Big, bad Cadillac XTS raises bar for luxury sedans

The XTS is hot. And we don’t mean stolen.

Edmunds.com reports that the gorgeous, ferocious-looking all-new Cadillac XTS was one of two fastest-selling rides in June. As judged by a week driving it around New York City, Long Island and spots in between, you'd think this thing was an Olympic athlete by the number of folks taking its photo when I parked it or stopped at red lights.

And why shouldn’t they? It’s as beautiful a sedan as Caddy’s made in the last 20 years, with a predatory, authoritative hood, mighty-mighty flanks and a luxe flavor worthy of the badge. With the Lincoln Town car having given up the ghost and Cadillac’s own DTS and STS discontinued, the time was ripe for introducing a new sedan that bests all previous contenders, and this is it.

Available in all-wheel or front-wheel drive, the XTS features a 6-speed automatic transmission with steering wheel shift controls mated to a 3.6 litre, V-6.  That’s not very much engine for this car, especially given its weight of 4,000 pounds and change, and I felt the lack of power when trying to pass or to maneuver around tight situations. Lincoln’s new MKS sedan, which I tested right after the XTS, has way more get-up-and-go. (My MKS review will appear next week.)  XTS mileage, too, is a just-ok 20 MPG city, less on the highway.

But the XTS’s manners otherwise are everything you want and need in your sedan - nothing grabby, nothing abrupt, wheels go where you point them, brakes stop you when you step on the pedal, ride cushy, smooth and all Caddy, and it was pure pleasure to tool around in.

Now, about that CUE system - Cadillac’s center console unit consisting of Nav system, sound system, climate control and a few more doo-dads.

There’s been a lot of stink in print, and rightly so, about the system’s difficulty of use.  While the CUE and I didn’t instantly bond, and it’s slow as molasses when you’re trying to program the nav system, I did get used to it and found a logic in its workings, although I never did stop bashing the volume control up or down whenever I wanted to adjust something on it.  You’ll just have to train yourself to hit the bullseye with your index finger.

XTS prices start at $44,075, and my tester had a base price of $55,810, $57,725 loaded.  That’s not cheap, but nothing that looks this good needs to be.

Courtesy of New York Daily News