I hope to drive the all-new, third generation Cadillac CTS before the end of the month. My expectations are high, both because of the related ATS and because of how they’ve priced it.
Even after a price increase to open up room for the smaller ATS, the 2013 CTS started at $39,990. The 2014 starts at $46,025, a $6,035 bump. Only about $700 of the increase is justified by the new car’s additional content. This is without adjusting for the engine change: last year’s 270-horsepower V6 has been replaced by a 272-horsepower turbocharged four.
Price both cars with 3.6-liter V6s, and the new one lists for over $10,000 more, $54,625 vs. $44,235. But additional content required to get the big V6 justifies about $4,000 of this difference, so the net remains about $6,000.
(This is also without factoring in discounts, likely higher on the 2013.)
So, is the 2014 CTS $6,000 more car than the old one?
GM argues that while the old CTS was an “in-betweener,” larger than a BMW 3-Series but smaller than a 5-Series, the new one aligns squarely with the latter. The specs tell a different story. The 2014 is nearly four inches longer (195.5 vs. 191.6 inches), but all of the interior dimensions remain about the same as before. On paper, legroom is about even with a 5-Series, but the BMW’s back seat feels roomier than its specs suggest it ought to. The new CTS’s cabin is a significant 1.5 inches narrower than the BMW’s, and its trunk is much smaller, 13.7 vs. 18.4 cubic feet. Reviewers have been critical of the ATS for having less rear seat and trunk space than the 3-Series. I wonder if the same will happen with the CTS vs. the 5-Series.
And the price of the new CTS compared to the BMW? A 2014 528i lists for $4,400 more ($50,425), partly because BMW made nav and app support standard this year and raised the car’s base price by $1,700. About $2,400 of this difference is explained by the BMW’s additional standard features, suggesting that when both are minimally equipped the CTS is priced about $2,000 lower.
This is for cars with no options. Load them both up, and the BMW lists for nearly $6,000 more, $67,425 vs. $61,565, a healthier difference. Content differences only explain about $400. The implication: BMW charges much more for options than Cadillac does. The more you want on the car, the more competitive the Cadillac’s price becomes.
This is still with four-cylinder engines. (Yes, you can now spend over $60,000 on a sedan with a four-cylinder engine.) In a new Vsport model Cadillac is introducing a turbocharged V6 good for 420 horsepower. Initial testing suggests that the Vsport isn’t quite as quick as a BMW 550i, but it’s not too far off. And the price?
The Vsport is available with two equipment levels for $59,995 and $69,995. The latter seems heady territory for a midsize Cadillac. But a similarly equipped 2014 BMW 550i lists for $81,550, $11,555 more. Feature differences account for about $2,200 of the difference, leaving a delta of about $9,400. Suddenly the price for the Cadillac doesn’t seem so crazy.
Similarly equip a Mercedes-Benz E350 and Cadillac CTS, and the German car is $4,265 more ($60,140 vs. $55875).
Granted, these comparisons are all against the most expensive cars in the segment. Similarly equip a Cadillac CTS V6 and Audi A6 3.0T, and they both end up around $60,000.
A 2013 Infiniti M37 lists for about $3,000 less, but includes $3,000 less stuff–a wash. Load up both the CTS Vsport and a 2013 Infiniti M56, and the Cadillac is $1,390 less before adjusting for feature differences, and about $3,000 less afterwards.
And a 2013 Lexus GS 350? Exactly $5,000 less before adjusting for feature differences, and $3,400 less afterwards.
So, as pricey as the new CTS might seem, it does cost a few thousand less than a comparable BMW or Mercedes and about the same as an Audi or Infiniti. Only the Lexus costs significantly less.
To compare these cars with the features you want:
Of course, the next question is whether the new CTS is good enough to command A6 rather than A4 prices. I hope to have a review around the end of the month.