2016 Cadillac ATS-V: First Drive of Caddy’s War Against Germany

Cadillac has been producing some stellar performance cars over the past few years, but outside our geeky gearhead walls, the general consensus — rather unfairly — is that Cadillacs are still for old, withered gentleman with hips that beep every time they go through airport security.

It remains a long road, then, to educate the uneducated, and it’s cars like the 2016 Cadillac ATS-V that must turn the tide.

This is a machine that rivals Mercedes’ C63 AMG and the all-conquering BMW M3/M4. The BMW, in particular, defines the performance sedan/coupe segment. It’s the benchmark from which we must all judge.

At our pre-drive briefing for the new ATS-V in Austin, Texas, at the Circuit of the Americas, Cadillac — worryingly — talked about how the ATS-V was its precise V-Series offering while the new CTS-V will be the blunt sledgehammer. I say worrying because the M3/M4 is a precision instrument, forgoing emotion in the quest for raw performance. Mercedes’ C63, on the other hand, scores because it isn’t precise at all, opting for a booming soundtrack and muscle car-like dynamics. It’s perhaps not as capable as an M3 on track, but it’s a proper riot to drive — and people like to have fun.

I feared Cadillac had attempted to take on BMW by being BMW.

Thankfully, after just a couple of laps, it was clear that wasn’t the case: The ATS-V’s character differs substantially, both from the Bimmer and the Merc. It straddles the lines between the two, offering buyers a worthy alternative. It’s also bloody fast.

The 3.6-liter twin turbo V-6 — which features almost entirely new components when compared to the 3.6 from Caddy’s V-Sport line — boasts 464 hp and 445 lb.-ft. of torque, a jump of 39 hp over the M3. It hits 60 mph in 3.8 seconds before topping out at 189 mph, but at 3,700 lbs., it is roughly 100 lbs. heavier than the BMW; while Caddy may say that the ATS-V is “precise,” in comparison to the M3, it really isn’t.

But it’s also no brute. Some of that is down to the engine; weirdly, while it — like the BMW — features turbochargers, its additional lag while spooling up adds a bit more character. It’s not seamless like other turbo motors, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s worse. Where it misses a trick, however, is in the sound. Cadillac had a real opportunity to put one over BMW and its fake-sound-nonsense by making the ATS-V roar like Shaq riding a demented buffalo, wooing disgruntled E90 M3 lovers in the process. Instead, it just sounds pleasant.

Behind the wheel, though, there’s nothing mundane about it. You find yourself working like a pizza chef on a Saturday night — the car is loose on corner entry and exit, with a minor dollop of understeer in the middle. The exit oversteer, specifically, means you need fast hands to truly push the car to its limits.

I like that. I felt I earned my lap time — if I cocked up, I cocked up.  If I nailed it, I savored that moment knowing I’d done my job correctly. The car won’t do the work for you.

With the Magnetic Ride Control suspension set to Track mode (other modes are Touring and Sport), you’re gifted five additional settings to fine-tune the traction/stability control. I chose the most aggressive setting, which removes all traction control but keeps just a smidgen of stability. I didn’t switch it off entirely (which is a first for me) because having some computer assistance to limit the big snaps on corner exit was preferable. The system did intervene in some areas I wish it wouldn’t, but being more confident on power down seemed like the preferred compromise. (In the M3/M4, you have to turn everything off when on track. It’s just too intrusive.)

The ATS-V features the same clever electronic differential from the Corvette Z06 (as standard, I should add). It can vary between fully open, to help the car rotate into the turn, and practically fully closed (up to 2,000 Newton meters of preload), to help power down. Traction is, therefore, good; the back tires stepping out feels more like a lack of rear camber under heavy load.