2000 Cadillac Seville STS from UK and Ireland - Comments

Chassis so hopeless that you can't use the only decent bit of the car - that luurrvely Northstar V8. Car cannot cope with British roads - too many corners and too many crests and dips which have it bottoming out and bouncing sickeningly every time. I've also never driven a car that rolls this much through the corners, and who allowed the combination of 300 bhp and front drive?? Ridiculous.

The tacky interior, and wallowy, floaty ride pale in comparison to the comedy 70's tyre squealing handling. All you need is the hubcaps to fly off and the picture would be complete. In time-honoured American tradition, the V8 returns mpg figures in the teens as well - okay when you pay $1 a gallon, but not so good when you pay £4 ($6) a gallon in the UK.

Have the guys at Cadillac ever driven a BMW, Mercedes, Rover, Audi or Lexus??? This car is so wide of the mark it's almost funny. Belongs in another era and another country.

No dissing of American cars intended (love the Viper, Shelby Cobra, Corvette etc) but this one is awful! I'm so glad this is only a temporary thing.

A very witty and insightful review.

I have owned an STS Cadillac for 18 months and love every minute of the 300 hp available - anybody who cannot cope with driving it is just faint hearted and should give it back immediately. I also have a Volvo R - the caddi makes it seem like a moped! If you work the Caddi hard enough the active ride wakes up and it has remarkable handling qualities. Do not buy a 300hp car if you are not prepared to use it.

Alan Young.

It's not the 300 horsepower that's the problem, but the appalling dynamics. In the US with smooth, straight roads, the STS is probably a great car. Come to the UK and things are different. Uneven surfaces, lots of tight corners, variable surfaces, odd cambers etc etc. To say the Caddy struggles is an understatement. Every time you open her up, the traction control goes nuts. What is the point?

I have driven countless cars with more than 300 horsepower and have had no problems with any of them. Even my old 377 horsepower twin turbo Lotus Carlton was more useable. It's nothing to do with not being prepared to use it, but with putting one of the finest engines ever built into a chassis that would struggle to deal with a third of it. Outside the US, cars are designed as packages, with dynamics to match the power of the engine. Try a Lotus Carlton or a BMW M5 and you'll know what I'm talking about!

The gentleman critiquing the STS is correct. I am an American living in Ohio, and my STS is great on straight roads or mild turns with civilized camber. But some of these country roads resemble his description of UK roads, and the car quickly becomes a handful. A mate of mine lent me his BMW, and it was like night and day! Nimble and sure footed, the Beamer had at the worst of those roads, and made the whole experience a lot more pleasureable. The STS is only what it is named for-Seville Touring Sedan..

A useful review, if only buyers of the Seville were interested in going around corners at high speeds. They're not. The car is targeted at people who don't want to know they're actually in a car and is intended to cushion you from the road and get you up to speed quickly on the motorway - that's it. It's not a BMW or a Porsche (or even a Carlton, which isn't that great of a car either no matter who has added their extra bits to it); it's a four door Cadillac (for Heaven's sake!)

I think the STS corners very well for its size. It may not compare with a BMW, but who wants to spend that much money on something that won't be supported by BMW in a few years? Not me! If you have a problem with the traction control, just turn it off. The STS has the sport suspension and in my opinion, does a very good job with putting the car around corners, little if any body shifting. Sounds like someone is working for BMW.

I traded in 04 BMW for a used 2000 STS. Once the factory warranty expires be prepared to mortgage your home to keep the BMW on the road. With a shrinking dollar be prepared for maintenance shock.

This is another example of someone who bought a car that is totally unsuitable for the use that they intended for it.

The Cadillac STS is a full-sized, luxury cruiser with good power and decent handling. Any car can be pushed past its limits, and this car was never intended for sport racers to throw it into hairpin turns at high speeds. The "'70's comedy car chases" is exactly how he drives this car, if he's making it bottom out and throw sparks off the undercarriage like an old episode of "Streets of San Francisco."

The "gas mileage in the teens" is the final indication of somebody totally thrashing and abusing this car. My Cadillac STS Northstar gets 27 mpg on the highway.

If you want to beat the crap out of a car, you don't deserve to own this Cadillac. Sell it to someone who will appreciate it.

I just bought a 2000 STS here in New Zealand. It had been in Japan since new, and was fresh off the boat basically. I just checked tyres and fluid levels, then set off on my 500Km trip home.

WOW this car has 2 travel modes: cruise which is fine and comfortable, then there is SUPER-CRUISE. Once you travel between 140 and 220KPH (yes I know speed limit here in 100Kph) this beast purrs reminds me of the high speed open road trips I used to do in my Audi 200 Quattro turbo. I love this full size cruiser.

And to hear the british guy complain about bottoming out and useless on your roads... well either learn to drive... get new shocks. This car IS suited to New Zealand roads, both country and highway, and thank GOD for FWD, do not think such a 2 Ton beast would handle if it were RWD.