Washington Post STS V8 review

[VivienM]

Warren Brown, the Post's car guy, just reviewed a V8 STS.

He's quite upbeat about the car, though in general, he likes most cars he drives, and unlike most automotive reviewers, he doesn't blindly worship at the altar of BMW, Honda, and Volkswagen.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...2.html/?nav=lb

[Cphelps]

Have to register and sign in...any way you could copy/paste it here?

[VivienM]

Originally Posted by Cphelps

Have to register and sign in...any way you could copy/paste it here?

"Waltzing a Sweetheart

By Warren Brown
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, May 15, 2005; Page G01

Curve dancing done well requires good music and a nimble automobile. No ordinary car will do. No truck need apply. You can't salsa with a wimp. You can't tango with an elephant.

Curve dancing demands a tight body and responsive soul -- one to attract and seduce, the other to enjoy and transcend the physicality of the moment.


2005 Cadilac STS Northstar V8 sedan
2005 Cadilac STS Northstar V8 sedan
Nuts & Bolts
2005 Cadillac STS Northstar V-8

Downside: Minor quibble. With all of the advanced technology in the STS V-8, I wonder why Cadillac installed a traditional foot pressure set/release service brake instead of the new electronic, push-button brake set/release system used by Bentley, Jaguar and Lincoln. That more advanced service brake would be really cool here.

Ride, acceleration and handling: Excellent in all three categories. Some of my peers have complained that the STS V-8 is not as "sporting" as they would like. I don't know what they mean by "sporting," although I know that some of the complainants enjoy "pushing" a car "to its limits." But I find neither grace nor pleasure in that sort of thing. That isn't dancing. It's torture.

Head-turning quotient: To all of the street spectators who asked: Yes, it's a Cadillac designed and engineered by General Motors Corp. No, it's not a Lexus, BMW, Italian car or any other foreign luxury car with a Cadillac grille and badge. It's a Cadillac. Okay?

Body style/layout: The 2005 Cadillac STS is a mid-size luxury performance sedan available with rear-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive. It is made at GM's Lansing Grand River Assembly plant in Michigan.

Engines/transmissions: The STS V-8 is equipped with GM's 4.6-liter, 32-valve Northstar V-8. The valves are electronically controlled (variable valve timing) for more precise air/fuel intake, combustion and exhaust, which help to increase power without a big increase in fuel consumption. Maximum horsepower is 320 at 6,400 revolutions per minute. Maximum torque is 315 foot-pounds at 4,400 rpm. A 255-hp V-6 is available for the more fuel-conscious buyer. Both engines are mated to five-speed automatic transmissions that also can be shifted manually.

Cargo and fuel capacities: The STS V-8 has seating for five people. Cargo capacity is 14 cubic feet. Fuel capacity is 17.5 gallons of required premium unleaded gasoline.

Mileage: I averaged 24 miles per gallon in highway and city driving.

Safety: Side and head air bags; traction and stability control; four-wheel anti-lock brakes; OnStar emergency communications system.

Price: Base price on the tested 2005 Cadillac STS V-8 is $47,025. Dealer's invoice price on base model is $43,025. Price as tested is $60,835, including $13,115 in options and a $695 destination charge. Dealer's price with options and destination charge is $55,341. There is at least a $1,000 rebate on this car. You can bargain. Prices sourced from Cadillac, KBB.com, Edmunds.com and Cars.com, which is a Washington Post affiliate.

Purse-strings note: Check out all three STS versions. Compare with Audi A6, BMW 5-Series, Lexus GS 430, Mercedes-Benz E-Class.

It is ritualistic art, curve dancing. It is a tantric experience behind the wheel -- engine humming, music pumping, speed building, approaching the entrance to the curve, easing into its apex, letting the curve take you as you take it, flowing into a graceful exit.

That is the joy of driving a car such as the 2005 Cadillac STS Northstar V-8 sedan. It is made to dance. Its body is sleek vs. slick, chiseled yet sensuous, stunning without the slightest hint of being overdone -- purposeful.

May I have this dance?

Curves?

Yes.

