A 2018 Cadillac CT6 Premium Luxury w/Super Cruise Review

[Cmicasa the Great 969]

Quite frankly I’ve seen some bonehead moves in the auto industry over the last 35 years.. but this one might just take the cake. I’m not gonna speak on crazy comebacks that didn’t get enough attention and they crashed and burned like the Oldsmobile debacle.. and how GM was gonna rename the company Aurora.. put out class leading cars like the Aurora, Intrigue and Alero.. then killed the division. We won’t talk about the super cool Trofeo Toronada.. or the bend to tree-huggers with killing  Hummer instead of simply merging it with GMC. Naaaah..  I’m not gonna bring up the fact that they killed the unanimously voted best sports sedan Chevy SS.. but instead of saying “hey We have this great new platform for mid and fullsize vehicle in Alpha and Omega.. we could merge the almost as great Impala with this vehicle.. give it AWD options and engines from 4-8 cyclinders and absolutely STAB the market.” Hell they could have even went the opposite way and simply given the Impala all the options of the XTS from start, and detuned the engine for argument sake.  I won’t even whisper about the fact that they had all of us luxury shoppers wishing and waiting for a full size RWD/AWD Cadillac that absolutely made us proud.. gave us one.. then turned around and gave it a super V8 engine as we had begged them for.. and hen they killed it!!! OH Wait.. That’s exactly what I’m gonna talk about.

This morning I took my 2016 CTS-V to the dealership for a simple Recall procedure. No parts were exchanged, just a reprogram I’m told. The recall was for the steering module. All in all I dropped it off at 9am and they called me at 12p to let me know that it was complete. Of course I wasn’t able, nor willing to go back there to pick up my beautiful Rose. I had meeting all day, not to mention they loaned me a pristine, well equipped Black Raven 2018 CT6 Premium Luxury with Super-Cruise and a 3.6L V6.

The Drive:

I have driven the CT6 before, but not once had I ever driven a 3.6L for anything other than a quick test drive. The engine I’m most familiar with is the 3.0lTT, which was not on the menu today. I do have to say that if I were in charge of Cadillac’s engine choices, the 3.6L would not be in any of their cars. I say this for superficial reasons only. As a way of differentiation... I believe that Cadillac should only have forced induction offering. What that means is that in a CT6, a car coming in with a 122.4 inch Wheelbase, 204 inches long and curb weight varying from 3700-4400lbs, a 3.0LTTV6 (404HP) would be the base, and the upcoming two iterations of the 4.2L TTV8 would be its mid (500HP) and top (550HP) engine choices. All that being said.. the 3.6L actually moves this vehicle around quite well with a mere 335HP. I mean really well. That’s coming from a guy who dropped off a 650HP mid-sizer before hopping in this humongous automobile. And speaking of which. Driving the CT6 even with just 335HP, and all that length, I never felt as though I were driving a big car. Take a drive in an LS460, S-Class, 7series, or fat ass Audi A8.. U actually feel like U are driving a big car. No the case with the CT6. I almost felt like I was still maneuvering my CTS, a car that is almost 8 inches shorter.

Super-Cruise:

Wow. Check out my video. This is something else. I will say that GM lawyers were definitely consulted on this, but even with their certain input, the tech really works.

[Cmicasa the Great 969]

 

 

[ykX 349]

I have to say while I am not into large cars but CT6 looks awesome.  It is a real shame GM is killing it.

[Cmicasa the Great 969]

49 minutes ago, ykX said:

I have to say while I am not into large cars but CT6 looks awesome.  It is a real shame GM is killing it.

Obviously I feel the same. Thing is that despite its death, the car is slated to have enuff inventory to go into 2020. I would propose that Cadillac kill all the lower models and only have the mid to platinum models. And for all Cadillacs.. Be done with that rubberized steering wheel cover. Go with the one I have in my V, covered in leather. 

[dfelt 3,388 5 Vehicles]

I really hope the CT6 hangs around as the V edition is just drop dead sexy!

The interior is just awesome!

Love me this Brown interior!

[regfootball 582]

I agree, Cadillacs should all be forced induction.

Love the pics and the review and the review video!

Cadillac is so foolish if they kill this car.  And i don't think they will.  I think they will bring it from China.  They've done enough fixes that the car deserves to live.  They need to price and package it for more sales volume.

Your comments about the 3.6 are interesting.  I tested a Regal GS this weekend and didn't like the 3.6, didn't like it in the LaCrosse either.  Most GM's with the 3.6 I can't like much.  But I am intrigued by how you say this CT6 performs.

Edited Monday at 02:19 AM by regfootball

[Cmicasa the Great 969]

2 minutes ago, regfootball said:

I agree, Cadillacs should all be forced induction.

Love the pics and the review and the review video!

Cadillac is so foolish if they kill this car.  And i don't think they will.  I think they will bring it from China.  They've done enough fixes that the car deserves to live.  They need to price and package it for more sales volume.

Your comments about the 3.6 are interesting.  I tested a Regal GS this weekend and didn't like the 3.6, didn't like it in the LaCrosse either.  Most GM's with the 3.6 I can't like much.  But I am intrigued by how you say this CT6 performs.

