1995 Cadillac Seville SLS review from North America

A/C out (probably my fault).

Replaced radiator.

Cruise control stopped working.

I've owned 1961 Olds Cutlass F-85, 1962 Ford Falcon, 1971 Volvo 145, 1988 740 Volvo, 1980 Mini, 1965 Renault R-8, 1970 Mercedes 280, 1979 528i BMW, along with various Japanese cars, and I'd have to say that although I liked most of these, the 1995 Cadillac SLS is overall the best blend of comfort and power along with very good reliability.

The 275 hp and 300 ft-lbs of torque are awesome, and you need to have a light foot otherwise you can easily burn rubber without even wanting to.

Man! The transmission is buttery-smooth; I've got friends with much more expensive and recent cars (2001 Mercedes S500) but the shift is (and always was) abrupt on the German automatics -- the Cadillac pulls smooth and strong and without lag.

I never intended to buy this car, I just tried it out because I came across a very nice looking cream-puff with diamond white paint and the canvas top and Vogue alloy wheels... but after 5 minutes behind the wheel I was absolutely sold. Roomy, comfortable, smooth, fast, reasonable gas economy for a powerful 8-cylinder along with reliability the Germans (BMW, Mercedes -- let alone Audi) can't match -- how could you not like the car?

Oh, and the best part: this car cost a little shy of $50,000 new and I bought it, out the door, tax and license for $6500. I was a little apprehensive at first about the Northstar engine at first, but if you do reasonable maintenance (cooling system and oil), you will be fine.

The leather seats are very thick and comfortable with lumbar support. The Delco-Bose sound system is also outstanding and a lot more intuitive to use than many of the 'gee-wiz' radios available on current models.

Perhaps the best part of this vintage of Sevilles -- until 1999 or 2000 -- is their styling: in my view these were the last true American cars (with just a hint of Italian class via the Allante heritage), these cars look aggressive, fast, classy and unapologetically American (GM's Roadmaster and Impala in 1994-1996 also had great style).