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Blistering performance aside, what's your favorite V feature?

7K views 53 replies 37 participants last post by  TriTexan 
#1 ·
Ok, ok - we got monster horsepower. And great handling. And Brembo brakes. But what about all the little touches? What's your favorite one?

To get you thinking in the right direction, here's some that I have come across that the wife and I really like, but aren't exactly front-page news when the sales guys are making their pitch...my last new car was 7 years ago, so some of this stuff didn't exist last time I had a new car.

So here goes:

-You can pause and rewind almost any AM/FM/XM and so on. I can't tell you how many times I've missed something or talked over something my wife was trying to listen to. We have this with DVR in our home, now it's in our car. Never knew about that feature until I started reading through the manual - both cool and useful!

-I also like the "smog sensor" feature that automatically turns on air recirculation when it detects fumes or exhaust coming in from the outside. It works pretty well so far in Houston traffic.

So that I don't steal your thunder, I'll stop there. What have you found that you didn't know about until after you had the car home and had time to explore? What's your favorite "hidden" or unadvertised feature?
 
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#27 ·
My favorite feature is when I walk across the parking garage and remote start the car and people's heads turn or stop in there tracks when they hear that deep sound of the 556hp turning over.

Also your friend that works in Manhattan and has never seen one, mines parked on 5th on most Saturdays.
 
#28 ·
Onstar makes it easy to be a good Simaritan. I try to call in accidents that I happen upon if I see that emergency people have not arrived. With Onstar you just press a button and since they have your location already they simply forward the emergency info to the authorities and kindly thank you for calling it in. You just have to tell them that there was an accident and they will confirm your location and get the ball rolling. Also, not that I have had an accident with any of my V's, but at one point I smashed up a STS and Onstar called right away to make sure I was OK and called the police for me.
 
#30 ·
I simply LOVE the way my V Coupe looks. I love it more and more everytime I look at it. No other car looks like it or even comes close. I also like that I never see any other V Coupes in L.A. Makes me feel special that I kind of have a rare car. The stares I get everyday when I am driving makes me feel even more special!

Man, I love this car!
 
#34 ·
I really like the auto-start feature. Use it all the time.

By comparison...wife's VW has auto-start, and the stupid thing turns the engine off once you open the door. Could that be a dumber design? It has proximity sensors for the key, just like the Caddy, so someone w/out a key cannot hop in and take it for a spin. Yet the VW shuts the engine off when you open the door, and then you have to immediately start it again to drive away. D-U-M-B.

I also like the On-Star, believe it or not. I use it often to download directions so I don't have to type all the info into the nav system.

Oh, I also really like the On-Star Mobile App, which allows me to download directions from my phone, start or unlock the car from a computer, and view the car's vitals instantly.
 
#37 ·
If "blistering performance" is only referring to the engine, then probably my favorite V feature aside from that is the suspension and steering tuning that was done both here and in Germany. The handling and the magnetic dampers are one of the biggest reasons I bought my V, in addition to the power. It has BOTH, and that's the key. I've driven a couple other Cadillacs and I am seriously not even slightly interested in any of them. They are boaty, floaty, wallowy, and it's really just not my cup of tea.

The CTS-V, on the other hand, shows a dedication to well rounded performance absent from the rest of Cadillac. They could have shoved the LSA and the auto tranny into a CTS and called it a day, and I never would have bought one. Power is nothing without control. What makes the V so brilliant is the astonishingly good suspension, steering, and the tuning thereof. I love driving this car, I put it in sport and take an onramp, and I can feel exactly what the car is doing. The front end bites, the chassis responds, I can feel the road through the steering wheel, it's awesome. And the faster you drive it, the better it gets. The high speed handling characteristics in this car are amazing, it just keeps getting better the faster you go.

I don't know how many of you have really pushed your Vs beyond highway speeds, but it is unbelievably rewarding. As you approach triple digit speeds it starts to feel like it's glued to the road, the power delivery has smoothed out so you're not breaking the rear end loose every time you think about stepping on the gas, and it responds quickly and effortlessly. It's at these speeds that it becomes very clear that it was developed on the nurburgring, and it just feels like it's on rails.

It's even more impressive that it's doing this while carrying ~4300 lbs around. And frankly, it's almost unbelievable that this is an American car. There are so few American cars that really handle well, although they finally seem to have gotten the message over the last few years. But this is definitely one of them. This feels like an M5, a car build specifically around balance and precision, and that is not an easy trick to pull off.

I still think quality control needs to be improved, but that's for much less important things like creaking sunroofs and rocking recaros, etc. And that's mainly to maintain Cadillac's image as a premier auto maker. The CTS-V is a monster all around performer, and while the engine is awesome and I love it, it's only half the story. I have huge respect for the V engineers who made this car possible because they just nailed it, and convinced me to do what I never in my life imagined I would do, by making their actions speak louder than words:

I bought a Cadillac. How about that.
 
#42 ·
I have to agree on all points. Without the MR suspension it wouldn't have appealed to me at all either. Same story without a decent brake package (yeah, I know there are better ones out there, but the Brembos do pretty well). I was out with a friend today and he really noticed how placid the car was down the highway, but how it really showed its true colors when I put it into a hard turn on an offramp. He was completely amazed by the roadholding ability of the wagon.

So far, I'm entirely impressed with the suspension. It's amazing over stuff like speed bumps and yet springs to life in sport mode to handle just about anything you can throw at it. Since I've only owned daily drivers (no dedicated track day cars) I'm accustomed to the feel and heft of larger family sized cars. So the feel of this one is at home for me - I'm just not experienced with driving super light, agile cars on a regular basis. But what impresses me is that although I know this is a pretty huge beast, it seems to defy physics at every turn.
 
