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Overview

The Cadillac CTS is a mid-size luxury vehicle manufactured by General Motors under the Cadillac brand. The Cadillac CTS was first introduced in 2002 and replaced the Cadillac Catera. The Cadillac CTS was introduced in 2002 to the North American market and was unveiled at the Detroit International Auto Show. When it was introduced the CTS was available in three body styles, Sedan, Coupe and Sport Wagon.

The Cadillac CTS was introduced by Cadillac in 2002 as a 2003 model. The car was build on the Sigma platform that featured rear-wheel drive. The CTS was also the first Cadillac offered with a manual transmission since the 1988 Cadillac Cimarron.

Variants

At its introduction the Cadillac CTS was offered with a 3.2-Liter V6 engine that produced 220 horsepower. This engine was very powerful and offered great performance but in 2004 Cadillac decided o introduce a new engine to the line-up. The new engine was a 3.6-Litre DOHC V6 that produced 255 horsepower and 252 lb-ft of torque. In 2005 Cadillac discontinued the base 3.2-Litre V6 and replaced it with a much less performant 2.8-Litre engine that produced 210 horsepower. The 2.8-Liter DOHC V6 became the entry-level engine for the Cadillac CTS. On the Europen market the Cadillac CTS was offered with a 2.6-Liter V6 engine that produced 181hp. This engine was replaced with the 2.8-Liter V6 also.

A much more performant version of the Cadillac CTS was offered in 2004. This version was called Cadillac CTS-V. The CTS-V was a car offered to people who wanted more performance. The car came equipped with a powerful 6.0-Liter LS6 V8 engine that produced 400 horsepower and 395 lb-ft of torque. The engine was mated to the 6-speed Tremeac T56 manual transmission used also on the Chevrolet Corvette C6 Z06. The transmission used the skip-shift feature to conserve fuel during light loads, and a dual mass flywheel to reduce "rattle" in no load conditions. The rear axle was a Getrag limited slip IRS unit with a 3.73:1 ratio.

For the 2003 and 2004 model years the Cadillac CTS was offered with a 5-speed automatic transmission called 5L40-E and a 5-speed manual transmission called the Getrag 260. In 2005 Cadillac replaced the standard 5-speed Getrag 260 manual transmission with a 6-speed manual tranmission called Aisin AY-6. This transmission was better than the 5-speed because it offered better shifts and also imrpoved fuel economy.

The interior of the first generation Cadillac CTS proved to be a major selling point of the car. The interior featured very little wood trim, a unusual thing for a Cadillac. Leather seats were offered as standard and they received five-stars in comfort. Cabin space was planty so even the taller drivers would feel comfortable. The backseat also offered plenty of space and legroom. The three spoke steering wheel had integrated audio controls and it was also padded. The instument pannel was straightfrward and easy to use. An XM Satellite radio with Bose audio system was offered as an option. The OnStar Communication system was also available as an option for the CTS.

Standard safety equipment on the Cadillac CTS included frond driver and passanger airbags, side driver and passanger airbags, rear head airbags, 4-wheel anti lock brakes, 4-wheel disc brakes, auto-on and off headlights and 3-poin safety belts.

Additional Information

The first generation of the Cadillac CTS was designed by Wayne Cherry and Kip Wasenko. The Cadillac CTS was the first car to use the "Art and Science" design language, first used on the Evoq concept car.

The Cadillac CTS and the Cadillac CTS-V were listed on the Car and Driver 10 Best List for three consecutive years.

The Cadillac CTS was also nominated for the North American Car Of The year in 2002.

The Cadillac CTS had some minor front airbag sensor problems and from 2005 to 2007 a total number of 95.927 vehicles were recalled to the factory.