Beauty And The Beast- All Because Of A V.

So I had some spare time. Saw one on a lot and decided to check it out, especially since I had been supremely underwhelmed by the regular STS when I had finally seen one a few weeks ago.

One point of note before I go on- this was a mixed Chevy/Caddy dealer- the first salesman who came out to see me had NO idea about anything to do with the car. At one point, he said it was AWD. He gave me a brochure, I looked it over, and realized that in fact, the V is not AWD, but is RWD. He then informed me that it used a supercharged version of the engine in the regular STS. Again wrong. Finally, realizing that perhaps he was over his head (he said he used to work at a Kia dealer), he called over, in his words, 'the Cadillac specialist' at the dealer. This 'specialist', and I use the term loosely, proceeded to tell me that the V had a lot more 'oomph' (his words, not mine) than the regular STS, and a stiffened suspension, and that was the general difference between the vehicles.

And people wonder why Lexus et al are able to make the inroads they have.

The Outside
Certainly, in V trim, the STS looks a hell of a lot nicer. The mesh grille up front gives it a menacing look, especially when paired with the silver colour of the tester. Fit and finish was impeccable, and the 18 inch ten spoke rims were understated but still flashy enough for my tastes. The car also features deeper skirting, and an understated spoiler that makes the back end of the car look a lot better. All in all, the V version is a LOT better looking than the regular version, and definitely a positive step towards the Art and Science theme of the CTS.

The only nag I did have with the exterior was badge overload by the door- you have the 'SUPERCHARGED' badge, the little flag V designation, and the GM tag as well. Too much in one small spot. Otherwise, I was very impressed.

The Inside
The regular STS is a disappointment. Drab looking wood. Drab center stack. Drab controls. The STS-V however is a different animal. It's amazing how paying attention to the details makes a difference in this car. The first thing I noticed was the beautiful wood- not the puke looking brown stuff in the regular STS I drove- this was a shade of dark blue almost, and really brightened up the interior. Also brightening up the interior is a lot of chrome accents- at the door, on the passenger side of the dash, and liberally applied around the shifter. The general look is FAR more upscale than in the regular models, and one wishes that you wouldn't have to pony up about 20k CDN more to get it. In addition, most of the dash, the doors, and the center console is covered in beautiful leather with some nice stitching. The seats are a combo leather/suede pattern, and are supportive and comfortable. And what is this?!?! Push button start! One wonders why the older STS features this, but the new Escalade does not.

The most dominating feature of the interior however, remains the center stack. In a word, it is imposing. Too big for my taste. Framed by copious swaths of the aforementioned wood, the inner portion is too stark for my tastes, and features ungrained plastics around the HVAC/radio controls- frakly it looks cheap, and much like other GM setups, seems as though it was designed for easy manufacturing, rather than flow and design reasons. Set up high is a huge navigation/central command screen, which didn't wash out in sunlight and featured an intuitive control system that wasn't hard to use or get used to. Plus it uses a touch screen, which is ALWAYS preferred over stupid iDrive type mechanisms. Another nice bonus not featured in the Escalade is the inclusion of Bluetooth- I tested it with my RAZR, and it worked flawlessly. Bravo Cadillac- now put it standard in all your vehicles.

The sore spots of the interior, apart from my personal center stack preferences, were few, but glaring enough to warrant mention. My first issue was with the design of the armrest, the bin underneath, and the cover for the cupholders. They look and feel as though they came from an HHR. Hard ungrained plastic for the cover, and a shallow (albeit covered in soft velvet type material) armrest that just wasn't positioned optimally for me. Like I said, these are small things, but things that you are almost always using when driving the vehicle, so they stand out. I also had an issue with the power tilt/telescope mechanism- it moved far too abruptly and was difficult to fine tune to the position I wanted. Thankfully, the car has a memory system, so hopefully owners can do a 'one and done' programming if there are multiple drivers of the vehicle. The last issue for me was the material used in the headliner- my G6 felt more expensive. This seemed like an evolution of the rat fur that GM has used in the past.

The Drive
With 469 horsepower and 439 lb/ft of torque underfoot provided by the supercharged 4.4 litre Northstar engine, the STS-V is never underpowered. It moves, and it moves fast. Really fast. The tires break loose easily unless you modulate, and the sensation of speed is not easily noticed until you're doing 120 km/h on a backroad rated for 80 km/h with a somewhat frightened Cadillac dealer next to you. All this power is put down by a 6 speed automatic transmission which also features a manumatic function.

The performance is there.

What I didn't expect was the HUGE amount of supercharger whine under throttle. Open it up, and it sounds like a chorus of 3 week old kittens crying underneath the hood. Surrounded by opulent leather and all the trappings of a luxury car, I was surprised, and frankly, a little disappointed. I can hear you now- MF, you're in a SPORT version of the STS, it's SUPPOSED to be RAWER. And I guess you would have a point, but at this price point, no other vehicle in the class exhibits this sort of unruly behaviour. This is not a slam on the vehicle, but it does underscore the juxtaposition of putting a powerplant like this in a luxo-barge like this.

Handling was also top notch- the stability control keeps the tail in, and try as I might, I was unable to get the ABS to engage, short of a full out panic stop. Most, if not all of this can be attributed to the enormous 14 inch Brembo brakes out front, which stop this car in a hell of a hurry, and the feeling that this car never feels as though it is dipping or diving- it stays very planted. The suspension setup, although more firm than the regular STS, is not overly harsh, and very livable- providing nice feedback in turns and when you want to get frisky, while soaking up the bumps in day to day driving.

Put simply, this Cadillac is one hell of a performance beast.

Apart from the supercharger whine, the only other things that served as an annoyance while driving was slightly numb steering feel (something that I've almost come to expect from GM) and a manumatic that just didn't seem to shift as quickly as I have become accustomed to in my G6 (which isn't all that great to begin with).

So What?
As the top of the line version of the top of the line Cadillac sedan, the STS-V also comes with a top of the line price. Outfitted like the one I drove was, the sticker price for the STS-V was $101,000 CDN. That's what I consider eye popping. At this price range, you're playing in Audi A8 4.2 league, Lexus LS league, Mercedes E500 league, BMW 550i league, Infiniti M45 league, and Jaguar XJ league.

The Cadillac is the top performer of this group, but falls short on a number of things, namely, refinement and details. In terms of refinement, the suspension is up to par with all of them, but engine noise put it at the bottom of the pack. In terms of details, it falls near the back of the pack with the Infiniti, and well behind class leaders like the Audi and the Lexus. Add in a substandard level of service that you can probably expect from dual purpose dealerships, and you'd REALLY have to want the best performing vehicle in this price range to choose the STS-V if a complete luxury package is what you want.

The STS-V really is a study in contrasts- on one had, it has the soul of a sports car. On the other, it wants to be a luxury car. Until Cadillac figures out how to balance the two, it will sell only to buyers looking for the most bang for their buck, instead of the most complete vehicle in the segment- which is where the fat part of the market lies.

Two enthusiastic thumbs up though.