How Does the New Guy Rank Statistically Against the Segment's Best?
When the dust from the 2013 New York International Auto Show settles, a few new vehicle debuts will stand out as stars — and the 2014 Cadillac CTS will definitely be one of those cars.
We’ll contribute to the time-honored tradition of bench racing by laying out some specs for the newly enlarged 2014 CTS and its competitors. With the new CTS currently on our list of must-drive cars, we’re looking forward to comparing the Caddy against its midsize luxury sedan competitive set. Driving the CTS is still a ways out, but how do the numbers stack up so far?
Cadillac CTS
Fresh off the NYIAS floor, the new CTS no longer needs to straddle the compact and midsize luxury segments. The exterior and interior designs have been pulled closer to what we’ve been seeing in Caddy’s modern stable, and there’s a bevy of new technology at play, including a hot twin-turbocharged 3.6-liter V-6.
| Cadillac CTS | ||||
| Engines | Horse power | Torque (lb-ft) | Transmission | Fuel economy (mpg, city/highway) |
| Turbocharged 2.0L I-4 | 272 | 295 | 6A | RWD – 19/30*, AWD – 18/28* |
| 3.6L V-6 | 321 | 275 | 6A, 8A | RWD – 19/28 (8A)*, AWD – 18/27 (6A)* |
| Twin-turbocharged 3.6L V-6 | 420 | 430 | 8A | RWD – 17/25* |
| Interior dimensions | Front (inches) | Rear (inches) | ||
| Headroom | 39.2 | 37.5 | ||
| Legroom | 42.6 | 35.4 | ||
| Shoulder room | 56.9 | 54.8 | ||
| Cargo volume (cubic feet) | 13.7 | |||
| *estimated | ||||
The Competition
Audi A6/S6
New for 2012, you know the drill for the A6. Quattro all-wheel drive is a rewarding feature, unless you’re behind the wheel of the front-drive A6 2.0T with the CVT.
| Audi A6/S6 | ||||
| Engines | Horsepower | Torque (lb-ft) | Transmission | Fuel economy (mpg, city/highway) |
| Turbocharged 2.0L I-4 | 211 | 258 | CVT, 8A | FWD – 25/33 (CVT), AWD – 20/30 (8A) |
| Supercharged 3.0L V-6 | 310 | 325 | 8A | AWD – 18/27 |
| Twin-turbocharged 4.0L V-8 | 420 | 406 | 7DCT | AWD – 17/27 |
| Interior dimensions | Front (inches) | Rear (inches) | ||
| Headroom | 37.2 | 37.8 | ||
| Legroom | 41.3 | 37.4 | ||
| Shoulder room | 57.5 | 56.3 | ||
| Cargo volume (cubic feet) | 14.1 | |||
BMW 5 Series
Looking for a manual transmission? You’ll need to turn to BMW, which offers six-speed sticks on the I-6 and V-8. Now if only there were a way to hide the Gran Turismo models.
| BMW 5 Series | ||||
| Engines | Horsepower | Torque (lb-ft) | Transmission | Fuel economy (mpg, city/highway) |
| Turbocharged 2.0L I-4 | 240 | 255 | 8A | RWD – 24/34, AWD – 22/33 |
| Turbocharged 3.0L I-6 | 300 | 300 | 6M, 8A | RWD – 20/30 (6M, 8A), AWD – 21/30 (8A) |
| Twin-turbocharged 4.4L V-8 | 400-560 | 450-500 | 6M, 7DCT, 8A | RWD – 15/22 (6M), RWD – 14/20 (7DCT), RWD – 17/25 (8A), AWD – 16/24 (8A) |
| Interior dimensions | Front (inches) | Rear (inches) | ||
| Headroom | 40.5 | 38.3 | ||
| Legroom | 41.4 | 36.1 | ||
| Shoulder room | 58.3 | 56.2 | ||
| Cargo volume (cubic feet) | 14 | |||
Infiniti M/Q70
The Q70, as it’s now known, will surely be on the receiving end of some sprucing up soon, if Sebastian Vettel has any say in the matter. For now, we use the M37/M56/M35h specs.
