Overview Compact luxury coupe with a spirited turbocharged engine, good looks and sporty handling
Pros Excellent handling, tenacious road holding, decent performance
Cons Somewhat noisy engine, poor dashboard styling
Value for money Quite good, especially compared with the BMW 4 Series
What would I change? I’d rework the engine for less noise, add an eight- or even a nine-speed automatic transmission, make the interior a little less outré and then try to clean up some of CUE’s foibles
How would I spec it? The Performance AWD model is very well equipped for the price (As tested: 2.0L Turbo Performance AWD Coupe)
This is what you get when you squander your brand’s reputation. This is what you get when you treat your customers like morons. This is what you get when you make total crap cans like the Cimarron, Catera and all those terrible diesels Cadillac tried to hawk back in the mid ‘80s.
You get potential consumers — like my (semi) mad, straight-razor-wielding barber or my new tax accountant — looking to trade up to their first luxury branded car telling you they never even considered a Cadillac. When you do try to recommend to shop Cadillac, people look at you like you’re crazy, “But they’re for old people” the most common refrain. And you get great cars — like this recently released all-wheel-drive coupe version of Cadillac’s snazzy 2.0-litre turbocharged ATS — getting none of the respect it deserves from those shopping sporting little luxury sport coupes. It’s a travesty but not one that Cadillac doesn’t deserve.
2015 Cadillac ATS 2.0L Turbo Performance AWD Coupe
Chris Blacerak, Driving
For those that can get past Cadillac’s past transgressions, there’s a remarkable little coupe to be had for the $43,440 General Motors wants for the AWD version of the ATS Coupe. Compared with BMW’s 428i, for instance, the Caddy has 31 more horsepower (272 horses in all), 37 more pound-feet of torque (its 295 pound-feet almost breaks the 300 lb.-ft. barrier, impressive indeed for a 2.0-litre four) and it even weighs a few kilograms less than the two-door Bimmer, a point Cadillac is keen to stress in its quest for sporting bona fides.
If you’re thinking that makes the ATS faster than the 428, you’ve done your math. Indeed, though the Caddy is 0.3 seconds faster to 100 kilometres an hour — 5.6 for the ATS versus 5.9 the 428 — it actually feels speedier than the numbers indicate. In fact, the 2.0T is only 0.1 second behind the 3.6L V6 that stands as the ATS’s range-topping powertrain. Caddy’s 2.0-litre turbo is a healthy young thing, this version of GM’s 2.0T pumping out 19 more ponies than the 253 hp made by the same engine in Buick’s Regal Turbo (though it claims the same 295 lb.-ft. maximum torque as the Caddy).
2015 Cadillac ATS 2.0L Turbo Performance AWD Coupe
David Booth, Driving
Indeed, the ATS’s four-banger is even a little smoother than the BMW’s (though not nearly as sophisticated as Audi’s 2.0T), the Caddy’s major deficit being the number of speeds in its automatic transmission. Six gears is not an impressive number for an auto gearbox any more, especially when the BMW boasts eight and even lowly Jeeps have nine. Performance and sophistication would both be improved with more gears. It might also help the ATS AWD Coupe garner better fuel economy figures than its Natural Resources Canada ratings of 11.5 L/100 km city, 8.5 highway, and 10.2 combined (the BMW, thanks to its eight-speed autobox, averages about one litre less per 100 klicks, according to NRCan figures).
2015 Cadillac ATS 2.0L Turbo Performance AWD Coupe
David Booth, Driving
The other surprising area where the Cadillac measures up to the BMW is in carving up the twisties.
Now, the concept of a Caddy besting a BMW on a serpentine road may seem sacrilege, but know that this is as much about BMW’s seemingly conscious decision to render some of its models — notably any of its “28” suffixed sedans and coupes, especially if they have the company’s xDrive AWD moniker affixed to them as well — mushier than a politician’s promise. Nonetheless, the ATS’s combination of 50:50 weight distribution (remember when BMW used to brag about that?), multi-link independent suspension and a well-calibrated electrically boosted steering system is an impressive combination. The little turbo is even better in this regard than the 3.6L V6, lighter and more direct of steering because the smaller four doesn’t weigh down the front end as much. Still, the ATS’s steering is on the firm side of neutral, something that will please those looking for a sporty ride, but perhaps alienate some Cadillac loyalists. One notable omission — and it might be enough to put some off the AWD version of the coupe — is that Magnetic Ride Control, GM’s fancy name for its incredibly fast reacting magnetorheological suspension dampers, is unfortunately not available on AWD versions of the ATS.