The music was Armik, the Reverend Al Green, Ray Charles and B.B. King. The routes were U.S. 50 East running into Annapolis and Bay Ridge; and after a visit there with friends of long standing, it was back on U.S. 50 again, this time heading west toward a hookup with Interstate 66 on the way to Virginia's Shenandoah Valley.

If you love dancing and driving, you know that the only difference between the two is the size of the floor. In a car that can boogie, the floor is as wide and long as the road you're on. If the road has cozy and exciting corners, so much the better. You and your partner can become familiar in those spots, which is where I learned a few things about the STS V-8.

Two months before going out with that car, I had driven many other automobiles -- high-enders such as the Aston Martin DB9, the Bentley Arnage and Continental GT, and the Mercedes-Benz CL600 -- all of them good dancers, all of them costing substantially more than the STS V-8.

But bigger prices do not guarantee better talent. The STS V-8 danced as well as all of the pricey exotics; and in the case of the elegant, but stiff-bordering-on-stuffy $243,000 Bentley Arnage, it danced a heck of a lot better. If that surprises you, it's a safe bet you haven't driven a Cadillac, or haven't even been a passenger in one, for at least 15 years, which means you've missed a lot. Cadillac has changed tremendously for the better in recent years; and the new rear-wheel-drive STS V-8 and its siblings -- the rear-wheel-drive STS V-6 and the STS V-8 all-wheel-drive -- are proof. The cars collectively replace the Cadillac Seville, which was introduced in 1956.

Cadillac's build quality now rivals that of any luxury automobile manufacturer from Europe or Asia. Exterior and interior gaps have been reduced to the most narrow of apertures. The STS V-8, for example, feels solid, tight, rattle-free right.

The car has a curb weight -- factory weight minus passengers and cargo -- of 4,230 pounds, but the STS V-8 feels hundreds of pounds lighter than that. You can swing with it. It goes exactly where you point it exactly when you point it, keeping up with every movement of your hands with precision and grace.

The interior is comfortable and finely crafted. The seats are all leather vs. "leather-covered surfaces"; and the "Tuscany" leather is rich and supple. There are attractive, judicious applications of eucalyptus wood trim on the center console and door panel; and the vinyl portions of the instrument panel (finally!) are high-quality, soft-to-touch vinyl.

Technologically, the truly expensive luxury mobiles have nothing discernibly, measurably better than the STS V-8. For example, the Cadillac's touch-screen navigation system works better than anything lately used by BMW or Mercedes-Benz. Its standard OnStar emergency telecommunications system has long been the best in the business. The STS V-8 also is available with Bluetooth wireless networking capability and an advanced voice-recognition system.

In summary, the car is smart, sexy, hot -- very hot. The Northstar V-8 has a maximum 320 horsepower; and although you'll probably never use all of it, it's just fun thinking about the possibility of doing so. It's a lot like meeting a beautiful dance partner and thinking that after the dance, you might, well . . . probably not. What the heck. At least you leave the floor happy knowing that you had a really nice time."

[Vintalage]

I liked the way the car drives. It has a european feel. The interior is what I have a problem with. The quality of the materials are not great for the price of the car. Certain areas appeared "low cost".

[johnd89]

thumbs up for a great review!

[mgescuro]

Originally Posted by Vintalage

I liked the way the car drives. It has a european feel. The interior is what I have a problem with. The quality of the materials are not great for the price of the car. Certain areas appeared "low cost".

Not only "low cost," but they belong in a Cobalt.

[wcbrown]

Take a look at ALL the materials in ALL areas used in the STS's competitors...you'll find the same thing. Why everyone keeps on pointing it out in only the STS is beyond me.

[jro4566]

Originally Posted by wcbrown

Take a look at ALL the materials in ALL areas used in the STS's competitors...you'll find the same thing. Why everyone keeps on pointing it out in only the STS is beyond me.

Not exactly. While the STS looks better than the new GS in pictures, it is exactly the opposite in real life. Same goes for the new M45 - it doesn't look as ergonomically-inviting as the STS yet its materials are slightly better.

Back to the article, I like how he describes the styling of the STS. As some may know, I'm no fan of A&S, but the STS is one design that does appeal to me. It's nice to see how he describes the STS's design as very sensual.