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I drove the CT4 AWD w/2.7T!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

13K views 29 replies 15 participants last post by  amentyla 
#1 ·
I drove the CT4 Premium Luxury AWD with the 2.7 turbo/10 speed!

Sticker is $50,490; the car is fully loaded with all options. It has the electronic shift, premium Bose stereo with 14 speakers, wireless charging and navigation. Also has the Driver Assist package including the advanced adaptive cruise control, etc. Climate package – heated and ventilated front seats with heated steering wheel, Tech Package including HUD, sunroof, Drivers Awareness Plus package and the Lighting package. Black Raven is the color.

All my fears of the 2.7 being a truck engine are gone! Fantastic combination – smooth, powerful and willing to rev!!!! And it sounds fantastic in sport mode; it’s considerably louder than my ATS. In touring mode the sound is a lot quieter. Let off the gas at high rpm and it has a really nice burble. This engine is what has been missing from my ATS! I no longer need to say the German engines are better. Other than the "on purpose" engine/exhaust sound the car is very quiet.

Suspension/ride – much more compliant than my ATS, very fluid over bumps, however the handling isn’t as sharp. I think people living in the northern climate with potholed and broken roads will be better off with this suspension. I did notice a touch of float, nothing bad though. I do have suspicions that car mags will not like this suspension tuning, much like they don’t like the base CT5. But, as I said I think the real world will prefer the softer ride. Though I like this suspension, I do want drive the CT4-V before I make my final decision.

Visuals, it is a good looking car! Some people are having issues with the trunk, in pictures it looks like the upper portion of the trunk protrudes. It looks nothing like that in real life; I’d have to say it is one of the best aspects of the car. I was pleased when I shut the trunk, it closes with a solid thunk vs. my ATS where the license plate is in the trunk lid and rattles in a non-luxury way when I shut the lid, which drives me nuts.

Rear seat – I sat in it, feels like they scraped some more space vs. my ATS. I’m 5’ 9” and 165 lbs.; I felt comfortable in the back seat with plenty of headroom and didn’t feel like my feet were sealed in.

The controls are all intuitive; CUE is very easy to use with nice graphics. And I’m happy to say that Timeshift is back – you can rewind the radio, which I do quite often. For some reason they took that away in the last few years of the last gen CUE. No lags or anything else that was complained about with the last gen.

I walked away really excited with a huge grin on my face, I can’t wait to buy one later in the year!

And yes, no pictures because of the freaking pain in the ass GMI is about uploading them.
 
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#2 ·
I know you read my CT4-V review in the Cadillac section. I am glad that you confirm that the 2.7T is no
truck engine in the CT4. It feels like all car to me.

The MyMode + VMode options allow us to pick the sound level. What is nice is that it's not loud when
driving in our development, just when accelerating harder.

The CT4-V handling is more like the ATS. After adding the $2,500 cost of the 2.7 engine to the Prem Lux,
the CT4-V isn't much higher priced and the seats are a lot better, unless the Prem Lux has the Plat Pkg.

I like the spoiler brake light better on the ATS.

I didn't notice or read anything in the VT4 manual about radio Timeshift.

I thought photo loading wasn't hard, except it looks like 1 per post.
 
#7 ·
My wife wanted to test drive a XT4, one striking thing I noticed is that the 2.0T is a loud engine when you are outside of the car - a lot of clatter. And we drove two - one as a loaner (they soaked me for 100,000 mile maintenance and keeping my ATS overnight) and the other as a test drive. When they drove up in the CT4 the engine sound is very muted, more of a techy sound whir that I found pleasing.

I definitely want to try the V before I make the plunge, though I do constantly drive in fear with my ATS - I'm always one pothole away from an expensive repair.

My assumption is they dropped the name "Timeshift" on the radio. Kind of stupid to rename "rewind" from something that everyone knows and understands (rewind) to "what's timeshift".

I always have a hard time uploading photos. No matter how small I make the picture it always tells me it's to big and I don't want to join a website simply to upload photos to GMI.
 
#3 ·
And yes, no pictures because of the freaking pain in the ass GMI is about uploading them.
I thought photo loading wasn't hard, except it looks like 1 per post.
3rd party hosting is usually the best for these sort of things. Imgur has become the go to for most after photobucket kicked the bucket.
 
#4 · (Edited)
Thank you BlackGTP (and ArtsCadillac too) for your driving impressions! Especially appreciate your assessments of the engine.

I will now retract statements I made in other GMI threads about four cylinder gasoline engines being ill suited for Cadillac vehicles. Based on your and ArtsCadillac's reviews, the 2.7 liter engine sounds appropriate for Cadillac CT4 - literally. :)
 
#10 · (Edited)
Thanks for the review, looks like you really liked the car! I'm looking forward to your thoughts on the CT4-V, if/when that happens. It's an interesting comparison: MRC vs. non-MRC etc.

