Repair-It

Road Tests
Episode 2530

Cadillac has long been known more for luxury than performance. But then came last year’s hot rod CTS-V and a championship winning racing season. Now Cadillac adds another arrow to its high performance quiver with the 2006 STS-V. A bigger car with bigger power, and a new definition of Cadillac.
Over the last decade, Cadillac designers, engineers, and marketing personnel have worked hard to change the public’s perception of General Motors’ century-old luxury nameplate. A successful racing program in the Speed World Challenge series, as well as the Euro-tuned CTS-V sedan, have certainly helped redefine Cadillac as a sophisticated, globally focused “luxury with performance” oriented brand.

Well, the next step in that evolution is the 2006 STS-V, or as we like to call it, the big brother to the CTS-V. This more muscular version of the all-new STS is every inch the factory-sanctioned hot-rod. From the deep and aggressive front end, with its ground-hugging fascia and polished wire mesh grille, over 10-spoke alloy wheels measuring 18-inches up front and 19-inches in the rear, to an angular tail with prominent deck lid spoiler, it shouts “I am not just a luxury car” in a loud, clear voice.

A voice with the attention-getting rumble of a 4.4-liter supercharged 32-valve V8. This small-bore Northstar, Cadillac’s first supercharged V8, blasts-out 469 horsepower, that’s over 100 per liter, and 439 pound-feet of torque. That’s also 149 horses and 124 pound-feet more than a regular STS.
Those extra ponies gallop to the rear wheels by way of an all-new 6-speed automatic transmission. The driver can select regular or aggressive automatic shifts, as well as a sequential manual mode.

With the blower spinning, the STS-V hits 60 in only 4.8 seconds, and charges through the quarter mile in 13.5 seconds at a speed of 109 miles-per-hour. As with most supercharged V8s, there’s no shortage of pull across the rev band. The engine spins up smoothly with a wonderfully throaty exhaust note.
To make the best of the extra punch, the STS’s capable suspension has been firmed up with stiffer springs, thicker anti-roll bars, and faster steering. Like the CTS-V, much of the development work was done at Germany’s Nurbergring racing circuit.

While we didn’t go that far, we did put our STS-V on our favorite test track, Savannah, Georgia’s Roebling Road Raceway. Just like the CTS-V we drove here two years ago, the STS-V responds and turns sharply, although its extra weight tends to push the front down a bit harder. There’s also a bit more body roll, but it’s superbly controlled by the stiffer setup. Direction changes are like slicing, but we’d love to have even more feedback from the ZF variable-assist steering.
Brake feel, however, is first rate, thanks to big ABS-controlled Brembo discs with 4-piston calipers adapted from the CTS-V. Traction control and electronic stability control are well integrated. They deliver seamless assistance, but are programmed to still allow you to push the rear end out with the throttle if you want.

It’s clearly the most sporting STS ever. But while the CTS-V tackles tight corners in true sport sedan fashion, the STS-V is more suited to hammering out gently curving stretches of high speed highway. And it’s on wide open interstates and winding two lanes where this V really shines. The STS-V’s ride is super solid, but both comfortable and silent, while its combination of smooth handling and unlimited passing power allow you to quickly leave country lanes and tangled commuter traffic behind.

You will have to make a few stops for gas, however, since the STS-V is EPA rated at only 14 city/20 highway.

Between those stops, driver and passengers will enjoy a cabin that’s both luxurious and appropriately serious. The leather, wood and metal trim are modern and racy, befitting Cadillac’s freshened 21st century image. And while it is all new, there’s plenty of traditional luxury and amenities. And it is an STS, so you also get a roomy rear seat and a big 13.8 cubic foot trunk.

But while the trunk is the same size as the standard STS, the price is a whole lot larger. Base sticker for the 2006 Cadillac STS-V is a hefty $77,090. That’s right up there in BMW 7-Series territory. But then the STS-V is even more exclusive as only about 2000 STS-Vs will go out the door this year. And that extra money buys you the most capable full size Cadillac that we’ve ever driven by a long shot. The 2006 Cadillac STS-V is one more powerful reason to see today’s Cadillac in a whole new high performance light.