Thanks. I have driven other brand luxury cars with their comparable V6s, and have long come to the conclusion that Forced induction was a smoother delivery system for those vehicles vs the 3.6L being avail in any of the Cadillacs. Point of fact.. I enjoyed the 2.0L Turbo in the ATS more than I enjoyed the 3.6L. The 3.0L TT, 3.6L TT in both LF3 and LF4 configs is sublime, and it always baffled me why GM/Cadillac didn't utilize all of those choices more and keep the 3.6L NA in the other brands.

The 2.0L @ 300HP.. the 3.0L @ 350- 400HP.. the 3.6LTT @ 420- 465HP .. 6.2L S/C @ 650HP. That's all they needed and it would have covered every base with available engine choice.

That being said.. the CT6 with the engine was fine in terms of performance, but it felt no more special in engine delivery than my Impala. This is the issue that GM needs to work out. Ironically it has engines in service to do this.. and has had them for several years

[regfootball 582]

Cadillac should be ALL IN on the 3.0tt .  I did drive a CTS recently with the 3.6 that actually surprised me, smooth and quiet.  So i can't figure out why so many of the other GM's I have tested recently with the 3.6 weren't as smooth and quiet as the CTS.

[dfelt 3,388 5 Vehicles]

7 minutes ago, regfootball said:

Cadillac should be ALL IN on the 3.0tt .  I did drive a CTS recently with the 3.6 that actually surprised me, smooth and quiet.  So i can't figure out why so many of the other GM's I have tested recently with the 3.6 weren't as smooth and quiet as the CTS.

This is actually pretty easy, they do use various quality of parts on the power train that make a major difference on how an auto drives and handles. Perfect example is my Escalade glides compared to the Chevrolet Suburban.

According to GM, they use a higher quality bearing packs that allow a smooth glide when not under acceleration so the auto goes farther.

[Cmicasa the Great 969]

3 minutes ago, regfootball said:

Cadillac should be ALL IN on the 3.0tt .  I did drive a CTS recently with the 3.6 that actually surprised me, smooth and quiet.  So i can't figure out why so many of the other GM's I have tested recently with the 3.6 weren't as smooth and quiet as the CTS.

FWD. Seriously.. The only difference in my Impala 3.6L is that I have changed the exhaust.. and it feels as smooth and powerful. It feels right for a Chevy or Buick. The 3.6L in the Camaro is a nice and powerful tool.. but in the Cadillacs I've driven that also have a forced induction option.. going to them with a 3.6L just didn't feel as special.. and by special I mean luxo. Put it to U like this. I've driven the XT5 with the 3.6L and it was very nice.. Nicer IMO than the 3.5L in the RX, MDX, and almost as nice as the 3.0L in the X5, but the 3.0L TT in the BMW felt smoother. Probably the torque. I'm sure it was the torque. BUT ALAS.. that's the thing. Cadillac has a 3.0L TT too.. and its more powerful and more torquey. They could detune for competitive variations. 350HP to 404HP

[Cmicasa the Great 969]

This was my point in terms of engine choices. Using the 7Series and starting with the 740i

3.0-liter BMW TwinPower Turbo inline 6-cylinder 320 hp @ 5500 rpm. Torque: 332 ft-lbs

what GM did was (and I'm skipping the non-existent 2.0L Turbo that I have found to be a White Wolf on dealer lots in the area) They gave us the 3.6L 335 HP. @ 6800 RPM. Torque: 284 ft lb.

^^^ @ 4100lbs C&D got 0-60 in 5.9secs 

The 740i @ 4650lbs does it in 5.4secs.. WHY? Cause of all that torque

What should Caddy have done? Instead of the 3.6L.. send it over to Chevy and Buick and be done.. installed a 3.0L TT with say 350HP and a most probable 355 ft-lbs of.. VIOLA!!! The CT6 would have destroyed the BMW in that acceleration contest

 

Vs the 750i? Back then I would have easily said go with the 3.6L TT V6 LF4 @ 464HP vs the BMW 750 with its 4.4-liter BMW TT V-8, @ 443-hp engine.. Yes the BMW would still have more  torque, but the Caddy being lighter and having a 20 HP advantage would at least hold its own. As it stands the BMW 750 0-60 is 4.6 secs, the Cadillac CT6 3.0L TT is 5.0 Secs. Ya think 60 more HP would have helped it clobber that BMW? I do.

Now of course Cadillac has a 4.2L TT V8 ready with 500 hp and 553 lb-ft. THAT!!! is the 750i competitor imo. 

The 760i (and Alpina B7) would be the CT6-V's boy.. boasting less HP by 50, but besting in torque by almost 40 ft-lbs. NOTE: Why is BMW continuing to use the V12 when I've heard from a few colleagues who have driven(or owned) both the 760i and B7, reporting back that the V8 in the B7 is ever bit as smooth and more efficient?

Anyway.. all that being said, I expect that the tests of the CT6-V bring more questions than answers. As in "WHY THE f@#k.. is Cadillac killing this perfection?"

One more thing... INTERIORS:

I have said it on more than one occasion.. all of the complaints some people have with interiors and refinement in Cadillacs always.. and I mean always (with exception to the instrument cluster in the ATS-V) seems to die when U experience it in a V. Even the Platinum. The walk from even an XT5 to an XT5 Platinum makes one say.. why is Cadillac not using this platinum interior (or V) in all their cars/suvs above a Luxury model. In fact, kill the Standard and luxury models and start with Premium Lux, Platinum, and V