One Week With: 2016 Cadillac CT6 Luxury 2.0T

It’s an admittedly annoying habit among auto journalists of a certain age. We like to think of where modern models fit into the automotive landscape based on the histories of the brands in question. This is why we often complain about model names like ATS, CTS, and CT6. What happened to such cool names as Calais, DeVille and Fleetwood Brougham?

Maybe not Fleetwood Brougham.

Anyway, now there are rumors that the next Cadillac ATS will grow in size and squeeze out the midsize CTS. That leaves Cadillac’s new CT6 as the standard-bearer passenger car for the brand that’s trying to reestablish itself as a viable competitor with Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Jaguar.

After driving a 2016 Cadillac CT6 Luxury 2.0T RWD and a twin-turbo, 3.0-liter AWD Premier, that strategy, if General Motors’ flagship brand adapts it, will work very well. For much of the 1950s and ’60s, one body shell served a variety of Cadillac models, from the “base” Series 62 (later, Calais) to the heart-of-the-market Series 60/DeVille to the Fleetwood Broughams.

As equipped, our CT6 Luxury is the modern-day Series 62/Calais. Equipped with a 265-hp turbo 2.0-liter four, eight-speed automatic, and rear-wheel-drive, and made with GM’s patented aluminum-to-steel welding process, the big Caddy bests the midsize CTS by 1 mpg city. Highway numbers are the same.

The CT6 weighs less than the CTS, after all. It seems unlikely that designing the next CTS for the same sort of aluminum-intensive construction would pay off with a proportionate advantage in weight reduction and fuel efficiency. The CT6’s wider track and longer wheelbase, in fact, can take advantage of the Corporate Average Fuel Economy standard’s “footprint” calculation. Therein lies the brilliance of the Cadillac CT6: It’s a modern take on the traditional large sedan, one that can be fitted to meet the needs and desires of a wide variety of luxury consumers.

What’s it like?

“Everything about the CT6 2.0T ranks for me as ‘almost there,’” says road test editor Eric Weiner.

Yes, it’s that same damnation with faint praise that has marked Cadillac’s long climb from mediocrity to competitiveness that began about the time GM began to reverse the brand’s switch to front-wheel drive nearly two decades ago.

The “almost there” relates mostly to interior and exterior styling. The inside is nicely appointed but is still playing catch-up against the Germans, while the outside is watered down from the American exuberance of the Sixteen concept and second-generation CTS, in part to pander to the Chinese market.

“Inside, the CT6 has a lot of the right pieces, but it doesn’t add up to something that can take your breath away,” Weiner continues. “The seats are extremely comfortable and would be perfect for long commutes and road trips, and the materials and design are far ahead of the CTS, but it doesn’t have that distinct flavor of being top of the line.”

Nonetheless, your humble author easily impressed his visiting sister-in-law and her teenage daughter—accustomed to the family Mazda CX-9—with the car’s twin sunroofs, power rear sunshade, rear armrest with media controls and 10-inch diagonal screens that retract into the front seatbacks. The rear seat has far more legroom and headroom than the CTS. Unlike its older midsize sibling, the CT6 places equal emphasis on backseat passengers, so our visitors were treated as well as driver and passenger. Sis-in-law also was impressed with the car’s quietness and its comfort over Metro Detroit’s rough roads. The CT6 does it without driver-adjusted electronic chassis settings (Magnetic Ride Control is available), a refreshing departure from the German luxury sedan standard.

The Caddy’s suspension is the antithesis of the latest BMW 7 Series. It combines a compliant ride that absorbs expansion strips with controlled, minimal lean in the corners. This is what BMW used to be before models like the 7 Series began to rely on multiple settings that let you choose between too stiff and too floaty. It’s fully appropriate for the car and doesn’t cry out for an enthusiasts’ CT6-V variant. Leave that to the ATS replacement.

“I really tip my hat to Cadillac for making a car that’s almost the size of an S-Class and yet weighs less than a CTS,” Weiner says. “You can really feel it, too, when you throw the CT6 into a corner. It feels a lot more eager and lively than any of the Germans and still tracks beautifully on the highway with that sense of stability and heft you want in a big sedan.”

The 2.0-liter turbo is adequate for powering the full-size, lightweight luxury sedan—but it’s only adequate. Other engine options include the new 3.6-liter V-6 and the 3.0-liter twin-turbo V-6, either paired only with all-wheel drive. There’s a new overhead cam V-8 on the way, but that’s at least a couple of years into the future. Downsized turbo engines are quickly becoming status quo even in larger cars, and the Cadillac’s engine is better than most in terms of its lag.

“The turbo-four makes 295 lb-ft of torque, which is the perfect amount to make the CT6 smoothly gain momentum without ever really waiting for boost to build,” Weiner says. Though not an autobahn stormer, the tiny turbo moves the car out into traffic nicely, paired with its eight-speed automatic, which never prompted Eric to sample the shift-paddles.

Cadillac’s CT6 is a large luxury sedan that uses the most advanced body construction of any car in its class, and you can buy a base model for barely $8,000 more than the midsize CTS. It’s a fine vessel for a variety of equipment levels that make it anything from a large premium economy-size competitor for the E-Class/5 Series to a bargain S-Class/7 Series/A8, and it has even greater potential with SuperCruise semi-autonomy (some time in calendar 2017) and the OHC V-8 on the way. The CT6 represents Cadillac’s best chance of reviving its Standard of the World reputation by setting a new, higher standard for the brand.

2016 Cadillac CT6 Luxury 2.0T Specifications

On Sale:	Now
Price:	$59,390/$65,315 (base/as tested)
Engine:	2.0L turbo DOHC 16-valve I-4/265 hp @ 5,500 rpm/295 lb-ft @ 3,000-4,500 rpm
Transmission:	8-speed automatic
Layout:	4-door, 4-passenger, front-engine, RWD sedan
EPA Mileage:	22/31 mpg (city/hwy)
L x W x H:	204 x 74 x 57.9 in
Wheelbase:	122.4 in
Weight:
0-60 MPH:	N/A
Top Speed:	N/A

The post One Week With: 2016 Cadillac CT6 Luxury 2.0T appeared first on Automobile Magazine.