Finally CTS vs. BMW 5 Series Review

[ksr]

http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyl...mpaign_id=yhoo


Finally a review pitting the CTS against it's most logical competitor. Good review.

[CobaltSScrazy]

not really a review save for 4 paragraphs but I like how he compares to equally sized cars. I love how no one mentions the 6speed in the BMW is sourced from GM!

Why talk about ford's problem's in a supposed CTS review though?

CobaltSS

[ksr]

Originally Posted by CobaltSScrazy

not really a review save for 4 paragraphs but I like how he compares to equally sized cars. I love how no one mentions the 6speed in the BMW is sourced from GM!

Why talk about ford's problem's in a supposed CTS review though?

CobaltSS

Yeah, not exactly an in-depth piece, but a good little read.

He does mention a lot of stuff out-of-scope of the article's title.

I was wondering about the transmission thing too. Does GM still supply that 6-speed to BMW? I didn't know if BMW was using a different transmission now, or, more likely, the writer didn't do his homework.

[Buick61]

This isn't the first one to compare the two.

And none have been all that favorable for the CTS.

[CmicasatheGreat]

One thing I will say is that I have yet to hear of anyone leaving a Cadillac Dealership in a CTS Di for under $43K... Seriously

And isn't the BMW 6speed actually sourced from GM as well?


Anyway EXCELLENT review of two great cars in the same SIZE category.. FINALLY... Anyone who argues against this is a moron... these cars are so evenly matched that even I can't argue against a situation where a BMW would win in a speed contest, even though it lost here. The 535i like the 335i are underrated IMO, and even if they are not, they are lighter than the CTS... GM NEEDS to boost the power on the CTS across the board and give it a N/A V8 LS2 or LS3 with at least 360-402HP... like the G8

[Ambalanche]

Originally Posted by ksr

the writer didn't do his homework.

Imagine that!

[SJZ3]

I'm not sure how to check, but from what has been posted in this forum (and others) is that the 528i and 328i use the GM 6-speed automatic, but the 535i and 335i use the ZF 6-speed automatic. The car pitted against the CTS in this review (535xi) most likely did not have a GM automatic.

[YupYupYup]

More proof that journalists are idiots.

[CobaltSScrazy]

Originally Posted by SJZ3

I'm not sure how to check, but from what has been posted in this forum (and others) is that the 528i and 328i use the GM 6-speed automatic, but the 535i and 335i use the ZF 6-speed automatic. The car pitted against the CTS in this review (535xi) most likely did not have a GM automatic.

why? Why not just use same ZF one then? Please elaborate!

CobaltSS

[tama z71]

I was actually happy with this comparison. Nothing seems out of line, and he determined superiority with the criteria of a real world driver, a real person -- not the hair splitting performance figures of a C&D or MT, whose slavish devotion to the 0-60 and other too close to call numbers is fundamentally flawed.

[WishIhadatruck]

Originally Posted by CobaltSScrazy

why? Why not just use same ZF one then? Please elaborate!

CobaltSS

If you compare the gear ratio's in the 328i, 528i, 535xi to the gear ratio's of the 6L50 trans the only one that matches is the 328i transmission. The 528i and 535xi transmissions are the same but don't match with the 6L50. The 6L50 is made in Ypsilanti as well as France. The 6L80 which could handle the larger BMW engines is only made in Ypsilanti.

http://www.bmwusa.com/Standard/Conte...fications.aspx
http://www.bmwusa.com/Standard/Conte...fications.aspx
http://www.bmwusa.com/Standard/Conte...fications.aspx
http://media.gm.com/us/powertrain/en...8_6L50_MYB.xls

[zete]

This type of review will do more for GM than a thousand reviews in car rags. Business Week is just very widely read and folks who read it religiously will realize a change in tune re: GM when they see it.

And isn't it surprising it took a business magazine to compare the right cars to one another? And isn't it proper they comment on the difference in price as a way of saving you some coin due to exchange and other reasons, as opposed to the CTS somehow being inferior?

Of course, judging a car on how it feels when you drive it means more to most people than 0-60 and other markers. I do love the kidney busting comment. Harsh suspensions are so last year.

[New_Mexico_Sunset_on_Rt66]

This seems like disjointed review. First we get an op-ed piece on Detroit. <Kinda late to that party, dude.>

Then just a few paragraphs on the 550i and CTS. I dunno. Seems they should be comparing the CTS with the BMW 3, based on price. Anybody who has the extra cash to be shopping for a 5 Series, I doubt, would consider saving the money and buying the CTS. Maybe I'm wrong.

[nadepalma]

Originally Posted by Business Week

By the way, fuel economy is nearly dead even for these two vehicles, with the BMW at 17 mpg city/25 mpg highway and the Caddy at 17/26. Bonus: The CTS drinks blue-collar regular while the BMW wants blue-blood premium.

Last thought: GM is finally flexing its muscle with cars like the CTS, but what has yet to be determined is if gains in J.D. Power surveys on quality are lasting and, tougher, if a generation of twenty- to fortysomethings whose parents swore off GM products will take another look. This reporter thinks they should.

Fantastic quote.

I think overall it's a decent review -- even if it was rather short and not a real long test like we'd see from Edmunds or Card & Driver.

Excellent nonetheless. Glad that some folks out there are at least pitting the proper vehicles against each other...

[mgescuro]

Originally Posted by Buick61

This isn't the first one to compare the two.

And none have been all that favorable for the CTS.

Right. This is the 2nd one.
I wouldn't say "favorable," but the articles recognize CTS' strengths, but realize that it still needs to be taken up a notch to really compete with the 5.