2020 Cadillac CT4 Review

The Cadillac CT4 is the brand's latest attempt to lure America's upwardly mobile professionals away from shiny European sport sedans with some Detroit home cooking. Will it work? We're not ruling it out. The outgoing ATS was always a little small to compete against the 3 Series or C-Class anyway, so Cadillac will position the similar CT4 against subcompact foes such as the Audi A3 and Mercedes-Benz A-Class. With a rear-wheel drive platform borrowed from the athletic ATS, optional all-wheel drive across the board and competitive turbocharged power, the CT4 clearly has strong fundamentals.

Under the hood, the base engine is a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder, which is standard fare for this class. Rated at 237 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque, this four-banger should have no trouble keeping the CT4 abreast of its price peers, even if it's a hefty 35 horses shy of the 2018 ATS' base output. The 2.0-liter will pair with an eight-speed automatic transmission, while the available turbocharged 2.7-liter four-cylinder — optional on the Premium Luxury, standard on the CT4-V — comes with a 10-speed automatic.

What's that you say? Why, yes, the Chevy Silverado 1500 pickup truck does offer a turbocharged 2.7-liter four — and yeah, Caddy's version is basically the same. We're intrigued to sample the 2.7 in this application to see if it has the refinement that luxury shoppers rightfully expect. It comes in two states of tune, incidentally, pumping out 309 hp and 348 lb-ft in the Premium Luxury and 325 hp and 380 lb-ft in the CT4-V.

The CT4's other big news is its tablet-like 8-inch touchscreen interface, which replaces the ATS' much-maligned CUE infotainment system and will hopefully prove to be much more user-friendly. There's a matching 8-inch configurable display behind the steering wheel, replacing the ATS' corny (let's be honest) analog gauges. Cadillac notes that the CT4 incorporates GM's new "digital vehicle platform," which enables over-the-air updates to keep your Caddy current as technology progresses.

The CT4 also offers a bundle of advanced driver aids, including automatic emergency braking and Cadillac's funky Safety Alert Seat that shakes and shudders to alert you to danger. You'll need to start at the Premium Luxury trim level to get the good stuff, though. As for the Super Cruise hands-free driving system, Cadillac says it will be available for the CT4 next year. Super Cruise allows for semi-automated hands-free driving on more than 200,000 miles of highway using a combination of GPS data, cameras and LIDAR, a technology similar to radar that uses light waves instead of radio.

Cadillac had fleeting success as a foil to its German rivals with both the ATS and the midsize CTS sedans. Those cars handled as well as, and in some cases better than, the competition, but they fell short in cabin comfort, tech features and overall refinement. The CT4 matters because it can succeed where its forebears failed if it minimizes such shortcomings.

To this end, the CT4 promises a more upscale design inside with higher-quality materials, along with more advanced tech features than the ATS at its peak. Most of the typical must-haves are here — Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Wi-Fi hotspot, a premium noise-cancelling sound system — as well as some Cadillac exclusives, including the brand's innovative rearview mirror that displays a real-time video feed of the car's rear surroundings. Throw in the aforementioned over-the-air software updates and we can see the CT4 making some shoppers believers.