2008 Cadillac CTS - Overview - 2008 Car of the Year Winner

The buzz began as soon as the first few editors returned from their driving stints in the new CTS. "Wow! That thing is really sweet." "Tons of cornering stick, but the ride doesn't beat you up." "Good power, smooth and responsive automatic that holds the right gear when you're hustling. And I love the steering." "That's got to be the best nav system I've ever used." "Hey, is it my turn to drive the CTS yet?" But if we knew we had a contender on our hands from the get-go, the more we drove this canny new Caddy, the more its magic cast a spell on us.

For one thing, the CTS makes you look good. Great, actually. There wasn't one editor in our hard-to-please crew who didn't have good things to say about the car's starch-creased tailoring. Several of us think it's the most striking and original sedan we've seen in years. Better still, unlike the previous CTS, the 2008 edition carries its edgy exterior theme and penchant for beauty right into the cockpit. In comparison, the Mercedes C350 cabin looks bleak and severe; the Honda Accord's dash seems fussy -- and not as well made. Cadillac's interior team has balanced form, function, and panache as deftly as we've seen it done -- in some ways (that brilliantly simple yet powerful nav/info system) better than anyone.

Though not an all-out sports machine in the mold of, say, the S5, the CTS nonetheless proved to be one of the top performers in this year's field. Our test car (equipped with the direct-injection engine, six-speed automatic, and FE3 performance suspension) ran to 60 mph in 6.3 seconds, clawed from 60 mph to 0 in a mere 109 feet (bettering even the lightweight, two-seat Audi TT), and churned around the skidpad with a vein-popping 0.89 g of grip. More important, pushing the car hard is a joy. The engine gets a little raspy in its uppermost octaves, but it's gutty enough to make the 3960-pound CTS feel far lighter than it is. The variable-effort steering is on the heavy side (a good thing) but communicative; the chassis impressively neutral, the brakes potent and durable. All those laps around the Nurburgring have formed key strands in the CTS's DNA.

It's when you're off the boil, though, that the CTS impresses the most. This Cadillac even gets the really tough stuff right-namely, the little things. The materials and controls make your fingertips happy. Your eyes notice the absence of jarring cockpit cut-lines, the tight, even fit of exterior panels. Your ears detect no annoying rattles, and but a hush of wind and road noise. Your backside senses the structure's solidity, the ride's well-damped support. Your smile...broadens.

Someone should make a plaque: "Here on planet earth landed an all-new, thoroughly reborn Cadillac, model year 2008, A.D." For sure, the CTS has the goods to send auto aficionados over the moon.