The new 2020 Cadillac CT4 lineup is being pitched as a subcompact entry aimed at the BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe, Mercedes A-Class/CLA-Class, and Audi A3/S3 sedans. But as has so often been the case throughout the brand’s recent history, the CT4 lands as kind of a “tweener” in many respects—aligned in price with the subcompacts but sized closer to the compacts. So does it come off as a roaring bargain, or like a big kid in class who was held back for a grade or two?
Our first crack at the CT4 is (for now) the top performing model—the CT4-V. But Cadillac is quick to point out that its price and performance are aligned with the mid-level (35 and 43 models) from Mercedes-AMG or an S3 in Audi’s lineup of A3/S3/RS3. This may in part be an attempt to manage expectations vis-à-vis the CT4-V’s 464-hp/445-lb-ft ATS-V predecessor. This is not that car.
How Much Power Does the CT4-V Make?
For motivation, the CT4-V uses a custom-tailored version of the big 2.7-liter turbo I-4 engine that we’ve praised in its Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup applications, hitched to GM’s wonderful ten-speed automatic. The engine shares its basic block and head design with the pickups, along with the three-profile sliding cam-lobe valvetrain technology that supports active-fuel-management (cylinder shutoff for the middle two cylinders) to help tailor the engine’s power delivery and fuel efficiency to suit the driver’s demands. All of this is convincingly tuned to suit the very different mission of a Cadillac sport sedan. In its V state of tune, it makes 325 hp at 5,600 rpm and a stout 380 lb-ft of torque from 2,000 to 4,000 rpm. (In the pickups and in the CT4’s premium luxury trim grade, it makes 310 hp and 348–350 lb-ft). A Cadillac feature we love, which the pickups don’t get, is a variable exhaust snarl punctuated by fuel-cut snorts during shifts and overrun.
How Refined Is the Truck Engine in This Cadillac?
Last June, when defending a potential personal purchase of a base CT4 over the V (before any of us had driven either car or a 2.7-liter pickup), I expressed skepticism about the big four-banger achieving luxury car smoothness and refinement. Well giant counter-rotating balance shafts and sufficiently absorptive powertrain mounts must be doing the trick because I detected no untoward vibrations in the car—or the truck. I was never even aware of the engine operating in its two-cylinder mode, so either that almost never happens, or the various countermeasures work wonders. Indeed, the intake and exhaust notes are actively managed via Cadillac’s sound systems to remove unwanted frequencies, but this 2.7-liter nevertheless ends up sounding a bit coarser than the 2.0-liters powering its competitors.
How Fast Is the CT4-V?
In our 3,780-pound CT4-V, each horse tugs 11.6 pounds around—that’s 2–6 ounces less than the burden each horse bears in an Audi S3 Quattro, BMW M235i xDrive, or Mercedes-AMG A 35 4Matic. The optimum launch procedure at the test track is to set the drive-mode selector to Sport or Track, apply the brake, floor the gas to achieve the torque-converter stall-speed of 2,500 rpm, then release the brake and let the transmission do the work (it upshifts before redline regardless of any paddle-shifting efforts). The result measured on our Vbox: 5.1 seconds to 60 mph and a 13.6-second, 104.1-mph quarter-mile run (the results on Cadillac’s built-in 0-60 timer: 4.9 seconds).
Among established competitors, the only one we have test numbers for is a 2016 S3. That pre-facelift (and now last-generation) model weighed 3,420-pounds and routed 292 hp through a six-speed twin-clutch transmission (it has since lost 4 hp and gained a seventh cog). It hit 60 mph in 4.4 seconds on the way to a 13.0-second, 105.3-mph quarter. We hope that our 595-miles-new CT4-V will perform better as it loosens up because we suspect the lighter A 35 and M235i will accelerate more like that S3.
The Hydra-Matic 10L60 deserves a strong shoutout here for its ability to keep this engine humming between the optimal points on the power and torque curves. It always finds the ideal gear for every situation, and it quickly senses when you’re ‘going for it,’ and flashes a “performance shift active” message in the instrument cluster, after which a green gear icon stays lit while it’s active. In this mode it really hangs onto the lower gears and downshifts aggressively when slowing for a turn. The shift paddles work well, but you won’t need them for performance driving. This is benchmark transmission tuning.
How Does the CT4-V Stop and Turn?
