This Ain’t Daddy’s Caddy

by Scott Corlett

For nearly twenty years, Cadillac floundered on the brink of automotive irrelevancy. Finally, in the late ‘90s, the designers and the engineers at the GM subsidiary that once set the benchmark in luxury driving began the long struggle to rebuild the brand. With vast improvements in mechanical quality, exterior styling, and interior finishes, Cadillac has made great strides toward regaining respectability. So much that the product managers in Detroit are ready, with their V-series variants, to take on heavy hitters like AMG-tuned Mercedes-Benzes and M-badged BMWs. The question is, are these souped-up Caddies in way over their rooflines?

If so, it’s certainly not for a lack of raw power. After the delivery of a 2007 Cadillac STS-V to our test center—aka our apartment—in San Francisco, we jumped in, pressed the dash-mounted button of the keyless ignition system, and then made a beeline for the highway. Because only one kind of road suits a vehicle with a supercharged, 4.4-liter Northstar engine that produces 469 hp and 439 lb-ft of torque—one that is long, wide, and open.

During a late weekday morning, we hit an onramp that was free of traffic. We shoved our right foot to floor. The engine and the blower, which pumps air into the combustion chambers to improve burn and thereby power, responded with both a progressive escalation of thrust and little of the rotor whine of other luxury sedans’ superchargers. The G-forces shoved us back into the leather and ultra-suede of the eight-way drivers seat like a stripper coming in hard for a lap dance that’ll be over fast. For the STS-V—with its sole-offered, all-new, six-speed manu-matic box transferring power to the rear axle—GM claims a 0-to-60-mph time of less than five seconds.

As during those boys-nights-out, things got a little out of hand. On the rip up the ramp, we had to fight with STS-V’s rear wheels, which tried their darnedest to beat us onto the freeway. Although this tendency later came in handy when peeling tight corners, it also underscored the fact that still nothing beats the handling of a BMW when hooking an onramp. Once on the highway, the STS-V settled down and a wide smile cracked our face as we shot from seventy miles per hour into the triple-digit range with a speed and a fuel consumption that recalled Cadillac’s glory years.

Aesthetically, the exterior of this top-end Caddy sedan is clean and refreshingly austere compared to the brand’s past bloated metal. The STS-V’s stainless-steel mesh grille, lower air intakes, and ten-spoke aluminum wheels give the car a bit of contrasting, restrained flair. On the inside, the results are mixed: The French-stitched leather on the center console, doors panels, and dash top is flawless. The instrument panel is plain in the way that a good luxury vehicle’s should be. However, the controls and the steering wheel seem to have been pulled from GM’s general parts bin, which is the last place you should turn to outfit your super sedan.

So, in the end, does the STS-V live up to its masters’ aspirations of besting or at least equaling either an M5 or an E55? Ah … no. But the issue really isn’t with the STS-V, the problem is the goal. The STS-V is a classic, raw-powered American hot rod, with luxury appointments and some performance enhancements thrown in for good measure. In an era when American muscle cars are on the rebound, this is no bad thing. We pulled the 2006 Cadillac STS-V into our driveway and hit the ignition cutoff. Yep, we thought, this is a Caddy fit for fathers and sons alike.

Base Price for 2007 Cadillac STS-V: $74,270.

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