2020 Cadillac CT5

For 2020 though they have an all-new contender in the form of CT5 which is ideally a more polished version of the CTS sedan. By the spec sheet, we can say that the CT5 looks quite a promising car but is it really enough to deter the luxury car buyers from the big germans? that is the thing to see. Its rivalry stems from the likes of BMW 530i, Audi A6 Premium, and Mercedes-Benz E350. 

The Cadillac CT5 is available in four trim options starting with Luxury trim for $37,890 and it comes with all the standard features like LED headlamps and taillamps, a 10-inch display for the infotainment system, active noise cancellation, and a lot more. Spend a couple of thousands more and you can have the Premium Luxury trim which additionally gets leather upholstery seats, wireless charging, rear park assist, and memory settings for driver seats and ORVMs. 

Priced at $41,690 it is a good bargain and for the driving enthusiasts, the Sport trim at $42,690 which is just one grand extra will make more sense with sport grille, spoiler, and Brembo brakes. The V-series, the ultimate trim, has been given all the senses as the others have but with a supreme powertrain unit of 360 hp of power.

There have been some additional packages as well in the bin which are Platinum Package along with fascinating Carbon Fiber interior accents. The CT5 has a Rear-Park assist and Automatic Emergency braking for the driver’s aid, especially for those who are just beginners. Further adding to that, it has a 10-inch center touch display as a standard and the responsive feedback is given by the Electric Power Steering wheel which is next to it.  

Which Trim should you buy?

Well, for those who want all the luxury features, we would say that the mid-spec Premium Luxury trim is just the most balanced one of the four and you get a lot of bang for your buck. Further, the options list is quite expansive so you can always choose what else you want to put in your realm. The sports enthusiast can go for V-series but that is not seemingly a value return on the whole. Moreover, there are almost all serious performance and handling dynamics offers that may satiate your urge for a thrill by the Premium Luxury.

The Cadillac CT5 comes with a 2.0L turbo inline-4 as standard which is good enough to produce 237 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque. The only gearbox available is a 10-speed automatic unit which by standard pushes all the power to the rear wheels while those who want some more grip assurance can choose to tick the all-wheel-drive in the options list. 

The elder sibling 3.0L twin-turbo V6 comes as an optional extra. The performance mania is thrilling yet misses to be the leader as it scores 6.6 seconds and 15.3 seconds for the 0-60 mph mark and quarter-mile respectively. The power figure is itself the sole reason for its underappreciated performance.

As far as comparison is concerned, the BMW 530i gets others in the 0-60 mph mark just by some 100th of a second and the A6 Premium has an edge over others in the quarter-mile prowess. Not just that, the BMW 530i is a speed beast also. The V-series may give these rivals sleepless nights at a much cheaper price tag. Therefore, the CT5 with its base form is not as desirable as its top-dog for beating the bush out of others.

How well does the 2020 Cadillac CT5 handle?

CT5 is built on the same Alpha platform of CTS and that means it also inherits the exceptional handling DNA from its predecessor. It even polishes out the rough edges of its predecessors with the help of slightly stiffer suspension-to-body mounts, improved ride quality, and a quieter cabin. The CTS has always been one of the best handling cars in the segment and the CT5 has just taken the bar even higher. And the addition of an electronic limited-slip rear differential makes it a proper track weapon.

As the segment itself allows you to own an extended trunk which makes the airflow more streamline that aids the aero department. On top of that, one can have Brembo brakes in its operation which takes care of the braking efficiency as a sedan in RWD is very much prone to losing traction and sliding at the time of rain-soaked or muddy terrain. These consequences have been taken into account as per the features that can be spotted inside it, therefore it seems to have a thumbs-up in this segment.

2020 Cadillac CT5 Sedan Braking Performance

So the Cadillac CT5 comes with 12.6-inch rotors at the front while at back it has 12.4-inch, and these are pretty much the only hardware to serve as an anchor for this ship. The sport and the V series get Brembo brakes as standard which reduce the unsprung mass of the system and are more efficient in this regard. Apart from this, it has Automatic Emergency Braking on the 4-wheel ABS vented discs. The Electronic Brake Parking has also been integrated into it. 

One of the lightest in the segment and lightest among the aforementioned is the Cadillac CT5 which seems to have standard brake rotors when compared to others. The overall analysis is not possible due to the unavailability of data yet Audi A6 premium shows premium stature in this segment and paves the way for desirable braking travel. On the contrary, the BMW 530i, unlike other previous sections, lags in this department.

Having a turbocharger means it is going to drink fuel like anything and that is pretty much the case with the CT5 as well. While the base 2.0L engine is fairly efficient and is able to squeeze 22 miles out of a gallon in city driving and 30 and 25 MPG respectively for highway and combined figures. The 3.0L twin-turbo V6 is available in two states of tune. The lower 335-hp version is rated at 19/26/21 mpg with rear-wheel-drive and 18/25/21 for all-wheel-drive. The one producing 360-hp is further low on efficiency with 18/26/21 for RWD and 17/25/20 for AWD.

Though the figures are not really bad still they are at a lower spectrum of the band with BMW leading the charts. Cadillac Also has the smallest fuel tank which makes it lose more points in terms of short driving range. Therefore, the practicality seems to be in the midst of high tides where it has a long sail to voyage. The power and economy both have been poorly managed by the Cadillac for the CT5 and there is a dire need to rework the papers. 

