I need to keep this short... otherwise I'll turn it into a 10-page artical on the car
I bought this car in may '03, in FL.... never driving it or een seeing pictures of it... but boy was I glad about my purchess...
Anyway, here we go:
Interrior: being that the interrior was designed around 1983/1984.... it is dated by 1993, the last year of this car. when you compare it to other cars from 1993... and the 1994 DeVille, it looks really dated. But, that is what first sold me on it... it is classic American design with it's large, horiztonal dash. One thing I really liked was how the dash "wrapped" around for the driver, I found that very cool.
information is on a need to know bases... and aparently the onlything Cadillac though you need to know is your speed. Without going into the on board diagnosis, you do not know engine rpm, temp, oil press, voltage etc... and with an 85mph speedo, even the speed is limited (digital dash was optional)
the seats are very comfortable, front is a 60/40 bench with dual power controls. the arm rest is very neat, opens up, coin holder, space for CDs/cassettes, any other junk laying around as well as a flip out cup holder that holds 2 cups. rear seats are very comfortable too with its own flip down arm rest, they have a cig lighter/ash tray each (mine never seen any use!) One thing to mention, the Coupe was 3" shorter then the Sedan. All 3" was lost in rear seat leg room, so in my car, the back isn't very roomy... but i have heard that in the Sedan, there is alot more room.
The fuel data center is very nice, tells you instant and avg. milleage, fuel used and range as well as oil life remaining. The electronic climate control is very nice too, full featured with outside temp option. other near by features on the dash are; window lock, twilight sentinal... very nice, and of course the multi-funtion directional stalk GM used for years (which I love... people complained about them !?!)
One thing that you notice.. there is no "center stack" the dash looks very clean, the onlything in the middle (and in reach of passengers) is the radio. I like that alot, not only does it look clean, but it prevents other people from changing your things like temp and fan speed etc... alot of things in this car, believe it or not are driver-orientated... another thing I really like. the right side of the dash is clean with just the glove box, which isn't all that big, but still nice size, in the glove box is the button to pop the trunk.
Other points of intrest, the car has rear AC/heat vents, they are moveable and there is a small wheel to control the air flow either on the floor or on the vents, which can be posiiton towards your face etc... This car dosn't have many little areas to put things like newer cars... the glove box, arm rest, 2 huge pockets behind the seat.. and that is about it. the Sedan gained a rear glove box on the rear deck, not on the Coupe though.
I can't really comment on the sound system, as the onlything lef stock are the front 4 speakers... the system that I have built is perfect for me. I also dynamated the doors... this alone brought road noise down, you can't hear the power windows anymore and when you close the doors there is a nice "thunk" the factory ssytem on my car was AM/FM/Cassette with 5 band eq. and 6 speaker system, 6x9's on rear deck, 5 1/4" on bottom of front doors and tweeters in the dash.
Exterrior One of the best aspects of this car... the outside. I persoanlly like the Coupe alot better then the Sedan... it just looks really good. A thing to mention, while the car is overall small, it is all in proportion, the fenders are ok size, the doors are big, the rear quarter panel... everything blends nice, the overhang after the wheels is perfect too.
the front of this car I really like... everything from the grille, hood, bumper, bumperettes, when you just sit back and look at the lines of the car, you can see how it all just blends together, the front has a very classy look, yet the bumperettes add a touch of aggression. When driving the car, you see the whole hood, I like that too.
The side profile again has that classic personal luxury car look... in fact, I often think of the Coupe as a Luxury Roadster.... it has that look to it that really seperates it from other cars. the lower rockers have plastic cladding, and the paint on that tends to peel off easily. the 1" strip of chrome down the side really helps seperate the car slightly also while such nice things as the chrome door handles with seperate push button... and not to forget the Cadillac wreath and crest etched into the quarter panel glass, these really add to the overall car. At night the Opra lamps are not very bright, but they add a nice glow to the sail panel.
The back looks just as good. The car retains the "mini tail fins" which look really nice. the tail lights on this car are perhaps the best tail lights to be put on a car, when the parking lights are on, all 3 blubs light up, the glow, the slim, vertical lens reall adds... it looks nice. another thign I like are the chrome bumpers.. they shine nice, and the whole rear trunk area is recessed in from the rest of the car, that is pretty neat too. Another thing to mention, unlike some cars where the trunk starts right at the rear window, on this car there is a space between the rear window and the trunk, it adds to the overall shape of the car, and is very neat as well.
there was lot of choices of wheels when new, my favorite are the stock DeVille alloy wheels. my car had the *optional* steel wheels with wire wheel hubcaps... it looks nice, as in older Cadillac/old person nice.. but I didn't like it. I bought a new set of 16" '98-mid '01 Seville SLS wheels, no white walls but a serrated edge tires, and it looks really good, they are Cadillac wheels, and have the wreath and Crest on the center caps, but when parked, they look great, and when moving, they really add to the car also.
