Repair-It

However, here are the good, and they have everything to do with the engine, chassis, dynamics and even perception.

1. I took the exact same route back with the CTS as I went there with the M3, and today's skidpad session confirms it: For my skill level, whatever I did in the M3 I can still do in the CTS-V. I cannot feel the 250kg difference in weight in transitions, and there's not any additional body roll that I can tell. Chalk that up to the Magne-Ride Shocks?

2. Continue with the steering, once you're a bit past center or going into the corner at a good speed, then the steering feel tightens up and becomes quite "BMW-like."

3. Another point for Magne-Ride and possibly the beefier tires, the ride quality is at least 50% better than both of my non-EDC M3s.

4. The acceleration from any RPM is... amazing, but I'm sure you guys all know that already. That probably helps the car shrug off the alleged weight penalty.

5. Despite the great gobs of torque this engine shoves out at any RPM, it does so in such an effortless laid-back manner that I have absolutely no doubt regarding the longevity of this drivetrain. The engine only revs out to 6200rpm and it's just not necessary to beat on it to get the job done; the transmission is straight out of the ZR-1 Corvette, where it handles another 100ft.lb. of torque; and from a stop, the rear suspension puts the power down a lot better than the M3 (and I'll confirm that at the dragstrip next month, the same place where my DCT M3 couldn't use Launch Control at any RPM).

6. The front Performance Seats are awesome, and in a related note the rear bench is also a much nicer and roomier place to be compared to the BMW.

7. is possibly my favorite. Since my town is full of kids driving BMWs in general and M3s in particular, whereas the CTS is owned by almost no-one, when going with the provincial government-owned insurance / licensing agency my insurance cost is now HALF compared to the BMW. Not seeing another V for another 6 months vs. seeing multiple E9x M3s daily is an added bonus.

So, if it was between a CTS vs. a 3-series, BMW for sure. When it's the CTS-V vs. an M3, though, even though dynamically they go about their businesses quite differently, the V is just as quick for me in the twisties while having so much more effortless power on tap. I'm happy with it.

kevm14 wrote:http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2009/0 ... s-c63-amg/

I’ll take a 2010 CTS-V.

(In 2015, when it’s time to replace a car, and I can get one of these bad boys in my driveway for 15 large. Or 8 large if GM no longer exists.)

It’s good to see the Cadillac faring so well in reviews. But it’s nearly 50 percent heavier than my ideal sedan

kevm14 wrote:

kevm14 wrote:http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2009/0 ... s-c63-amg/

An amusing comment, left in early 2009:

I’ll take a 2010 CTS-V.

(In 2015, when it’s time to replace a car, and I can get one of these bad boys in my driveway for 15 large. Or 8 large if GM no longer exists.)

$15k? Nope.

I agree with most everything you say above and if I lived say, less than an hour from a track, then my priorities would probably be different since I could log more days there. But instead Tampa seems to be the only major city in FL that is 2 hours to the nearest track (it is Sebring though, so not a bad one to be closest to) and then at least 3 hours to all of the rest of them. So that leaves me with the occasional AutoX where Focus ST's and Cooper S's dominate and you get your thrills in 45 second doses. Which is just a Band-Aid for the kind of driving I really want to do and enjoy the most. So that leaves me with mostly daily driving and deserted back road drives when behind the wheel. In that world the CTS-V seemed to be the most fun and livable.