Cadillac has done a lot in the interior department to make the car feel upmarket and luxurious. They have tried to improve the areas where the CTS used to lag behind and have given the cabin a more conservative design while making it more ergonomic for the driver. The cabin is spacious but the quality of materials used at some places is not up to the mark. Nice cushioning with power adjustment eases the seating dynamics. Moreover, it gets memory settings functions at them along with the Cadillac Connected Access to boost the overall appealing list.

Front row seats are the most spacious in the BMW 5 series as it is just a few inches ahead of the rest here and there. Rear seat space has been dominated by Audi A6 and Mercedes-Benz E350. The BMW 530i makes up for the rear seating with its incredible cargo volume while the CT5 is the least impressive one. All the 5-seaters are almost comparable to one another with some unexpected figures in the trunk spacing for all.

What’s there to keep you entertained?

As standard, all the CT5 gets a 10-inch touchscreen infotainment system along with the rearview camera and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integration as a standard. One also gets the wireless device charging, head-up display, Bose Performance audio system, and Bluetooth connectivity. The list goes on and on with SiriusXM Radio, HD Radio, and AM/FM stereo. Moreover, the 3 USBs, Natural Voice Recognition, and the connected apps have kept constant throughout all the trims. Some of the features are: 

• 10-inch touchscreen
• Apple CarPlay
• Android Auto
• Head-up display
• Wireless charging pad
• 8-speaker Bose audio system

Cadillac has completely redesigned the CTS in order to shape the CT5 and these are certainly steps in the right direction. The car looks quite smart now with those slim headlamps and also a slightly slimmer front grille. It has a hunkered-down stance now which is going quite well with the overall silhouette of the car. The bumper has huge air vents in them though most of them are dummy ones and just for the purpose of styling. Lastly, the rear also had some changes but not as dramatic as the front and the designers decided to keep it more in line with other Cadillacs.

Cadillac is one of the widest cars here but smallest in terms of height and length both. It is also the lightest among all. These all direct us towards its superior handling and vehicle dynamics. Low-leaning and toppling chances are very much characterized by these numbers. The inherent lower center of gravity is just like a cherry on top. Apart from this, the others are fairly under the standard figures of this segment only. 

Cadillac has started to provide their entry-level models as well with a host of safety features and this is a move that is always appreciable. So while the car has aced all the crash tests thrown at it by the NHTSA, IIHS is yet to come with its figures so far. Federal has awarded the car with “5 stars” for all the frontal, side, and rollover crash tests altogether. The car is able to retain its structure quite well and there has been no deformation to the passenger compartment. 

Standard safety features include eight airbags including a knee airbag for driver and front passenger, forward collision warning with pedestrian detection and automatic emergency braking, and GM’s safety alert seat which we feel is a very unique and effective safety feature.

Other than this, the higher trims come equipped with a surround-view camera system, adaptive cruise control, active lane control with lane departure warnings, blind-spot monitors, rear cross-traffic alerts, rear pedestrian alerts, reverse automatic emergency braking, rear park assist, adaptive headlights, and an automatic parking feature. Some of the highlights are:

• Forward Collision alert
• Automatic emergency braking
• Safety Alert Seat
• Lane Change Alert with side blind Zone Alert
• Rear Cross-Traffic Alert
• Two years of On star safety and security coverage.

2020 Cadillac CT5 vs 2020 BMW 530i

The BMW 5 Series is maybe the most established name in the segment and pretty much the obvious choice of many while picking a car in this range. It is certainly a more powerful, better equipped, undoubtedly more luxurious, and solidly built car than the CT5. Where the CT5 edges ahead is the value for money proposition. Though we still feel that the Cadillac has a long way to go before it can actually compete against the BMW.

2020 Cadillac CT5 vs 2020 Audi A6

Audi is the most expensive one in the bunch and while it has all the bells and whistles to justify the premium it asks for, we just can’t ignore the value for money quotient the CT5 holds against the big german. While obviously Caddy is nowhere as premium and better equipped as the Audi but still for those who are on a budget, the Cadillac just makes more sense. And the interior and exterior offerings are quite sufficient to keep this as an “own deal”. 

2020 Cadillac CT5 vs 2020 Mercedes-Benz E350

There is simply no comparison between these two. Mercedes-Benz E350 might cost premium for what it brings to the table but hey, it is more like a mini S-Class and that justifies it all. The Mercedes-Benz E-Class is one of the best cars here in terms of comfort and luxury and to some extent cargo and seating spacing as well. Except for the valuation, the Cadillac struggles to match against it on the overall chart of performance, economy, and practicality. 

Well, the Cadillac offers exceptional value for money, the 2.0L engine is quite sufficient for daily needs while the 3.0L V6 is a proper firecracker and the car also has loads of space inside its cabin. While the value for money quotient of the car is very high, it certainly doesn’t feel as luxurious as some of the Germans. Also, the performance of the base 2.0L engine is sufficient but the competition is offering quite a lot more in that area. We would suggest if your concern is interior space, then you can buy the CT5, or else the German cars are still a better pick than this.