[StrongBad]

Starting at the bottom and working up:

CTS: 3.6L V6, 255 HP
300L: 3.5L V6 250 HP

CTSV: 5.7 V8, 400 HP
300C: 6.1 V8, 425 HP


I've heard allot of comments that the CTSV "feels" faster and drives better. I wonder if that trickles down the line to the standard CTS as well tho. Lord knows Cadillac is nickel and dimeing me for every tiny luxury feature, but it feels a tad classier. I love the 300 styling far more, but since I only have like 2 hours in the drivers seat (all test drives) I haven't been able to push its limits.

Anyone with real world experience, that would like to chime in and compare or contrast these cars? (i've also posted this question on a CTS forum so I can negate the biased information from both sides)


SB

 

[rmedina]

Starting at the bottom and working up:

CTS: 3.6L V6, 255 HP
300L: 3.5L V6 250 HP

CTSV: 5.7 V8, 400 HP
300C: 6.1 V8, 425 HP


I've heard allot of comments that the CTSV "feels" faster and drives better. I wonder if that trickles down the line to the standard CTS as well tho. Lord knows Cadillac is nickel and dimeing me for every tiny luxury feature, but it feels a tad classier. I love the 300 styling far more, but since I only have like 2 hours in the drivers seat (all test drives) I haven't been able to push its limits.


Anyone with real world experience, that would like to chime in and compare or contrast these cars? (i've also posted this question on a CTS forum so I can negate the biased information from both sides)


SB

They can move. I want to say that they are lighter than the 300. I was considering the cts-v before the 300, but they are just too small . The inside feels like you're in small seden.

Rmedina

 

[tekhen]

wouldn't the STS v 300 be a better comparison than the cts, since the sts is larger?

simply put w/o driving the caddy and I do like the caddy....

1) styling - 300
2) value - 300..... @least $10k more
3) name recog. - caddy

 

[II kings 9:20]

I think the "drives better" and "feels faster" impressions are a direct result of Caddy going after BMW in tuning the suspension on the Nurburgring and beating the M3 on it's home track by a huge margin (I think 15 seconds a lap). The 300 and SRT8 have a variant of the E class suspension which is fine in it's own right but is not a "sport suspension" at least in it's standard form. Stiffer shocks do not make a sports car.

 

[slk320]

I am note sure why you would be comparing the SRT8 to CTS-V. Your given numbers, i.e., 300C 6.1 V8 425HP is for the SRT8, not the regular 300C HEMI.

Cady is way too small for me. The funky styling also takes getting used to, otherwise they are both good cars. The interior on the Caddy is .....ahm... questionable, at best. The steering wheel is weird and the styling quest are straight out of the Jetson's animation. If you can get past the small siz and weird design, the Caddy is a great car.

 

[frank29]

Like others, it's the size that made my decision. When I was swimming against the current trying to get my 300C, I looked at the CTS-V...at that time, I posted the following:

"I did look at an CTS-V. What turned me off was the size. Using Cadillac's online comparsion tool it compared quite well to the 300 (interior size)....it seemed to be only marignally smaller. In person it was another story. All those one or two inches here and one and a half inches there, etc. really added up....the car seems tiny compared to the 300."

 

[Jazzhead]

Interesting topic. This is exactly the choice I just faced as I compared and seriously dickered over both a 300 Limited AWD and a CTS, only to reject both and buy a "stripped" (nuthin but a moonroof) 300C.

I wanted to limit the bill to $35-36K and figured the Hemi was "overkill" - what I really wanted in my next car was a quality five-speed transmission. Since a 300 RWD with the 3.5 only comes with four-speed, I tested an ill-looking black Limited with AWD, priced at about $36.5K A great performing, great handling car. The dealer wouldn't budge on the price or give me squat for my trade, so I figured that I'd keep looking, and besides, I didn't think I wanted the extra weight of the AWD.

Next up was the CTS, which handled and accelerated like a dream. I loved it. My wife's impressions, though, were of a different sort. Like StrongBad said, Cadillac nickels and dimes you with this car. $1,200 more for the automatic, fer instance. The key option I wanted was stability control and, yeah, the bigger wheels, so that's another two grand for the sport package. But then my wife points out that the passenger seat has only a manual adjustment. And the seats aren't heated. And the stark black interior was a forest of vinyl and simply oppressive-looking. All that can be fixed, of course, by kicking in another $3,500 for the luxury package. So now I'm looking at a $40,000 car unless I want to give up my moonroof.

Take a step back and think about it.

Then last week I passed by another Chrysler dealer, not a megastore but a tiny one way out almost in the Pine Barrens. Just off the truck was a navy blue Hemi with the moonroof, side curtain airbags and nothing else. $35.5K, right on the money. Five speed, the luxury touches, the good handling I remembered from the Limited AWD. And then - I stepped on the gas.

Sold.