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UK Review: 2016 Cadillac CT6 Platinum

5K views 21 replies 12 participants last post by  Ruperts Trooper 
#1 ·
2016 Cadillac CT6 Platinum review
Cadillac's new luxury saloon is good to drive but simply can't match European rivals when it comes to the bigger picture
by Mark Tisshaw
14 July 2016
Autocar.co.uk

What is it?
Cadillac is back for another crack at the European market. Only this time, it really means it. Well, kind of.

The General Motors brand has now admitted what we knew all along: it just can’t compete with the likes of Audi, BMW or Mercedes-Benz on their home soil, so it isn’t going to try.

What it can do, however, is offer is a selection of distinctively styled models with plenty of equipment, powerful engines and, hopefully, some decent driving dynamics, thanks to the new models being lighter. It also hopes to build up a customer base of discerning buyers who ‘get’ the brand and give it some visibility and credibility in Europe.

The first of these new models is the new Cadillac CT6. It sits in the luxury saloon segment alongside the BMW 7 Series and Mercedes-Benz S-Class, but it’s perhaps closest in ideology to the Jaguar XJ.

What's it like?
Kudos to Cadillac: it has gone and made a big saloon that looks and feels like no other. This isn’t some homogenised bland box either to look at or drive; it has real character and distinction. Those looks ain’t to my tastes, but hell, at least it's distinctive and recognisable as a Cadillac, when in truth the brand has no real right or expectation to be recognised as anything at all here in Europe.

Let’s start with the good stuff. It feels light on its feet, nimble even. It won’t necessarily thrill through corners, but it does display impressive agility and a lightness of touch. Although the Cadillac is no lighter than its rivals, all of the heavy steel bits have been put in the middle of the car, so with aluminium front and rear ends, a light engine and a long wheelbase, it turns in nicely and is easy to point out of a corner.
Should I buy one?
The CT6 is certainly not a bad car; it is interesting to drive, and probably to live with. But to win our recommendation it would need to better all its rivals in every key department, and that's before you even get to the caveat that it's left-hand drive only, costs seventy grand and will probably have some rather ugly depreciation. So it doesn’t.

We admire Cadillac for making it and giving UK buyers the chance to buy one officially and we would even more so if diesel or plug-in hybrid drivetrains and right-hand were offered. Still, we shall watch Cadillac’s progress with interest.
CONTINUE AT LINK ABOVE

Image courtesy of autocar.co.uk
 
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#2 ·
Good review. I know UK/European publications aren't really kind to American cars, but even they don't seem to deride the CT6. From their own perspective, it doesn't seem to be very far off from being on par with the "best" in Europe.
 
#3 ·
Shesh,
But to win our recommendation it would need to better all its rivals in every key department, and that's before you even get to the caveat that it's left-hand drive only, costs seventy grand and will probably have some rather ugly depreciation. So it doesn’t.
Its not reasonable to expect a car to perform better than every other car in every metric. Even their own don't do that.
 
#5 ·
"It doesn’t sound great, either. A lot of this is down to the eight-speed automatic it's hooked up to, a torque converter that spends far too long converting its torque while also having a nasty habit of holding the wrong gear. Throttle response is blunt, too. Oh, and the economy is pretty dire ... But to win our recommendation it would need to better all its rivals in every key department, and that's before you even get to the caveat that it's left-hand drive only, costs seventy grand and will probably have some rather ugly depreciation. So it doesn’t"

£70,000 UKP is about $92,000 USD. Why would it get any recommendation with those caveats?
 
#6 ·
"that's before you even get to the caveat that it's left-hand drive only, costs seventy grand and will probably have some rather ugly depreciation. So it doesn’t"

£70,000 UKP is about $92,000 USD. Why would it get any recommendation with those caveats?
I don't quite follow Cadillac's logic either. Left-hand drive only for the UK? Really?

To put it into a perspective: how many right-hand drive Jaguars do people buy in the US? Or right-hand drive BMWs and Mercs?

Not to mention the non-existent dealer network.
 
#9 ·
The Cadillac's a petrol and being compared with petrol versions of it's European competitors - it's still a gas-guzzler - the comparability of fuel consumption between different models is sound in the EU, it's the testing of NOx that's under ridicule.

Lack of understanding of individual markets is a trait of GM (and GMI) - if you don't want to sell to Europeans, that's fine - just don't waste money trying.
 
#15 ·
GM and Cadillac won't be serious about rhd markets until they produce cars for those markets with right-hand drive. And maybe they aren't serious, but just want their name and image there.
GM doesn't need to produce rhd if they are strong and profitable in countries with left-hand drive. The USA and China dominance could be plenty of profits.
Yet if you are a worldwide manufacturer, you must produce rhd as well. This may take new-think for GM, but essential as well.
I doubt the review was truly objective, as trashing American cars seems to be sop. And why test a car not designed for your country?
Lastly, if the only car you can recommend is the car that beats all others in every respect, then there probably isn't a car that you can recommend. Which makes a car reviewer useless!
 
#16 ·
And why test a car not designed for your country?
Because Cadillac put the CT6 on sale in the UK and gave UK journalists the chance to test it.

As I Brit, I understand why it's not available in RHD, so IMO they should simply sell it in mainland Europe which is LHD - Brits can always import new LHD cars from Germany if they really want one (at least for the next 2 years).
 
#21 ·
British reviewers will always have a bug up the bum regarding US cars. Go check out reviews of US cars from the 1960s - a lot of the same effete looking down the nose at Yankee ingenuity.

You always hear lots of "nice try, crackers!" because they allegedly are the kings of luxury discernment.

Then it gets into the "By definition we can't like the car - because its Cad. Depreciate much?!"

They said everything you need to know with "It has to beat every car in the segment - in every aspect!" which of course no car really does.

All that said, I think autocar would have felt more warm n fuzzy had it been rhd, so that way they could feel like Cad is treating the Uk market respectfully - 'taking it seriously' - so that oversight is on Cad, imo.
 
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