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New CTS-V owner. What are some of the most interesting features of the CTS-V?

6K views 35 replies 21 participants last post by  SevillianSTS 
#1 ·
I just bought an 06 CTS-V yesterday. Black Raven / Ebony, 95k miles, seems to be very well maintained. I'm quite happy with it!

Anyway, I've flipped through the owner's manual, browsed a few internet sites, read some threads on here (I did do a search before posting this.) I've learned about a number of the features.
I'm curious to hear from other owners what little features might not be highlighted in online descriptions, or in the user manual. What features do you guys like that set the CTS-V apart from most other cars?
 
#2 ·
Great engine, great brakes, great chassis, great headlights. To me, that's the highlights. The interior is nice (IMO) but not a highlight, the radio is ok, the nav is pretty bad, the DIC is pretty bad (due to the nav), the shifter/clutch/driveline is nothing to write home about, especially if it herky-jerks while you get used to it. Though the fact that it's a manual certainly is a highlight.

Oh, you can play DVD's in the nav system (if you still have any DVD's).

Mostly what is amazing about it is the obvious stuff. It's a comfortable 4-door sedan that is nicely trimmed, great looking, and totally hauls ass.
 
#3 ·
Much as I LOVE driving the car and listening to the engine, I think the most interesting thing is how it will play DVD's while you drive. I set that up for my daughters this weekend for the first time, and they were amazed. Of course, I had to pay attention to my driving, but they got a kick out of it!
 
#6 ·
Well yeah... the hauling ass part is most of the reason to own one! And doing so in a classy car (rather than something less classy, like a Camarobird...) is the rest of it!

I have to play with the DVD player still. I've only used it with the NAV disc in there (that's how it was when I got it from the seller.)
 
#10 ·
That's true! When my friend saw it, he said "you can't tell this isn't a regular CTS. Of course, I began pointing out all the differences... they're obvious to me, but I've been drooling over these cars for almost 2 years, waiting to buy the right one!
I discovered the custom driver settings the hard way myself. The previous owner is about my size, so his settings worked for me just fine. I noticed that the nav screen said hello to him (and I did briefly see a heading in the manual for changing that, so I must have that manual... gotta read more closely!) However, I grabbed the wrong keyfob, and it set it for "driver 2"... which I'm thinking might have been his wife. And she must be a tiny woman!
Nobody else will be driving my car, but that custom user feature is kinda neat. I just hope I don't lose one of those keyfobs. I tend to lose at least one set of keys per car I own.



When I was 18, gas was 87 cents a gallon. I would DEFINITELY like that again! It took me less than 24 hours to burn through the 3/4 tank of gas that came with the car. Granted, I put it to the floor a few times, and I haven't perfected the shifting yet (my daily is a 2009 Honda Fit with a 1.5L... totally different animal, and I'm VERY used to that car, after putting 260,000 miles on it!)

The V does exactly what I want, though. I get a muscle car when I'm alone, and I get a classy ride when I'm with someone that doesn't appreciate 400hp. Well, as classy as that rumbling, vibrating, not-so-smooth shifting beast can get! A reasonable sacrifice, I feel!
 
#8 ·
I'm about 6000mi away from my car, so I don't have access to the Owner's Manual, but as I recall many of the special features are in a separate, smaller manual. That has all the instructions on setting up the Personalization, like programming the little message that pops up on the NAV screen when you power up the car, setting the memory functions for seat and mirror positions, etc. When I bought my car it was set up to do the stupid thing where the seat drives itself all the way back when you shut off the car, presumably to make it easier for 80-year-old people to get in and out of the car. :rolleyes:
 
#9 ·
When I bought mine, it would shoot the seat all the way forward when the ignition was turned off. Not good for a 6' 4" person! But I was able to figure out the programming for all the personalization stuff through the manual. It is a blast to drive...and my favorite part is 95% of people don't know what a 'V' is!
 
#18 ·
Are the headlight washers the weird shaped part on the inner section of the headlights? I read about the washers, and briefly looked for the traditional style (the sprayer in front, like you'll find on Volvos and BMWs.) I just assumed I didn't have them on my car! I'll have to check that out. That's the kind of thing I'm looking for! :D


And yeah, I drive my other car for work, 300-400 miles a day. 09 Honda Fit. A great little car, great on gas, handles pretty well... but it's not a "nice" car, and unless it's on a twisty road, it can't get out of its own way. The V takes care of those two things (at the expense of 1/3 the fuel efficiency!)

I really don't plan on modding the CTS-V, since it already makes plenty of power... though I admit I've already done a little searching for mods that will add a little power with very little sacrifice in reliability, efficiency, and comfort. I'll save that for another thread, though. Once I get going with that idea, I might start dumping more into it!
 
#20 ·
JimmyH said:
It's those little triangle shaped pieces on the headlights. They pop out and spray wiper solution when the headlights are on and you activate the wiper washers.
Denny's in Eureka, CA. I was sitting in front of their big bay window and hit the washers. That's the first I knew about them...
 
#24 ·
did any one say assssssploding differential??



i think its most interesting feature
 
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#28 ·
I like the effect the car has on other people, you can instantly tell who the car enthusiasts are. The first time my wife pressed the washer button, the resulting blast off the headlights made her think something jumped in front of her. She then stomped the brakes and cars on either side of her hit their brakes too. I can only guess that they saw a blast of water and then all of a sudden the car next to them disappears behind them. That was her realization that the car had headlight washers and awesome brakes. Yes, my wife drives my car........ occasionally.
 
#30 ·
It's your first car? Geez, my first car was a 1987 Dodge Shadow ES... 140hp of FWD automatic turbo fury! I couldn't imagine having a 400hp 6 speed Caddy as my first car... what do you have to look forward to now? Ferrari?
I'm enjoying my car so far. There are things that I need to fix, but that's to be expected for a 7 year old car with nearly 100,000 miles on it! I may consider upgrading to a 2nd gen someday, as long as they've improved on the interior (I haven't seen inside of one yet.) That's my only complaint about this car, I think. The interior seems rather cheap. Hard plastics everywhere (though the seats are holding up nicely to wear.) Still, it's not like Cavalier-cheap... just not quite what I expected for a car that's rightful competition would be the M5.

My car has inserts in the cupholders. Is this a standard feature, or something the previous owner added? That would qualify as a "hidden" feature that I really like, for sure! My daily beater is an 09 Fit, and I regret not having any sort of cupholder liner in place. My primary cupholder has a nice collection of beverage funk at the bottom of it!
 
#35 ·
I don't know. I got pulled over once, I think just because the police officer wanted to see my car up close. Pavement was wet and the rear end kicked out ever so slightly while making a turn. After he warned me about spinning my car (overstatement) speeding (which I wasn't) and flicking my ashes out the window (really?) he asked "so is that the caddy with the corvette engine?"
 
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