Both have fine, stitched-leather instrument panels. GMPD contracted Drexel Meyer, which also does Maybach's leather, to handle the leather and suede hides on the STS-v's dash, seats, and door panels. And it has heated rear seats, while the Benz has them only up front. But the Cadillac driver seat isn't as comfortable for long hauls, especially compared with the Mercedes's well-bolstered perforated leather and suede front seats. The v treatment is added to an STS interior, but falls short of its luxury intentions. This (admittedly good) patch job can't match an interior designed richly from the carpeting up, especially now that Mercedes is rebounding on interior quality.

Powerful, but Not Persuasive
By RICHARD S. CHANG DEC. 2, 2007

2008 Cadillac STS-V

WHAT IS IT? Full-size rear-drive performance-tuned sedan.
HOW MUCH? $77,855 as tested, including $2,100 guzzler tax (2007 model).
WHAT MAKES IT RUN? A supercharged 4.4-liter V-8 (469 horsepower, 439 pound-feet of torque); six-speed automatic transmission.
IS IT THIRSTY? Indeed, at 13 m.p.g. in town and 19 highway (2008 model).
ALTERNATIVES Audi S6 ($74,020); BMW M5 ($86,675); Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG ($87,875).
ONE of the lasting memories from my childhood is sitting behind my father in the family Cadillac, a powder-blue ’82 Sedan de Ville.
Everything about it was big. My father prized smoothness in a car above all else; he still does. I remember being fixed on his eyes and his gentle expression in the rearview mirror as he basked in the car’s stately ride.

I thought about this as I cruised languorously up 10th Avenue in Manhattan recently in a Cadillac STS-V. Driving on a wide boulevard in a big Caddy can put you in a certain state of mind. It’s relaxing and reassuring, much the same as walking in expensive shoes.

As I imagined the knob of my father’s right elbow propped on the seatback I wondered what he would think about the V-Series, Cadillac’s reply to BMW’s M division and Mercedes-Benz’s AMG.

The V performance makeover, available for the STS sedan and the XLR roadster, is built around a hardy engine upgrade. The STS-V’s supercharged 4.4-liter V-8 makes 469 horsepower, which is 149 more than the naturally aspirated STS V-8 and 179 more than the V-6 base model.

The first Cadillac to get the V treatment was the CTS sport sedan (though no V model was released when the CTS was redesigned for 2008; it will return in 2009). The first-generation CTS-V was equipped with a Corvette V-8, replacing the car’s standard V-6, and came with performance suspension and brakes. It was far faster and harder than the CTS could ever dream to be; it felt like a different model altogether.

I’m sorry to say this car does not go through the same personality change.

The supercharged engine makes the STS-V the most powerful production vehicle in Cadillac history —in testing by Road & Track, it sprinted to 60 miles an hour in 4.7 seconds. But at nearly 4,300 pounds, the STS-V is a heavy car, too heavy, and the weight detracts from its performance aspirations. The six-speed automatic transmission lags enough to be noticed, and even when all the horsepower is summoned, the STS-V prefers to stay true to its luxury-car roots.
Other performance modifications include a tuned suspension with larger stabilizer bars; wider wheels (18 inches at the front and 19s at the rear); and larger brakes with Brembo four-piston calipers. Special V-Series touches for the exterior include a wire mesh grille and a special hood to provide clearance for the supercharger.

But in the end, the STS-V never feels too different from the standard STS. And the issue turns to whether it is worth the money.

The 2008 STS-V starts at $79,110. I tested a 2007 model, but there were few changes for the new model year. For about $25,000 less, you can get a V-6 STS equipped with the Luxury Performance package, which shares the same interior and electronics as the STS-V, including satellite navigation and a Bose surround-sound audio system. Sure, the STS-V is faster and slightly better behaved in the turns, but is it $25,000 better? I’m not so sure.

While the STS-V is a very good car, it is more Cadillac than V-Series, which is fine. But cruising comfortably in a standard-issue STS, cocooned from traffic, you aren’t likely to miss the V-Series features at all.

