Cadillac 2016 ATS-V Sedan Manual

Instrumented Test

Imagine ordering a ton of bricks. That’s 400 red paving bricks weighing five pounds apiece. You know, the bricks that made Indianapolis famous. They’re yours. Now, do you want your ton of bricks dumped on you all at once? Or would you rather have one brick handed to you at a time?

Manual transmission 2016 ATS-V sedan is the engine performance of the Cadillac-brick one-at-a-time. Sometimes it's about feeling clay kiln-hardened in your hand when you set the bricks in place and build something magnificent with it. At other times, it's about bouncing hard on your hands for a moment before throwing a brick through the window and run like hell. With 464 horsepower from the 3.6-liter twin-turbocharged V-6, this is one brick-delivery systems in the world. And it excels at running like hell.

Three performance Pedal

Transmission stir-it-yourself in the ATS-V sedan is no mystery box. This is a Tremec TR-6060 six-speed, is an evolution of the T-56 has been used in various Camaro, poisonous snakes, and Mustang-nearly a quarter century. All the demons cast out of the gearbox is tens of years ago, and has been refined to the point that the shift is intuitive. That is, if your intuition trigger some serious muscle reflexes fat.

Cadillac has optimized TR-6060 by adding a second active rev-matching logic and no-lift shift. Features rev-matching throttle blips when anticipating downshift to make the change smooth shifts, while the feature is no lift to facilitate upshifts without making the driver lay off the juice away. Both technologies work well, keep the engine on the torque production meatiest doofus even if the driver can not be pierced with a steak knife.

A pair of switches, located aft of the shifter, control the three modes in which the ATS-V will operate: Touring, Sport, and Track. One switch has an arrow pointing up, the other an arrow pointing down. Why one switch couldn’t handle this task is a mystery, but whatever.

In Touring mode, the engine idles almost silently and rises into a slight vibrating contralto as it runs through the gears. It’s never loud, but there is an engaging resonant note to the exhaust. The ride is compliant without being mushy, and the steering is easygoing. In Sport and Track modes, the steering takes deliberate effort, the suspension stiffens significantly, and the exhaust is louder and more vivid but still falls well short of our aural expectations (both the C63’s bombastic V-8 and the M3/M4’s ripping inline-six are far better). Sport mode is fun. Track mode makes the ATS-V feel as if it’s in hot pursuit of a Trans-Am title.

The ATS-V’s twin-turbo V-6 is a sibling to the normally aspirated 3.6-liter V-6 that General Motors uses in everything from the Chevrolet Colorado pickup to the livery-spec Cadillac XTS that picked you up at the airport. But its closest relative is the twin-turbo 3.6 in the larger CTS Vsport sedan. In the CTS Vsport, it’s rated at 420 horsepower, but in the ATS-V it gets titanium connecting rods and new turbos, among other changes, and is tuned to deliver 464 horses. That’s 39 horsepower more than a BMW M3’s 3.0-liter twin-turbo straight-six but 39 hp behind the 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8 in the Mercedes-AMG C63 S. That’s a nicely symmetrical splitting of differences.

High-Level Mechanical Intimacy

Most ATS-Vs will be delivered with the eight-speed automatic, as was the ATS-V in our most recent comparison test against the BMW M3 and the Mercedes-AMG C63 S. But while the manual has two fewer gears, it uses an aggressive 3.73:1 final-drive ratio compared with the automatic’s set of 2.85:1 gears. Both fifth and sixth in the manual are overdrive ratios, but second, third, and fourth (a direct 1:1 ratio) thrive with this short gearset—not so much in absolute performance but in being almost ludicrously entertaining.

The manual transmission creates more direct connection between driver and car. You can feel the torque surging up through the shifter in your hand, and you know the exact moment when the clutch pedal moves through your toes as you ride with it. This is a high level of intimacy mechanics.

So we ask it to dance. California mountain road right, two teeth alone could earn a Golden Globe nomination. Even in quiet Touring mode, the tail will drift a little and then slipped in front traction- and stability control system was suddenly involved. In Sport mode, traction control and a moderated slightly less annoying. The most fun in cornering can be obtained in Sport mode with the traction control switched off, when the rear 275 / 35ZR-18 Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires will sweep heroic, biting at the top, and slingshot ATS-V onwards.

Watch out for the rev limiter. Forgetting tach and fuel cutoff run to the 6500-rpm, and the V-6 is locked off firmly. And it will rotate the needle up there quickly, giving a fresh set of torque right up until the computer sends a self-preservation S.O.S. If you just pay attention to the revs, but after all, a peak torque of 445 lb-ft arrives at 3500 rpm it all Six Flags over Cadillac.

Keeping this in mind, know that our tests show that the ATS-V is faster with automatic transmission. Using the paddle shifters, automatic ATS-V sedan ran to 60 mph in just 3.9 seconds and slaughtered a quarter-mile in 12.1 at 122 mph tore. This manual model takes 4.2 seconds to reach 60 mph and 12.5 to complete the quarter-mile at 117 mph. If absolute performance is the final determination, went to trigger automatic-shift. Aside from the styling and interior volume, nothing here that differentiate the sedan from manual ATS-V coupe we tested; it, too, reaches 60 mph in 4.2 seconds.

While the stick to bring additional entertainment, what is best about the ATS-V fixed chassis spectacularly well-tuned, enhanced with magnetorheological dampers. With the best early turn-in bite each sport sedan, it's nice when rushing with the speed and explosion in the tight, narrow streets, where a quarter of the throttle enough to entertain. the steering is so good and so satisfying in its feedback that only commuting can be the highlight of your day.

Piper cue and pay the price

The EPA rates the manual ATS-V at 17 mpg in (1 mpg better than automatic) city and 23 mpg on the highway (1 mpg worse). Driven aggressively to extract the maximum yuks, Caddy sipping premium fuel at the rate of 15 mpg in our care.

What withstand the ATS-V, no matter what the transmission, is the seat of the tiny rear, interface CUE infotainment often frustrating, and some lack of cohesion in the design elements (eg, switchgear and gauges that we associate with family sedan more than luxury-brand models sport ). ATS-V's performance puts tantalizingly close to the best in class, but a manual transmission may not be enough to get past both the M3 and C63 AMG S in another comparison test. For those who prefer to shift for themselves, though, the only other option is BMW (Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio also offers the user when it goes on sale).

Recaro front seats are brilliant deal at the price of $ 2,300 option, but carbon fiber package of $ 5,000 may be better bypassed, given the vulnerability of the front splitter. Maybe after some acclimatization it will become ingrained habit to use the front-facing camera to avoid scratches, but the ATS-V will be equally entertaining without worry. As it is, the burden of our choice Vector Blue Metallic test car increased total chit from a base price of $ 61,460 to $ 75,900. Cadillac is never cheap, and neither is this one, although it should be noted that the German convenient alternative optioned to mid $ 80K range and even beyond $ 90,000 if you do not have self-discipline.

Seamless performance ATS-V is contrasted with stitching slamfest radical-busting is big brother, the CTS-V, which starts at $ 84,990. With the 640-hp 6.2-liter supercharged V-8 Cadillac CTS-V is for those who prefer to get their ton of bricks delivered at once. The choice is you.

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