The Cadillac CT4 Entry-Luxury Sedan Appears in Medium-Performance CT4-V Form
The Cadillac CT4 is a new entry-level luxury sedan, and it's debuting in CT4-V form with some mild performance tweaks.
Essentially an updated version of the outgoing ATS, the CT4 is meant to compete with vehicles such as the Audi A3 and Mercedes A-class.
The CT4-V will go on sale in early 2020, with base versions of the car to follow later next year.
The Cadillac CT4 has arrived, and its place in the Cadillac lineup takes a bit of explaining. It looks like a reworked version of the ATS, and it is, riding on the same Alpha platform and even looking to share some body panels. But rather than being a 3-series competitor-that’s now the CT5’s job-Cadillac is repositioning the CT4 into a smaller segment so that it will now compete with the Audi A3 and Mercedes-Benz A-class.
The model you see here is the CT4-V, a medium-performance variant that’s several rungs below the outgoing ATS-V on the performance ladder. Think of it as a direct rival so the Audi S3 and Mercedes-AMG A35, providing a slight but not extreme performance enhancement over the base CT4, which will be revealed in about a month.
Like the Audi and the Mercedes, the CT4-V has a turbocharged four-cylinder engine, in this case the 2.7-liter inline-four introduced in the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup trucks. It makes 320 horsepower and 369 lb-ft of torque and mates with a 10-speed automatic transmission. Rear-wheel drive is standard and all-wheel drive is optional.
Chassis tweaks include magnetorheological dampers on the rear-drive model and a standard limited-slip differential on both versions. The RWD car sounds like it’s being positioned as the more serious performance buy, as it also comes with summer performance rubber rather than the AWD car’s all-season tires; 18-inch wheels are standard on both.
The CT4’s styling looks like it could be a mid-cycle facelift for the ATS, with the most major changes being the front and rear fascias. The rear end has an odd almost boattail-esque treatment, while the face incorporates similar cues as the CT5 with more modern-looking headlights than the outgoing ATS. There’s no extreme body kit for the CT4-V, only dark mesh trim for the grille, quad exhaust tips, and a rear spoiler to distinguish it from the standard car. A new electrical architecture is a major upgrade over the ATS, and it will allow for Cadillac's Super Cruise semi-autonomous driving system and over-the-air-software updates.
To go along with its repositioning, look for the CT4 to significantly undercut the ATS in price. We’d guess that the CT4-V model will start in the low-$40,000 range, with lesser versions dropping into the low $30,000 range. We will find out more about the rest of the CT4 lineup in about a month, Cadillac says.
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