| Infiniti M | ||||
| Engines | Horsepower | Torque (lb-ft) | Transmission | Fuel economy (mpg, city/highway) |
| 3.7L V-6 | 330 | 270 | 7A | RWD – 18/26, AWD – 17/24 |
| 5.6L V-8 | 420 | 417 | 7A | RWD – 16/24, AWD – 16/23 |
| 3.5L V-6 + electric motor | 360 | N/A | 7A | RWD – 27/32 |
| Interior dimensions | Front (inches) | Rear (inches) | ||
| Headroom | 39.1 | 37.7 | ||
| Legroom | 44.4 | 36.2 | ||
| Shoulder room | 58.4 | 56.7 | ||
| Cargo volume (cubic feet) | 14.9 (M37, M56), 11.3 (M35h) | |||
Jaguar XF
The group’s elder statesman was given a face-lift for 2012. Like the CTS of yore, the XF doesn’t have a dedicated compact sibling. But it’s coming.
| Jaguar XF | ||||
| Engines | Horsepower | Torque (lb-ft) | Transmission | Fuel economy (mpg, city/highway) |
| Turbocharged 2.0L I-4 | 240 | 251 | 8A | RWD – 19/30 |
| Supercharged 3.0L V-6 | 340 | 332 | 8A | RWD – 17/28, AWD – 16/26 |
| Supercharged 5.0L V-8 | 470-550 | 424-502 | 8A | RWD – 15/23 |
| Interior dimensions | Front (inches) | Rear (inches) | ||
| Headroom | 37.1 | 37.6 | ||
| Legroom | 41.5 | 36.6 | ||
| Shoulder room | 56.8 | 56.3 | ||
| Cargo volume (cubic feet) | 17.7 | |||
Lexus GS
After winning the last six-cylinder midsize luxury sedan comparison, the Lexus GS is the bogey to beat. Can the 2014 CTS topple the tantalizingly fun GS 350 from its throne?
| Lexus GS | ||||
| Engines | Horsepower | Torque (lb-ft) | Transmission | Fuel economy (mpg, city/highway) |
| 3.5L V-6 | 306 | 274 | 6A | RWD – 19/28, AWD – 19/26 |
| 3.5L V-6 + electric motor | 338 | N/A | CVT | RWD – 29/34 |
| Interior dimensions | Front (inches) | Rear (inches) | ||
| Headroom | 38 | 37.8 | ||
| Legroom | 42.3 | 36.3 | ||
| Shoulder room | 57.3 | 55.7 | ||
| Cargo volume (cubic feet) | 14.3 (GS 350), 13.2 (GS 450h) | |||
Mercedes-Benz E-Class
Updated for 2014, the auto industry perennially expects only the best from the E-Class, and there are plenty of engines here.