Four-piston front Brembo brakes and super-sticky 235/40R18 Continental SportContact 6 SSR tires collaborated to whoa this V from 60 mph in a respectable 104 feet—5 fewer than that S3 needed. And the eBoost variable pedal effort feels great in its “sport” setting, delivering linear brake response after minimal travel. The travel allowed in “tour” mode is notably longer. We measured 0.87g on our bumpier Michigan skidpad, so we expect to see numbers that meet or exceed the S3’s 0.91g back home on our smoother California test track. Subjectively, on our southeast Michigan handling loop, we were impressed with the steering. When set to its “tour” mode, it offers light resistance and a reasonable modicum of road feel—some of which seems to get lost in the heft that the “sport” and “track” settings add. Thanks to rigid mounting of the front subframe and the steering rack to this subframe, there’s absolutely no slop or hysteresis in the steering, which makes threading the CT4-V through a favorite set of esses both intuitive and joyful.
How Is the Ride and Handling?
Rear-drive CT4-Vs get the latest Magnetic Ride Control 4.0 damping system, which now includes accelerometers mounted to each damper, but the space required for this extra equipment doesn’t package with all-wheel-drive, so our test car features new passive variable-damping shocks from ZF. (They save enough money to allow Cadillac to offer AWD for just $500.) We’ve been very impressed with MR 4.0 on the C8 Corvette, and we’re sure it works wonders on the rear-drive CT4, but our car demonstrated remarkable suppleness on the frost heaves and other low amplitude impacts that mar Michigan’s roads, while controlling body motion admirably in the twisties. Body lean is minimal in high-g corners, and the all-wheel traction and high-grip tires enable impressive acceleration out of the corners. And of course, all of the subcompact competitors we’re talking about are based on transverse-engine front-drive architecture, whereas the CT4’s longitudinal rear-drive architecture brings it much closer to the ideal 50/50 front/rear weight distribution. This affords the Cadillac terrific balance that calls to mind a 3 Series or rear-drive 2 Series BMW.
So Is the CT4-V a Performance Bargain or Too Big for Its Class?
The size is a peculiarity. Not only is the CT4-V longer than its subcompact rivals (by 7.8 inches compared with the A 35 and by 11.4 inches relative to the S3), it’s also longer than their compact big brothers (2.2 inches longer than the Mercedes C43 AMG and 0.4 inch longer than an Audi S4). Despite heroic efforts in terms of lightweight materials use and computational optimization of the steel structure, the bigger CT4 ends up weighing 175-220 pounds more than its subcompact rivals. An A220 4Matic that was on hand during this loan felt noticeably lighter and nimbler as a result. Adding insult to this injury is the fact that, according to the tape measure, the CT4 isn’t universally roomier inside. All competitors boast greater rear leg room (and a tiny center hump) while the Mercedes A-Class also boasts more front and rear headroom. At least the Cadillac’s trunk is bigger than all but the BMW M235i xDrive Gran Coupe’s.
As for value, sure enough the pricing lines right up with that of the performance subcompacts, meaning it’s $5,000 to $11,000 cheaper than the compact performance sedan variants, but then they’re all more powerful and about a second quicker to 60 mph.
Should I Buy a Cadillac CT4-V?
Honestly a definitive answer should wait until A) we get another, possibly better broken-in CT4-V on our home track, and B) we get our hands on the A35, M235i Gran Coupe, and the latest S3 to assess how well this Cadillac can hang with its smaller rivals. But even if the numbers above stand, shoppers in this price bracket owe themselves a brisk test drive on a deserted curvy road in this proper rear-drive-biased chassis before committing to one of those transverse-engine all-wheelers. Try the CT4 on for size. It slots between the 2 and 3 Series BMW sedans, and if it fits your needs, it’s priced pretty near 330i xDrive with performance that splits the difference between that car and the M340i xDrive. So yeah, maybe it’s the big, held-back kid in class—but he’s ready to quarterback the varsity team.
2020 Cadillac CT4 V AWD | |
BASE PRICE | $45,990 |
PRICE AS TESTED | $52,010 |
VEHICLE LAYOUT | Front-engine, AWD, 5-pass, 4-door sedan |
ENGINE | 2.7L/325-hp/380-lb-ft turbo DOHC 16-valve I-4 |
TRANSMISSION | 10-speed automatic |
CURB WEIGHT (F/R DIST) | 3,780 lb (52/48%) |
WHEELBASE | 109.3 in |
LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT | 187.2 x 71.5 x 56.0 in |
0-60 MPH | 5.1 sec |
QUARTER MILE | 13.6 sec @ 104.1 mph |
BRAKING, 60-0 MPH | 104 ft |
LATERAL ACCELERATION | 0.87 g (avg) |
EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON | 20/28/23 mpg |
ENERGY CONS, CITY/HWY | 169/120 kW-hrs/100 miles |
CO2 EMISSIONS, COMB | 0.85 lb/mile |
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April 28, 2020 at 12:06PM
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