1981 Cadillac Seville review from UK and Ireland

Plenty has gone wrong. Owning an ageing American car in the UK means you are an enthusiast and have an open mind, but I feel that the seville was not developed properly in the design stage.

My seville is one of the relatively few remaining still equipped with the 350 olds sourced diesel engine which was definately not without problems. almost as if by magic, as soon as the odo got to 80,000 miles the head gaskets failed big time. (the head bolts stretch, a common fault with this engine)

The rear brakes and the parking brake siezed up, the support for the trunk lid failed. paint has peeled on the bonnet due to engine heat. reverse gear went awol. at time of writing it still isn't fixed, its not a linkage problem. The rubber seals around the window frames split and leaked (there are no window frames on the doors)

You either love or hate the Bustleback cad. Its easy to see what cadillac was trying to achieve with this car, but it was poorly executed with inadequate testing at the development stage. They thought people wanted downsize and in this respect it delivers, it still feels like a big car, but is not much bigger than a UK model Ford granada. The engine however is a disaster, in this day and age an engine of 5.7 litres that produces only 100 bhp would be unacceptable, the car will just about crack 100 mph, but due mainly to the ludicrously high gearing (2:1) which the car struggles to pull as shown by the slow acceleration. however, when it was running it would do 30 mpg which for a big old bus is not bad at all. following additional reading it seems the diesel engine was plagued by problems from day one and head trouble is to be expected. The alternative 6.0 V8 petrol was not entirely trouble free either, with the 8-6-4 arrangement. Its surprising they made these as long as they did.

The car is very comfortable to drive, and is best suited to motorway cruising, although handling is far superior to the same-year chevy caprice I owned previously.

Very plush inside, with full leather, air con, sunroof, cruise etc etc.

I don't think these were built with longevity in mind. mine is currently resting in the garage, I am fixing it up as and when funds allow.