2021 Cadillac CT5-V Base Classic Ford - Galveston, TX

James Lipman, with CARandDRIVER, wrote, Lets clear up some confusion. The Cadillac CT5-V shown here is not the replacement for the fire-breathing CTS-V. It is best to think of it as a replacement for the old CTS Vsport model, a car that won three 10Best awards from 2014 to 2016. There, that is out of the way. Now that your expectations have been adjusted, you wont be too upset to find that there is a 360-hp twin-turbo 3.0-liter V-6 and a 10-speed automatic transmission driving the CT5-V. The CT5-Vs engine replaces the Vsports twin-turbo 3.6-liter V-6. While the CT5 is down 60 horsepower to the old engine, our test car still managed to scramble to 60 mph in 4.8 seconds, just 0.4 second behind the Vsport. Cadillac sees the CT5-V as a competitor to the Audi S4, BMW M340i, and Mercedes-AMG C43, yet it would also lose a drag race to those cars. But straight-line speed isnt the only measure of a performance sedan. Base versions come standard with GM's fourth-generation magnetorheological dampers that control the wheels and the body better than before, thanks to the additional feedback from accelerometers at each corner. Every corner has a Michelin Pilot Sport 4S sized 245-40R-19. On the skid pad, we found an easily exploited and sports-carlike 0.99 g of grip. But this isnt just about numbers on a track sheet. Unlike lesser CT5 models, the CT5-V is more engaging and fun to drive than the German competition. We are amazed to find that General Motors Performance Traction Management is standard in the CT5-V. This is the stuff of Corvettes and track-focused Camaros, but here it is, and it is not dumbed down. We enjoyed the same adjustability and levels of stability control and traction control intervention for track play. It is probably completely unnecessary, but it is also a bit of a secret handshake and nod to lunatics like us who might decide to take one of these 3993-pound sedans to a road course.