The V team enlisted the help of Mercedes-Benz's cabin supplier, Drxlmaier, to outfit the STS-V with French-stitched, beautifully grained leathers for the top of the dash, the center console, and the door panels, but these exquisitely realized pieces stand in stark relief to the rest of the cabin, which is decidedly lower rent. It doesn't help that the basic design of the STS instrument panel is inoffensive but utterly uninspired, nor that the STS-V's seats are essentially carried over from the STS, save their ultrasuede inserts. If only the STS-V had more richly crafted instruments, and if only its seat upholstery also had been farmed out to Drxlmaier, this cabin might begin to measure up to the Audi A8's or the Maserati Quattroporte's.

We took our first look at the STS- V a year ago ( C/D, February 2005), and it generated positive anticipation on a couple fronts. For one, it figured to provide a more refined level of all-around performance than the Corvette-engined CTS- V, which, for all its visceral appeal, is more hot rod than luxury sports sedan. Second, when judged by the prototype shown at the 2005 Detroit show, the STS- V looked to be the most appealing manifestation yet of Cadillac's knife-edged-design direction. Beyond that, we knew the car's dynamic development would be conducted under the baton of John Heinricy, GM's director of high-performance vehicle operations. With nine Sports Car Club of America national championships in his racing log book, Heinricy definitely knows how to summon haste from a given package, and we anticipated something more stimulating than the other STS variants. The question was how far Heinricy would be able to go on the aggression meter.

Visible variations from the standard STS include a lower front fascia with three air intakes, one for increased airflow, the outer two for increased brake cooling; wire mesh grilles; deeper rocker panels; a lower rear fascia with a mesh-grilled vent at its bottom edge; and a slightly higher spoiler that's been moved rearward at the trailing edge of the decklid. The car has a pronounced forward rake, and the net of the various changes is reduced high-speed lift, as well as a more determined appearance.

High speed is definitely part of this Caddy's act. Last February we forecast 440 horsepower and 430 pound-feet of torque for the 4.4-liter supercharged V version of the car's DOHC 32-valve Northstar V-8. Turns out those numbers were conservative. Fed by a Roots-type blower, the V-8 is rated for 469 horsepower at 6400 rpm and 439 pound-feet of torque at 3800. That's more than 100 horsepower per liter, and it's also the most powerful Cadillac production engine ever offered.
The supercharged eight is mated to GM's new six-speed automatic transmission, typically GM smooth and enhanced by a manumatic function operable with the shift lever (there are no steering-wheel paddles). Suspension tuning is about 15 percent stiffer than that of a standard STS, thanks to Sachs shocks and bigger front and rear anti-roll bars; the variable-assist power rack-and-pinion steering is a bit quicker; and the StabiliTrak system can be programmed three ways: normal, sport, and competitive. In the latter, the car will wag its tail, and power oversteer is readily achievable, something to keep in mind when applying throttle at corner exits.

Inside, the STS- V is richly appointed with enough leather to clothe a small herd of Black Angus — hides on the door panels and dashboard, as well as the seats. The latter have suede inserts to help keep occupants centered in hard cornering, although more bolstering would help. Cadillac enlisted Dräxlmaier for the V's interior décor. The same outfit did the Maybach, and if the Caddy has no granite trim option, it does have olive-stained ash. The whole package is tasteful, roomy, and arguably the most comfortable in this threesome, thanks to the relatively creamy ride and best control layout of the bunch.

This brings us to dynamics, which is where the Cadillac drew reviews that were essentially average for this exalted group. For example, the STS- V's 4.6-second 0-to-60-mph run was slowest in this group, but how many luxo sedans are capable of 60 mph in less than five seconds? Similarly, stopping to a standstill from 70 mph in 170 feet was third-best here, but still exemplary for this weight class.

Where the Caddy fared worst was in Grattan's twists and turns. Although the steering was quick and nicely weighted, excessive up-and-down motion in the suspension inhibited transient responses, and observers noted substantial brake dive compared with the German cars.

On the other hand, the STS- V's price nets you a no-apologies supersedan with big money left over — almost 16 large versus the CLS55. That's a huge advantage — especially since the STS- V has this group's most comprehensive allocation of features and amenities. It's enough, in fact, for the Caddy to edge the Mercedes for runner-up honors.

Maybe I can find a red one like this just to annoy Bill