Inside, Cadillac’s argument for BMW loyalists to dump their 4 Series isn’t quite as strong. The ATS’s — and, indeed, all Cadillacs’ — CUE infotainment system has come under some serious criticism. While I don’t find it as irksome as some, it can be a trial. Not only can the software be occasionally confusing, but the ATS’s infernal sliding “touch” switchgear that The General thinks so high-tech are simply frustrating. Sometimes, for instance, you get the audio volume you want; others you’re just left swiping toggles futilely. Thank God that there are controls on the steering wheel; otherwise controlling the audio system would be impossible. Perhaps we need a movement in protest of trendier-than-thou electronic gizmos that do nothing to enhance motorists’ driving experience. Second on the list is push-button starting.
I’m not a whole heck of a lot happier about GM’s choice of dashboard décor. Seriously, Cadillac, the whole piano black with chrome switchgear thing is so passé. The only people who find it “classy” are the same people who go to Vegas to see Elvis impersonators. The rest of the interior is fine and the exterior styling borders on the comely (if a little strained). Then you mangle all those good vibes by covering the dashboard with the interior equivalent of the Landau roof. C’mon!
2015 Cadillac ATS 2.0L Turbo Performance AWD Coupe
David Booth, Driving
One does, however, get the impression that The General has been listening to consumers’ gripes from other aspects of the ATS’s interior. The leather quality is excellent, sight lines open (save for perhaps to the rear, but that’s endemic to coupe styling) and the front seats are positively spacious. As for the rear perches, no one is going to use them, though, if it is a bone of contention, the 428 has a few extra millimetres of wiggle room.
Said BMW, of course, will be on the minds of anyone comparison shopping the ATS; though it’s now divided into the 3 Series (sedan) and 4 Series (coupe) model lines, BMW still owns the near-luxury segment.
That doesn’t mean, however, that the littlest Caddy can’t compete. Indeed, while BMW’s 435i might still scamper away from the 3.6-litre version of the ATS — thanks to that wondrous turbocharged inline six engine — the 2.0T AWD version of the ATS makes the 428i xDrive feel indecisive, wallowy and a tad underpowered. Anyone not willing to give the Caddy a test drive needs to forgive and forget. Cadillac has paid enough penance.
2015 Cadillac ATS 2.0L Turbo Performance AWD Coupe
Chris Blacerak, Driving
The Specs
Type of vehicle All-wheel-drive luxury compact coupe
Engine Turbocharged 2.0L DOHC four-cylinder
Power 272 hp @ 5,500 rpm, 295 lb.-ft. of torque @ 3,000 rpm
Transmission Six-speed manumatic
Brakes Four-wheel disc with ABS
Tires P225/40R18 front: 255/35R18 rear
Price (base/as tested) $50,595/$54,155
Destination charge $1,800
Natural Resources Canada fuel economy (L/100 km) 11.5 city, 8.5 highway
Standard features Dual-zone automatic climate control with air filtration, rear-vision camera, OnStar, CUE Information system, 4G LTE Wi-Fi integration, electronic cruise control, heated outside rear-view mirrors, power-adjustable, heated leather-covered front seats with driver memory package, power windows, power trunk release, tilt/telescoping steering wheel, 12-speaker Bose 5.1 AM/FM/SiriusXM surround sound stereo, auxiliary input jack, USB port, SD memory card slot and Bluetooth wireless connectivity, leather-wrapped steering wheel with infotainment and cruise controls, theft-deterrent system, front air bags, front side air bags, front and rear side curtain air bags, front knee air bags, Rear Cross Traffic Alert, Side Blind Zone Alert, Lane Departure Warning, StabiliTrak electronic stability control.
