Certified Pre-Owned 2004 CTS

[FL01SS]

I've had this car for about 4 months now, and I am very happy with my purchase. I like so many different aspects of this car and have very few complaints. It has the 3.6 Liter engine with the Sport & Luxury packages and a sunroof, but no Navigation system, which is not that important to me at this point in time anyways. I have had some issues (more than I expected), but it was a used car, 36k when I got it, so I was prepared for there to be a couple of issues here and there. They were all fixed under warranty, so it's really not an issue at all, but the service I received trying to get the issues fixed gave me a headache! I've already ranted enough about that in other threads though, so on to the car.......

First off, I LOVE how this car looks! The styling is very aggressive and edgy. Other companies are trying to copy this car's looks, but as far as I'm concerned, this is one of THE BEST looking cars on the road today. Compared to the other cars I considered buying, including the BMW 3 series & Lincoln LS, this car wins my appearance vote hands down.

The interior of this car gets an A in my book too. It compliments the exterior of the car nicely. The plastic surfaces have nice contasting designs & textures, the leather is soft and nice to touch & there's just enough wood accents to let you know you're in a Cadillac. The seats are very comfortable & supportive and adjust easily to fit any sized driver (I'm 6'2" & the wife is 5'6") All the controls are laid out very nicely and everything is well within reach. The programability of the steering wheel controls & display buttons is a very nice feature & the rotary volume control is one of my favorite features of the car. Of course the memory for two drivers is such a great ammenity as well. I don't think I'll ever buy another car without that feature!

The handling and performance of this car are both outstanding as well. For being a four door sedan, this car handles, brakes & corners remarkably well. It gives a real feeling of confidence to the driver. Especially with Traction Control & Stabilitrac. I am extremely impressed with the minimal body roll this car has while cornering at speed. And there is plenty of power through out the RPM range to get you up to speed in a hurry too, whether from a stop, merging or passing. This is aided by the five speed automatic which shifts up and down quickly and smoothly. The four wheel discs bring it to a stop nicely with very little forward pitch even under hard braking.

There are only a couple of details I'm not too crazy about with the car. First, the trunk opens oddly and can be heavy if you're parked facing up hill or only have one free hand. It's the movement of the hinges that makes it this way, and they were designed to move in an odd motion in order to fold out of the way and give more trunk space. I would have rather had a bit less trunk space and a trunk that was easier to open myself. The least they could have done is make it so it pops up more when you push the button to open it.

Next, there is no telescopic adjustment for the steering wheel. I actually spent two or three minutes looking for the adjustment the first day I had the car because I assumed there would be one. This is standard on so many cars now a days, I don't get why this car doesn't have one!

Another item that stood out to me, not so much as something I have a problem with, but rather something I just found odd, is that the Traction Control button is in the glove box for some reason. It doesn't really matter to me because I never shut mine off anyways, and if I wanted to I could program a display or steering wheel button to turn it on & off. One thing I do have a bit of a problem with though is that there is no room in the glove box for anything other than the owner's manual & a few napkins, and the center console doesn't have all that much space either.

It could also use another power outlet as well. When I travel with the family, the one in the rear goes for the DVD player & the one up front is dedicated for my radar detector, which leaves no place to plug in my phone. It would be perfect if there was one in the bottom part of the center console.

Oh, and one last thing. Although I do think the headlamp washers are way cool how they pop out of the headlights, I REALLY wish there was a seperate button to activate them seperate from the windshield washer. I hate it when I have just washed the car and they spray fluid all over the front of it. I will normally wait until I stop, turn off the lights, & then use the windshield washer just so i don't spray down the front of the car.

That's pretty much it for the complaints. Nothing I can't live with. Overall, this car looks and handles great, is fun to drive, and gives you the luxury of a Cadillac. It gets 9.5 out of 10 from me.

[Jon]

Very nice review of the car! I completely agree, especially about there not being any room in the glove compartment or center console.

I have a Lincoln LS in the family, and I can tell by your feelings torwards the CTS that you wouldn't have been happy with the LS. The CTS drives MUCH MUCH better.

Car looks great by the way! You need to get yourself a set of these to compliment the V grill, pillar posts, and those rims. http://cadillacperformance.net/test/...products_id=29

[FL01SS]

Originally Posted by Jon

You need to get yourself a set of these to compliment the V grill, pillar posts, and those rims. http://cadillacperformance.net/test/...products_id=29

I agree! They're the next thing on the list.