Engine and performance the car is rather light... 3,600lbs or so. the final drive is a 2.73. While a Touring Sedan version was avalible, they are rare. Anyway, I drive my cars "spirited" and much more then the average DeVille-buyer of 1993
the 4.9 is a very good engine and holds its own... not a NorthStar, but not a dog either. acceleration is great, 0-45 (1st gear) pulls real hard, after that acceleration at any speed is smooth and responsive, in its day it was one of the fastest FWD cars around, but today it still is one of those cars that to many people is slow, but it hiding a little muscle. the high low-end torque of the engine makes bolting across intersections and pulling onto roads very easy, also able to deal with city traffic nicely. It is completly possible to go an entire day and not needing more then 1/2 throttle input. Consdering who the car was made and marketed to when new, its performance is very good. My best time at the track, with 2/3 tank of gas, empty trunk, 1/2 tune up and a really bar cat. conv. that was rattling to no end from the many broken pieces inside... was a 15.9 @ 85mph.... not bad at all from a stock engine/car with (at the time) about 94k miles on it.
The transmission on the car, the 4T60E I have heard to be categorized as a "smooth shiting transmisson" it is computer controlled... that is nice because under part throttle acceleration, shifts are almost non-noticeable, but under full throttle, she'll shift firm.
One thing i will point out, of any car i have ever rode, or driven in, this is the *best* shifting automatic transmission.... it always knows what gear to be in, it knows the power, and the power band of the 4.9 and sticks in it, it never gear hunts, when exiting a turn a slight ease into the gas and there is a smooth downshift and a fluid-like push forward, going up hill it downshifts nice... I have never been in a car where the transmission was as "smart" as this car.
the engine is very reliable too, parts are cheap and it really keeps to itself alot. I do all my own work on the cars, and working on the enigne itself is not very hard... but cramming a (realtivly speaking) large V8 into a small engine bay dosn't work good... so space to work on things is not good at all.
the car has front disc/ rear drum brakes with standard ABS. the braking system on the car is fine, and perfectly up to the task of slowing the car down, even at high speeds.
The suspension, normally is Speed Sensitive and controlled by the computer, according to my Service SSS light, both front struts have failed. Still, the car rides nice... it has a "connected to the road" feel, but not so much as newer sporty cars... it is more relaxed, but you still fell the car doing whatever it is it is doing. handling is very good, by that I mean I have taking sharp corners too fast, and it stays on the ground, of course the tire/weel upgrade really helped, but the ride and handling is a very nice blend.
Another thing to mention with my car, with the new wheels/tires, they grip very good, I used to be able to light up the old tires from a stop, now if I nial it from a stop, they spin (don't lay rubber or squeel... just spin) but not for long... they grip very good... then the neck-jerking acceleration takes palce.
Being that the windows are the older style and recessed quite a bit, there is alot of wind noise at highway speeds... once you hit higher-then-normal highway speeds, the wind noise gets worse. I have been trying to find the Vent Visors for the car, which are hard to find because it is a 2 door, but I know they make them, becuase i saw them before, and I think that would chage the aerodynamics around the window and get rid of alot of the noise.
he car isn't bad on gas either, requires premium, 18gal tank. it should get you around 15-18mpg town and 25-28mpg on the highway
Another thing to mention, if you do your own work on cars, the *extensive* on board diagnosis (must have the factory service manual) really helps... there are sensors for almost anything on the engine... RPM, manifold temp, intake air temp, water temp, battery voltage just to name a few. Plus you can override systems such as shut injectors down, override the transmission control (so you shift it) and a host of other tools to help you fix problems. It is very cool for linking computers and physical work on the car. Plus, when something does go wrong, these cars tell you what the problem is, so you don't have to stand around guessing at it.
Problem Areas: some of the major areas are, active controlled struts, heater cores, EGR system (easy fix), hood struts fail after 10-15 years, alot of other normal maintenace work, and a few others, most the stuff are the hi-tech accessories on the car, and not the car itself though.
Pros: stunning good looks, great engine and drivetrain, nice power, really good ride/handling, nice driving charactoristics, lotta trunk room and interrior room, nice well rounded car. Coupes are just that much more cool and rare too
Cons: engine is tough to work on due to limited space, I personally do not like uni-body FWD cars, but that really isn't the cars fault. the standard dash trim for the DeVille was fake plastic which I repalced with real wood trim from a Fleetwood (after I customized it) lack of any performance parts for the engine at all. Active suspension is expensive to replace, but passive kits are easy to get. More electronic gizmos on car = more to break down the road.
Overall: One sweet car! looks, power, comfort, reliable, people (such as cops) tend to easily over look it, does everything it should, timeless styling, great driving personality and a nice mix of technology make it a great car to drive.