Glad to hear the 2.7T is terrific! This gives ATS owners like you a clear upgrade path, either the PremLux 2.7T or the V. The PremLux 2.7T starts at $41K, only $1K more than last year's base 2019 ATS with the 2.0T.

Selfishly, I'm hoping when you go back to the dealer you'll take a quick spin in the regular 2.0T CT4 to see how it compares with your 2.0T ATS. Down a bit on power, yes, but is it noticeable? How does the current 8sp feel? NVH etc.

The incentives this fall are going to be very interesting what with everything going on. At some point they are going to start production again, won't they discount the 2020s this fall/winter? Right now there's a $5K incentive on 2019 XT4s. Hmmmm.....
 
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#11 ·
Yes! I'd love to drive the 2.0T to see how it compares. Right now my dealer has exactly one CT4, the one I drove. They had two or three others, but they already sold - hopefully that is a good sign that they are selling in this Coronavirus world. My wife wanted to see what the garnet metallic XT4 looked like, which my dealers sister dealership had, so we drove up there, it was closed by the time we got there, but we looked around. They did have the 2.0, one thing I noted was how much I like the look of the electronic shifter and other controls that come with the 2.7 vs. having the mechanical shifter.

I'll be interested to see if my dealer even stocks a rwd CT4-V, when they were selling the ATS and CTS I remember early on they stocked a few rwd models, they all sat out in the lot for a full year only to have $12k on the hood a year later to sell them, and they still took a long time to sell. RWD doesn't sell well for this class of car in Connecticut. If I do get the CT4-V it will be AWD, but I'd love to drive the rwd with MRC.

I am hoping for some discounts, I'd rather have the money in my pocket vs. theirs :D But, as you noted, I really liked the car - I stepped out grinning like a kid. I'm not going to let a few thousand dollars get in the way of me getting into a CT4 2.7!

The drivetrain is really what the Alpha chassis deserved, I am certain if the ATS launched with this engine/tranny we'd have had a much different sales volume story.
 
#12 ·
Great review man.. Sound like the CT4 is on point.. and what U were hoping for. The reviews always mention that the 2.7L was from the truck.. but none have said it is "Trucky..." whatever that means lol.. glad to hear.. both U and ArtsCadillac (I saw he bought a V) don't see it as such. Pretty sure that was heavy on Cadillac's mind when they put the engine in the vehicle.. otherwise they would have simply left the 3.6L in place instead of going to a complete forced induction line-up for these two vehicles.

Question.. How'd U like the 10Speed vs the 6 in your car.. or any of the 8s U may have tested? I think it is sublime.. and a nice difference in my V versus my Slade's 8. And I had a 2020 Escalade as a loaner during a scheduled maintenance and confirm that even from like vehicle to like vehicle.. the 10 is a superior tranny.. perhaps except in times of desired Manual Shifting simply because of the extra gears lol.
 
#13 ·
Yes, I definitely had fears with the 2.7, GM has a history of not doing the necessary refinements at first, waiting a couple of years to see if 1) anyone complains 2) if the sales volume can support the cost of the improvement 3) or just waiting until the money is in the budget. However, the new GM seems to have its act together and leaning towards getting it right out of the gate.

Yes, the 10 speed is sublime, it was nice in both touring and sport where my 6 speed is noticeably nicer in sport. The 10 speed is very willing to shift gears and the shift quality is imperceptible. I have driven ATS's with the 8 speed, I recall the 8 speed feeling similar to my 6 speed. As with the 2.7, GM really did a nice job. I will go so far as to say the 10 speed coupled with the 2.7 is a world class combination.

That's on thing I didn't try - manual shifting.... Though I did "feel up" the paddles, they felt nice!
 
#17 ·
Thaxx for the write-up, GTP. :drive: Something about CARS...imagine!!

Because you like the car so much, I had a word with GMary and she's having one sent over to you, gratis. In your favorite colour. Keep an eye on your mailbox for a real surprise.
 
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#19 ·
#22 ·
I like this car. But I think the tail could be a little better. I think they should have the center brake light in a tin LED strip across the top of the trunk. It just needs... something there. In person, I thought it had a blank, unfinished look.
 
#25 ·
It is not the same car like the ATS. Only things carried over from the ATS is wheelbase, side mirrors and doors handles are it. C-Pillar perhaps also, but this is a second generation SWB of Alpha platform. What matters the most is the general public voting with their money for this car.
 
#28 ·
Yes it’s a cool-looking color. OK its only one dealer but my local Caddy place is down to one CT5 and zero CT4, they had five and two a couple of months ago (pandemic). So they’re starting to move...and clearly they need inventory.
 
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