2013 Cadillac ATS 3.6
Alpha Male: From GM's new platform comes a car seeking dominance.
August 2012
BY DON SHERMAN
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JAMES LIPMAN
After five years of development and countless Nürburgring Nordschleife hot laps, Cadillac engineers finally handed over their new ATS to us for a few hours of road driving and instrumented testing. One day with GM’s first Alpha-platform car was enough to confirm that the ATS is the real deal—a true compact sports sedan with the size, specs, and speed to run with the segment’s aristocracy, especially BMW’s 3-series.
The ATS offers three engines, two transmissions, rear- or four-wheel drive, four trim packages, half a dozen wheel and tire combinations, and a tempting list of infotainment options capable of lifting the $33,990 base price above $50,000. Because the turbocharged 2.0-liter stick-shift ATS we begged for wasn’t ready, we tested what Cadillac’s vehicle line executive Dave Leone considers his hot setup: a rear-drive, 3.6-liter ATS equipped with 18-inch summer run-flat tires, Brembo brakes, and adjustable magnetic-ride-control dampers. The top engine, a $3605 option, comes standard with a six-speed automatic. Loaded with Premium Collection trimmings, including Cadillac’s new CUE (Cadillac User Experience) center-stack interface and heated seats and steering wheel, our test car’s sticker read $48,190.
With or without traction control enabled, the ATS bolts from rest with a growl. The 3.6-liter, DOHC V-6 makes 321 horsepower (21 more than a 335i) and 267 pound-feet of torque (33 less than the BMW’s turbocharged 3.0-liter six). The Hydra-Matic transmission upshifts crisply at the engine’s 7000-rpm redline, pushing the ATS to 60 mph in 5.4 seconds and through the quarter-mile in 14 flat with a trap speed of 102 mph. Those figures are dead even with the Infiniti G37 Sport’s and within a couple of tenths of the aforementioned 335i’s, though well behind the performance of the torque-and-traction-rich Audi S4. The ATS tops out at a governed 152 mph, which is within a couple of ticks of the key incumbents.
Circling GM’s perfectly smooth, 300-foot-diameter skidpad, the ATS ran out of grip at 0.88 g with the same juddery understeer we’ve seen in the F30-generation 3-series. Modulating the throttle helps tighten the line by sticking the front tires, but that technique works only up to a point. Likewise, a heavy foot on the gas won’t swing the tail. While the grip levels provided by the ATS are a touch lower than major competitors’, every last bit of its lateral traction is within easy reach, bolstering real-world confidence.
Before we started testing, Leone boasted how well the Brembos and Bridgestones collaborate during aggressive stopping. Our test results—a 70-to-0 braking distance of 158 feet, with no fade after six stops—prove he wasn’t exaggerating. Move the ATS to the head of the class in the braking category.
Upon completion of our test regimen, performance manager Robert Kotarak chaperoned a short, sweet back-road drive north of GM’s Milford, Michigan, proving grounds. Settling into the ATS cockpit is easy, thanks to ideally situated primary controls, excellent sightlines, a nicely crafted steering wheel, and a properly bolstered driver’s seat. The roof pillars are narrower than on most new sedans, and our only visibility gripe regards annoying rear-window reflections caused by bright sun bouncing off the light-toned package shelf.
Our test car’s Premium pack includes beautifully stitched leather and a piano-black center stack accented with “dusk” finished chrome. Hand and finger gestures control the CUE screen—in response to each tap, you can hear and feel a soft thump confirming receipt of your command. A polishing cloth for clearing smudges is included.
Part of the V-6’s howl noted during acceleration tests also plays through the cockpit when lower gears, higher revs, and aggressive throttle applications are in play. This is not your grandpa’s church-quiet Caddy.
While we’re disappointed that the ATS’s most potent engine is denied a clutch and an H-pattern, at least it has an automatic that thinks like a stick. When you grab a shift with either the console lever or a steering-wheel paddle, this transmission does what it can to heighten the fun. It drops gears when you slow for a turn to maximize the blast out of the bend and delays upshifts during acceleration until you pull the trigger or hit the redline. A full manual mode can be engaged by moving the lever to the left. In that setting, no shift occurs without a paddle tap or a lever nudge, even when the tach needle is bumping the rev limiter. Brightly polished magnesium shift paddles sparkle and are literally cool to the touch due to the breeze they get from the dashboard vents.
