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Dropped into my local dealer this afternoon this afternoon to order a couple of things, as the reverse lockout on the SS seems to have gone south. Talk about missing a shift! The ensuing sound when the lever tries to go from 4th to reverse instead of 5th is not a nice one! Anyway, I had a chance to say hi to an old friend who is the dealer's leading salesman and we started talking about the CTS-V. He asked if I'd ever driven one and what did I think of it? When I told him I hadn't driven one, he went and got the keys to one of the 3 they have, put a dealer plate on it and told me to go and have some fun! Yes, I went out in it alone! My impressions in no particular order: - a very easy car to drive fast - everything has just about the right feel to it. - the steering is much more numb than I'm used to. At first, I thought it was terrible, but I got used to it over the course of the drive and by the end of the drive, I had gotten used to it - not difficult to do. - the car handles great! This is a very nimble, athletic, sure-footed car that sticks like glue. I had a chance to throw it around a couple of onramps to the 404 and Hwy.7 and it corners flat and fast, without any protest when pushed hard. - it's amazing how the lack of sensory input can skew your perception of what a car is doing. Not much steering feel, very subdued (but nice!) exhaust note, firm but supple suspension (i.e.not a bone-jarring ride at all). Coming onto the northbound 404 from the Hwy 7 eastbound ramp, I was winding it out to what I thought felt like about 120 km/hr, but when I looked down and saw almost 160 km/hr, I was really surprised. I was also very surprised when the car bounced off the rev limiter in 3rd at 6600 rpm! I'm used to a really loud car at the rev limiter! It felt and sounded like 3500 rpm in my car! - I felt there was actually a lack of low-end grunt in this car. Even with the standard 3.73s, I'm thinking the clutch would have to dumped pretty hard to get a really aggressive launch. No, I did not try that. - there is a TON of power in the higher rev ranges, however! I guess the power band has just been moved about 100 miles north! ( :-) - the car is definitely slower than my car from a launch but felt pretty close to what I'm used to when tromping it from a roll at 3500 - 4000 rpm. (the relative silence notwithstanding!) I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that from what I observed today there probably isn't much of a difference in the handling department either. And you get a very comfortable ride to boot! GM really did its homework here! I would love to get this thing out on a road course and see where its limits really are! They have to be close to what I'm used to. - brakes feel great! I didn't have a chance to really tromp on them from speed, but they grab NOW and inspire confidence. Brembo calipers with bleeder screws handy on the outside! - seats are very comfy and the steering wheel/shifter/pedal position is good for me. Gas and brake pedals are close enough for easy heel-and-toeing. The shifter is right there, but the throws could be a bit shorter, IMHO. - best dead-pedal I've ever experienced - not too upright like in our cars. - the gauges that are there are easily readable. I like the idea of a digital speedo readout AND an analogue speedo. No oil pressure or battery gauges. ( :-( - the G-meter looks like it could be fun to play with. - the rest of the dash I didn't pay much attention to - I don't much care about a big screen with a lot of little buttons. No HUD, BTW. Conclusion: - a very civilized car that is very capable and pretty darned fast. - this is probably a car that one would not modify to any great extent, since to do so would compromise one of the car's MAJOR strong points - that is its incredible smoothness and civility. If I only had 1 car, this one would probably satisfy all my requirements - and I think that says a lot! At CDN$71K I think it's a steal compared to a 545i (at $30K more), but in light of having a modified '98 SS and a '97 Bonneville, that combined are worth approx. $30K less, I'm not so sure. Having a warranty is great, but so is not having to deal with a whole lot of depreciation at this point with my cars. Besides, I can only use $2500 in Visa GM Dollars on a CTS. ( ;-) Final Upshot: - as I'm walking out to the car for the test drive, a middle-aged man and woman are returning to the showroom after having finished test driving a regular CTS. Overheard on their way back into the showroom... Salesdude: So... how did you like it? Middle-Aged Lady: Mmm... I really didn't like it very much. The ride is way too stiff. I'm used to driving a Lexus. Cadillac has a real challenge in front of it if they're gonna try and find a niche in this crazy market.
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Great write-up...now to start getting chummy with all the local dealers that ever carry fun cars Posts: 1143 | From: Portland, OR | Registered: Nov 2001
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While we (the mechanic and I) were waiting for the keys to my Suburban the sales dude came up and starting talking to us. He really liked my burb, it has been mildy modded in the looks department with chromed centerlines, chrome nerf bar and billit grille...anyway, the mechanic mentioned my SS and the salesdude started talking about the caddy they have on the floor. I wished I would have read your right up yesterday...I might have tried to talk him in to a test drive.
You mentioned the dealer letting you test drive alone. Funny, that came up in our conversation today also. He said that there is less liability if a rep from the dealer is not in the car. If you drive it off the lot you're resonsible for your driving. If the salesmen is in the car with you there is an assumption of responsibility. Posts: 545 | From: Gardnerville, NV. | Registered: Aug 2003
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quote:Originally posted by SSHEETS: You mentioned the dealer letting you test drive alone. Funny, that came up in our conversation today also. He said that there is less liability if a rep from the dealer is not in the car. If you drive it off the lot you're resonsible for your driving. If the salesmen is in the car with you there is an assumption of responsibility.
Very interesting point-of-fact! That "middle-aged" couple who took out the basic CTS were also on their own for their test drive. IMHO, it's an advantageous trade-off. I'm not gonna do anything SO-O-O stupid as to jeopardize anybody's well-being, and I'm prepared to take full responsibility for my actions. I do that every day whether I'm driving the SS, the Bonnybeater or the "Tragic" Wagon The fact of the matter remains, that I had the opportunity to take out a "V" and do what I wanted with it - and not have to feel that "big brother" was watching my each and every move! I did what I had to do with that car to get a reasonable perspective on its capabilities and in no way, was anybody's life endangered. Heck, I'm still hoping to be a customer for this car! I like it an awful lot!... (but as with most 1st year intros, there are reliability issues according - backed up bythe message boards). Bottom line is that I absolutely LOVE my SS and I'm gonna need a lot of motivation to trade to A CTS-V. (this involves finding a REALLY entusiastic buyer for my modded SS! (maybe that buyer wants my Bonnybeater thrown into the package as well!
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Autoweek reported that their will soon be a special 600HP version of the CTS-V. Now that's a serious car!
Enjoyed your comments on the ride and your impressions of the car. I only wish GM would make a car like this that is really affordable. A four door version of the GTO comes to mind......don't call it a GTO though.......as being just about ideal if you can price it around $35K.
-------------------- Dave S Black 2000 Camaro SS Posts: 502 | From: Fort Mill, South Carolina....Charlotte | Registered: Aug 2003
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