-liter as an upgrade over the 237-hp, turbocharged 2.0-liter base engine.

For this review, I tested a CT5 Premium Luxury 3.0-liter with all-wheel drive that was sparsely optioned, with a final price tag of $52,155. For comparison, the last BMW 3 Series we tested were loaded versions of the turbo four-cylinder 330i and M340i, which stickered at $57,000 and $70,000, respectively.

 

 

Tour and Sport modes are activated by a toggle switch ahead of the gear selector. They adjust the expected parameters of engine and transmission responsiveness, as well as how the engine sounds through electronic augmentation via the sound system’s speakers. The 3.0-liter has a naturally tight, sharp soundtrack, so the electronic help comes across as natural and pleasing rather than artificial, as it does with many four-cylinders. 

Choosing Sport mode also changes how the brake pedal feels, thanks to a drive-by-wire braking system that replaces the traditional vacuum brake assist. It’s still using hydraulic fluid and lines for braking, but the boost in brake pressure now comes from an electric motor, not engine vacuum, and the brake pedal is electronic and can alter pedal feel. The difference in brake feel is most apparent in heavy braking use when quickly running up on a sharp corner, not during normal stop-and-go traffic. In Sport mode, the brake pedal’s action is a touch higher in the pedal stroke and pushes back more than in Tour mode. I’m still adjusting my own calibrations to these kinds of systems in non-hybrid or electric vehicles, but the ones in GM’s cars and trucks have a short, hard brake pedal that’s more binary than linear — except the 2020 Chevrolet Corvette, which has the most natural tuning of any GM vehicle I’ve experienced.

Sport Suspension Optional
Cadillac’s appropriately hyped Magnetic Ride Control is available only on the CT5-V, with unique suspension tuning, so what you get in the regular CT5 is a fixed-firmness, passive shock absorber package. It delivers a comfortable ride that communicates road feel without being jarring. It’s not a sport suspension, per se, but this is definitely modern Cadillac suspension tuning, more along the lines of the outgoing ATS and CTS, which were among the most dynamic sedans of their time. 

The previous ATS and CTS were ahead of the competition in terms of giving you what you want from the steering wheel: enough road feel to be communicative but not high-strung, with light assist and quick-ratio steering. The CT5, as well as a CT4-V I drove at the same time, are missing some of that magic. The steering lacks on-center bite and has a slow steering ratio that takes too much steering angle to get a response from the front end. I experienced early understeer — possibly from the all-season tires and relaxed body control — but that concern could be addressed by the existence of the CT5-V, which is a milder sport package, like the former CTS V-Sport versus the powerhouse CTS-V. I caveat these impressions by stating both versions I drove were all-wheel drive. The all-wheel-drive CT5 has a fixed steering ratio versus the rear-wheel-drive CT5’s variable steering ratio, so perhaps the rear-wheel drive’s steering is more responsive, though I haven’t driven one to confirm. 

The larger issue is that BMW is back, and in a bad way for Cadillac. Where Cadillac’s proficient handling package used to embarrass BMW’s, the BMW 3 Series has now found the edge it lost in its previous generation. Pitting the CT5 against a contemporary 3 Series, with or without the M Sport Package and with or without all-wheel drive, would not be a winning move for Cadillac. 

However, the CT5’s larger size and longer wheelbase deliver ride quality that’s sublime, if a little busy, with no jarring jolts over broken pavement. Helping the pleasant highway experience is minimal wind and road noise; any luxury automaker would be thrilled to have the CT5’s isolation. The cabin is well-sealed-off from the outside — most obviously when I took the CT5 through a car wash and it felt like the massive air dryer was a million miles away.