High-quality materials, good visibility, sensibly located controls, and supportive seats: Cadillac got the ATS cockpit very right.
The ATS’s FE3 suspension (also part of the top Premium Collection package) provides tour and sport damping modes, plus a third position for slippery conditions. In every setting, body motions are tightly controlled and the ride is surprisingly firm over Michigan’s lousy pavement. The payoff is the most immediate and agile steering response we’ve experienced in any compact sports sedan. Snap the wheel a handful of degrees, and the car changes direction like a hummingbird. There’s no hesitation, and body roll is minuscule. While the electric power assist provides less feedback than we’d like (roughly the same as the 3-series), this steering is at least quick and nicely weighted. The same magnetic dampers that help optimize ride and handling also keep the car flat during hard braking. The left pedal is properly calibrated to deliver additional stopping force for each increment of pressure, and feedback is strong.
As in any new design, there are foibles. The ATS’s exterior seems tame in comparison to the CTS coupe’s charming exuberance, in large part because Cadillac hopes to sell lots of these cars in China, where flamboyant design has historically been a deal breaker. Its back seat is not as easy to enter, or as roomy, or as comfortable as that in the reference 3-series, even though that BMW is a tick shorter in overall length. The steering-wheel switch controlling the ATS’s three-panel driver’s info screen is a rocker, a toggle, and a push button all rolled into one slightly confounding device; discovering its nuances will surely move drivers to consult their owner’s manuals.
But let’s not quibble. The ATS won us over with its performance. We can’t wait to drive the manual-transmission turbo version, and we’re eager to find out if the smallest, lightest Cadillac in ages can smite the giants in a comparo.
[video=youtube;APcDH2BtL8U]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APcDH2BtL8U&feature=related[/video]
[video=youtube;wl50MqEC5ak]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wl50MqEC5ak[/video]
Alpha Male: From GM's new platform comes a car seeking dominance.
August 2012
BY DON SHERMAN
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JAMES LIPMAN
After five years of development and countless Nürburgring Nordschleife hot laps, Cadillac engineers finally handed over their new ATS to us for a few hours of road driving and instrumented testing. One day with GM’s first Alpha-platform car was enough to confirm that the ATS is the real deal—a true compact sports sedan with the size, specs, and speed to run with the segment’s aristocracy, especially BMW’s 3-series.
The ATS offers three engines, two transmissions, rear- or four-wheel drive, four trim packages, half a dozen wheel and tire combinations, and a tempting list of infotainment options capable of lifting the $33,990 base price above $50,000. Because the turbocharged 2.0-liter stick-shift ATS we begged for wasn’t ready, we tested what Cadillac’s vehicle line executive Dave Leone considers his hot setup: a rear-drive, 3.6-liter ATS equipped with 18-inch summer run-flat tires, Brembo brakes, and adjustable magnetic-ride-control dampers. The top engine, a $3605 option, comes standard with a six-speed automatic. Loaded with Premium Collection trimmings, including Cadillac’s new CUE (Cadillac User Experience) center-stack interface and heated seats and steering wheel, our test car’s sticker read $48,190.
With or without traction control enabled, the ATS bolts from rest with a growl. The 3.6-liter, DOHC V-6 makes 321 horsepower (21 more than a 335i) and 267 pound-feet of torque (33 less than the BMW’s turbocharged 3.0-liter six). The Hydra-Matic transmission upshifts crisply at the engine’s 7000-rpm redline, pushing the ATS to 60 mph in 5.4 seconds and through the quarter-mile in 14 flat with a trap speed of 102 mph. Those figures are dead even with the Infiniti G37 Sport’s and within a couple of tenths of the aforementioned 335i’s, though well behind the performance of the torque-and-traction-rich Audi S4. The ATS tops out at a governed 152 mph, which is within a couple of ticks of the key incumbents.
