[Eldog]

I am trying to decide between a cts and a BMW 330xi. How is the wet weather traction in the cts? I like the xi because of the all wheel drive. My 94 eldo was a beast in the snow. In the twelve years I owned it, I only got stuck once and that was during a 30 inch snow fall. This ride is going to be my year round driver so sloppy weather driving is a concern.
I test drove the G35 and Maxima and was unimpressed other than the spunky motor. The s60 awd drove very sloppy (and I am not paying 5k over invoice for an s60r although they are pretty hot!) The Saabs look pretty cool too but not as bad assed as the CTS with the same pony power under the hood. The XI was like driving on rails. I flew through a winding industrial park at about 60 and the car barely swayed. The I jammed on the brake and the thing stopped on a dime. Lastly the turning radius is unreal. I was doing donuts in a culdasac with half the culdasac to spare. So, how does the CTS compare in real life driving. I have an appointment for the 24hr drive this week but would like to get more feed back from actual owners.
Any horror stories with the CTS? I am rather skiddish about buying a first year production vehicle. I like to wait till the bugs are worked out.
All feedback welcome. Thanks.
PS Any backdoor non advertised dealer incentives I should know about? All I have seen on these cars is the 1.9%. I would think with the 04's coming soon they would want to move some of these.
Is it true that the 04’s will have 255 ponies?

 

[shaggygrosser]

I am trying to decide between a cts and a BMW 330xi. How is the wet weather traction in the cts? I like the xi because of the all wheel drive. My 94 eldo was a beast in the snow. In the twelve years I owned it, I only got stuck once and that was during a 30 inch snow fall. This ride is going to be my year round driver so sloppy weather driving is a concern.
I test drove the G35 and Maxima and was unimpressed other than the spunky motor. The s60 awd drove very sloppy (and I am not paying 5k over invoice for an s60r although they are pretty hot!) The Saabs look pretty cool too but not as bad assed as the CTS with the same pony power under the hood. The XI was like driving on rails. I flew through a winding industrial park at about 60 and the car barely swayed. The I jammed on the brake and the thing stopped on a dime. Lastly the turning radius is unreal. I was doing donuts in a culdasac with half the culdasac to spare. So, how does the CTS compare in real life driving. I have an appointment for the 24hr drive this week but would like to get more feed back from actual owners.
Any horror stories with the CTS? I am rather skiddish about buying a first year production vehicle. I like to wait till the bugs are worked out.
All feedback welcome. Thanks.
PS Any backdoor non advertised dealer incentives I should know about? All I have seen on these cars is the 1.9%. I would think with the 04's coming soon they would want to move some of these.
Is it true that the 04’s will have 255 ponies?

I've had my CTS for 4 weeks and love it. The handling is first rate. The acceleration is good, but not as good as the BMW or Infinity G35. The interior design & luxury was what sealed the deal for me. The CTS is a livingroom on wheels.

One of the offers my dealer offered me was this "Conquest" program. The way it works is that if you trade in a non-GM vehicle when you purchase a new GM car, they'll knock off an additional $1000. I'm not sure if they're still doing that, but it's worth looking into if you were planning on trading in a non-GM car anyway.

ps. sounds like you gave that BMW a run for it's money :burn:
good huntin'

 

[peccles]

Eldog,

When you do the 24hr test drive make sure its one with the Stabiltrak
option since handling seems to be a primary concern. This should
help keep you going in the right direction if you over do it or the road
conditions are not optimal. You might also want to checkout an Audi AWD.
The A4 with the 3.0L is a good comparison to the 330xi.

For '04 the CTS will have an optional 3.6L engine rated at 255HP and
252 ft-lbs.

 

[BeelzeBob]

Welcome aboard, Eldog! Thank you for signing up.. I think you're going to love the CTS. I've heard nothing but great things about it. I think Cadillac really has something special here... Keep us posted and give us your report...