#40 ·
Very well said, Xaqtly. I recently traded a very clean (great truck!!) '08 Yukon Denali in on my '12 CTS-V and several people at work have asked me why I traded such a great SUV on a 'Cadillac' of all cars? I have debadged the car (stealth mode), so I don't think anyone knows it's a V. Of course, most people don't know what a CTS-V is anyway.

I'm 35 and people at the office think I'm too young to be driving a white Cadillac. I just smile and tell them it's a nice and comfortable car. :D Little do they know there is a world-class performance sedan sitting in the parking lot that is disguised as a white, sporty looking, Cadillac. :) I like that.

Though the word is getting out. A guy in my church community group asked if it was the Cadillac model that is compared to that sports car on the commerical? I said to him, "Oh, you mean the Cadillac being chased by the Ferrari commercial?" He said yes and I said that it was and Ferrari licensed the magnetic suspension technology from GM. He thought that was pretty cool and he's not a car guy at all.

So, Cadillac stop putting out those cool commercials that are blowing my cover. :D
 
#41 ·
what are you guys talking about being able to select manuel mode while not in sport mode. On my 12 wagon if i hit the paddle buttons nothing happens. For me the car has to be in sport mode then I hit the paddles and it switches to manuel mode.

It would be nice to have the car hold a gear but still be in auto mode
 
#44 ·
When not in sport mode, shifter in drive:

Press left paddle shifter, car will down shift from 6th to 5th, another press it goes into 4th and so on. Press right paddle and it'll upshift. The gear position indicator light will change from being blacked out, to a red number indicating what gear you are in, and the red "M" will illuminate instead of the red "D", just like when you are in sport mode. If you do nothing, it will upshift on it's own, and go back into non-sport "D" mode, with the gear position blacked out after about 30 seconds.

Handy if you accelerate lightly and the tranny decides you don't need a downshift, but you decide you'd like one, please...

Works on my 2011, maybe they changed it in 2012...
 
#50 ·
Xaqtly said:
If "blistering performance" is only referring to the engine, then probably my favorite V feature aside from that is the suspension and steering tuning that was done both here and in Germany. The handling and the magnetic dampers are one of the biggest reasons I bought my V, in addition to the power. It has BOTH, and that's the key. I've driven a couple other Cadillacs and I am seriously not even slightly interested in any of them. They are boaty, floaty, wallowy, and it's really just not my cup of tea.

The CTS-V, on the other hand, shows a dedication to well rounded performance absent from the rest of Cadillac. They could have shoved the LSA and the auto tranny into a CTS and called it a day, and I never would have bought one. Power is nothing without control. What makes the V so brilliant is the astonishingly good suspension, steering, and the tuning thereof. I love driving this car, I put it in sport and take an onramp, and I can feel exactly what the car is doing. The front end bites, the chassis responds, I can feel the road through the steering wheel, it's awesome. And the faster you drive it, the better it gets. The high speed handling characteristics in this car are amazing, it just keeps getting better the faster you go.

I don't know how many of you have really pushed your Vs beyond highway speeds, but it is unbelievably rewarding. As you approach triple digit speeds it starts to feel like it's glued to the road, the power delivery has smoothed out so you're not breaking the rear end loose every time you think about stepping on the gas, and it responds quickly and effortlessly. It's at these speeds that it becomes very clear that it was developed on the nurburgring, and it just feels like it's on rails.

It's even more impressive that it's doing this while carrying ~4300 lbs around. And frankly, it's almost unbelievable that this is an American car. There are so few American cars that really handle well, although they finally seem to have gotten the message over the last few years. But this is definitely one of them. This feels like an M5, a car build specifically around balance and precision, and that is not an easy trick to pull off.

I still think quality control needs to be improved, but that's for much less important things like creaking sunroofs and rocking recaros, etc. And that's mainly to maintain Cadillac's image as a premier auto maker. The CTS-V is a monster all around performer, and while the engine is awesome and I love it, it's only half the story. I have huge respect for the V engineers who made this car possible because they just nailed it, and convinced me to do what I never in my life imagined I would do, by making their actions speak louder than words:

I bought a Cadillac. How about that.
I had to pile on to this one - I have had 3 - 7 series, 3- 3 series, 1 - E350(worst car I ever owned) and a LS 460 - even a mini jcw ... and guess what I did the unthinkable too - saw the black diamond coupe, drove it, bought it - and now it is the best car I have ever driven! I have a permanent smile on when I drive it!!!
 
#51 ·
My favorite features are the constantly squeaking Recaro seats, the squeaky nav display when it goes up or down, and the way my engine sometimes sounds like Darth Vader hyperventilating. Oh, and all the looks, thumbs up, dropped jaws and wide eyes when the V goes by! It's almost worth it to hold on to the car just for the crowd response! :)
 
#54 ·
Went today to a local "park and sell" lot to put my old ride up for sale. The lot owner does really well - he had his '08 CL65 AMG for sale and was driving a brand new CLS63 AMG. His sons work there too and when my wife rolled up behind me in the new Vagon, the guy and his sons were all over it. That told me that no matter what car you own or how much power or torque you have, the Caddy turns heads and is something special.

My wife followed me in the Caddy and I noticed an M3 driver at a stoplight...I saw his eyes follow her and the car through about 270 degrees of rotation...it must've strained his neck for sure!

That's a COOL feature IMO.
 
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