| Mercedes-Benz E-Class | ||||
| Engines | Horsepower | Torque (lb-ft) | Transmission | Fuel economy (mpg, city/highway) |
| 3.5L V-6 | 302 | 273 | 7A | RWD – 20/30*, AWD – 19/28* |
| Twin-turbocharged 3.0L V-6 | 329 | 354 | 7A | TBD – 2015MY launch |
| Twin-turbocharged 4.7L V-8 | 402 | 443 | 7A | AWD – 16/26* (one year only) |
| Twin-turbocharged 5.5L V-8 | 550-577 | 531-590 | 7A | AWD – TBD |
| 3.5L V-6 + electric motor | 329 | N/A | 7A | RWD – 24/30* |
| Turbodiesel 2.1L I-4 | 195 | 369 | 7A | AWD – TBD |
| Interior dimensions | Front (inches) | Rear (inches) | ||
| Headroom | 37.9 | 38.2 | ||
| Legroom | 41.3 | 35.8 | ||
| Shoulder room | 57.8 | 56.9 | ||
| Cargo volume (cubic feet) | 16.4 | |||
| *estimated | ||||
Which brings us to this hypothetical comparison story:
Six-Cylinder Midsize Luxury Sedan Dream Matchup
Audi A6 3.0T vs. Cadillac CTS V-6 vs. BMW 535i vs. Infiniti M37/Q70 vs. Jaguar XF 3.0 vs. Lexus GS 350 vs. Mercedes-Benz E350
Horsepower ranking
1) Jaguar XF 3.0 – 340
2) Infiniti M37/Q70 – 330
3) Cadillac CTS V-6 – 321
4) Audi A6 3.0T – 310
5) Lexus GS 350 – 306
6) Mercedes-Benz E350 – 302
7) BMW 535i – 300
Torque ranking
1) Jaguar XF 3.0 – 332
2) Audi A6 3.0T – 325
3) BMW 535i – 300
4) Cadillac CTS V-6 – 275
5) Lexus GS 350 – 274
6) Mercedes-Benz E350 – 273
7) Infiniti M37/Q70 – 270
Sounds fun, but here’s the potential story that’ll really get the blood boiling:
Performance Midsize Luxury Sedan Dream Matchup
Audi S6 vs. Cadillac CTS Vsport vs. BMW 550i vs. Infiniti M56/Q70 vs. Jaguar XF Supercharged vs. Mercedes-Benz E550 4Matic
Combined hp: 2532, combined torque: 2570
Horsepower ranking
1) Jaguar XF Supercharged – 470
2) Audi S6 – 420
2) Cadillac CTS Vsport – 420
2) Infiniti M56/Q70 – 420
5) Mercedes-Benz E550 4Matic – 402
6) BMW 550i – 400
Torque ranking
1) BMW 550i – 450
2) Mercedes-Benz E550 4Matic – 443
3) Cadillac CTS Vsport – 430
4) Jaguar XF Supercharged – 424
5) Infiniti M56/Q70 – 417
6) Audi S6 – 406
Headroom ranking
Front
1) BMW 550i – 40.5
2) Cadillac CTS Vsport – 39.2
3) Infiniti M56/Q70 – 39.1
4) Mercedes-Benz E550 4Matic – 37.9
5) Audi S6 – 37.2
6) Jaguar XF Supercharged – 37.1
Rear
1) BMW 550i – 38.3
2) Mercedes-Benz E550 4Matic – 38.2
3) Audi S6 – 37.8
4) Infiniti M56/Q70 – 37.7
5) Jaguar XF Supercharged – 37.6
6) Cadillac CTS Vsport – 37.5
Legroom ranking
Front
1) Infiniti M56/Q70 – 44.4
2) Cadillac CTS Vsport – 42.6
3) Jaguar XF Supercharged – 41.5
4) BMW 550i – 41.4
5) Audi S6 – 41.3
5) Mercedes-Benz E550 4Matic – 41.3
Rear
1) Audi S6 – 37.4
2) Jaguar XF Supercharged – 36.6
3) Infiniti M56/Q70 – 36.2
4) BMW 550i – 36.1
5) Mercedes-Benz E550 4Matic – 35.8
6) Cadillac CTS Vsport – 35.4
Shoulder room ranking
Front
1) Infiniti M56/Q70 – 58.4
2) BMW 550i – 58.3
3) Mercedes-Benz E550 4Matic – 57.8
4) Audi S6 – 57.5
5) Cadillac CTS Vsport – 56.9
6) Jaguar XF Supercharged – 56.8
Rear
1) Mercedes-Benz E550 4Matic – 56.9
2) Infiniti M56/Q70 – 56.7
3) Audi S6 – 56.3
3) Jaguar XF Supercharged – 56.3
5) BMW 550i – 56.2
6) Cadillac CTS Vsport – 54.8
Cargo volume ranking
1) Jaguar XF Supercharged – 17.7
2) Mercedes-Benz E550 4Matic – 16.4
3) Infiniti M56/Q70 – 14.9
4) Audi S6 – 14.1
5) BMW 550i – 14.0
6) Cadillac CTS Vsport – 13.7
Which comparison including the 2014 Cadillac CTS would you like to see?
No comments:
Post a Comment