Circling GM’s perfectly smooth, 300-foot-diameter skidpad, the ATS ran out of grip at 0.88 g with the same juddery understeer we’ve seen in the F30-generation 3-series. Modulating the throttle helps tighten the line by sticking the front tires, but that technique works only up to a point. Likewise, a heavy foot on the gas won’t swing the tail. While the grip levels provided by the ATS are a touch lower than major competitors’, every last bit of its lateral traction is within easy reach, bolstering real-world confidence.
Before we started testing, Leone boasted how well the Brembos and Bridgestones collaborate during aggressive stopping. Our test results—a 70-to-0 braking distance of 158 feet, with no fade after six stops—prove he wasn’t exaggerating. Move the ATS to the head of the class in the braking category.
Upon completion of our test regimen, performance manager Robert Kotarak chaperoned a short, sweet back-road drive north of GM’s Milford, Michigan, proving grounds. Settling into the ATS cockpit is easy, thanks to ideally situated primary controls, excellent sightlines, a nicely crafted steering wheel, and a properly bolstered driver’s seat. The roof pillars are narrower than on most new sedans, and our only visibility gripe regards annoying rear-window reflections caused by bright sun bouncing off the light-toned package shelf.
Our test car’s Premium pack includes beautifully stitched leather and a piano-black center stack accented with “dusk” finished chrome. Hand and finger gestures control the CUE screen—in response to each tap, you can hear and feel a soft thump confirming receipt of your command. A polishing cloth for clearing smudges is included.
Part of the V-6’s howl noted during acceleration tests also plays through the cockpit when lower gears, higher revs, and aggressive throttle applications are in play. This is not your grandpa’s church-quiet Caddy.
While we’re disappointed that the ATS’s most potent engine is denied a clutch and an H-pattern, at least it has an automatic that thinks like a stick. When you grab a shift with either the console lever or a steering-wheel paddle, this transmission does what it can to heighten the fun. It drops gears when you slow for a turn to maximize the blast out of the bend and delays upshifts during acceleration until you pull the trigger or hit the redline. A full manual mode can be engaged by moving the lever to the left. In that setting, no shift occurs without a paddle tap or a lever nudge, even when the tach needle is bumping the rev limiter. Brightly polished magnesium shift paddles sparkle and are literally cool to the touch due to the breeze they get from the dashboard vents.
High-quality materials, good visibility, sensibly located controls, and supportive seats: Cadillac got the ATS cockpit very right.
The ATS’s FE3 suspension (also part of the top Premium Collection package) provides tour and sport damping modes, plus a third position for slippery conditions. In every setting, body motions are tightly controlled and the ride is surprisingly firm over Michigan’s lousy pavement. The payoff is the most immediate and agile steering response we’ve experienced in any compact sports sedan. Snap the wheel a handful of degrees, and the car changes direction like a hummingbird. There’s no hesitation, and body roll is minuscule. While the electric power assist provides less feedback than we’d like (roughly the same as the 3-series), this steering is at least quick and nicely weighted. The same magnetic dampers that help optimize ride and handling also keep the car flat during hard braking. The left pedal is properly calibrated to deliver additional stopping force for each increment of pressure, and feedback is strong.
As in any new design, there are foibles. The ATS’s exterior seems tame in comparison to the CTS coupe’s charming exuberance, in large part because Cadillac hopes to sell lots of these cars in China, where flamboyant design has historically been a deal breaker. Its back seat is not as easy to enter, or as roomy, or as comfortable as that in the reference 3-series, even though that BMW is a tick shorter in overall length. The steering-wheel switch controlling the ATS’s three-panel driver’s info screen is a rocker, a toggle, and a push button all rolled into one slightly confounding device; discovering its nuances will surely move drivers to consult their owner’s manuals.
But let’s not quibble. The ATS won us over with its performance. We can’t wait to drive the manual-transmission turbo version, and we’re eager to find out if the smallest, lightest Cadillac in ages can smite the giants in a comparo.
[video=youtube;APcDH2BtL8U]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APcDH2BtL8U&feature=related[/video]
[video=youtube;wl50MqEC5ak]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wl50MqEC5ak[/video]