2008 Cadillac CTS review from North America

Nothing except a flat tire.

This is our first Cadillac in many, many years.

Compared to our 07 Chevrolet Malibu, the Cadillac rides noticeably smoother and drives with fewer steering corrections needed. The steering is quite German, which is to my liking.

I like the contrast when switching from one of our other cars to the Cadillac CTS. It feels like it is as solid as a rock, very strong, very safe, very comfortable and quiet enough.

The individual temperature control setting for both the driver and the front passenger is a very nice and I would even say useful feature. The built-in dash compass was useful, but is no longer needed as we have a GPS unit.

The edgy styling of the CTS is very visible; makes many of the competitors, some hugely more expensive, appear plain by comparison or similar to their lower priced brands. The CTS is not invisible in traffic like so many other luxury cars are. Some brands are finally making efforts to change this a little for themselves.

The engine runs perfectly, has a very relaxed pace at highway speeds and idles very smoothly. Fuel mileage with mostly highway, but some city driving using 10% ethanol runs about 26 mpg with 87 octane recommended, also a nice feature.

The heating and cooling controls could be simplified so that they are more intuitive. Windshield defrost is tricky to find.

The DIC (Driver Information Control) switches have duplicate functions and could be consolidated a little.

The console storage compartments could be larger like our Malibu's.

The power window controls were too touchy at first until we got used to them. It was too easy to push the control too hard so that a window would go all the way up or down when only an adjustment was wanted.

Another positive feature noted when running the Cadillac is that other drivers seem to be less pushy; are less inclined to tailgate when we are in less of a hurry and are in the right lane, of course.