2013 Cadillac XTS aims to straighten up and fly right

2013 Cadillac XTS aims to straighten up and fly right





The Cadillac DTS and STS never gained much favor outside of livery slaves and foot-in-the-grave pensioners, and for good reason. Utterly devoid of sex appeal or even the presence of the Escalade or less costly CTS, the Barges of Ft. Lauderdale always came across as something Cadillac had to sell, not something it wanted to.

That looks to be changing with the 2013 Cadillac XTS that serves as their replacement.

Like the CTS that put Caddy back on the map both in design and dynamics, the XTS slots between two segments. Bigger than the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and Audi A6 but smaller than those two German companies' flagship sedans, the XTS offers more interior room than anything in its segment-splitting class, along with a trunk that eclipses even the Audi A8 for volume.

The XTS' crisp exterior comes off as a bit sedate in person, but to the design team's credit, chrome use has been kept to a minimum, opting instead for brushed metal and tasteful brightwork in Platinum trim.

If the exterior doesn't excite, the interior should, with Cadillac's new tech-rich CUE infotainment system handling everything from navigation to streaming audio, topping it all off with a 12.3-inch configurable display in the IP. But it's also the little things. Purple contrast French stitching on the dash, doors and seats might sound like Joker-approved trim, but the effect is subtly stylish, as are the leather surfaces ahead of the passenger whose perforations spaces out in a gradient as it nears the doors.

As revealed last night, power is provided by a 3.6-liter V6 making 300 horsepower and 264 pound-feet of torque. The base XTS sends power to the front wheels, but with the addition of General Motors' HiPer Strut system in front, rear air suspension and Magnetic Ride Control dampers pulled from the V parts bin, the XTS could be a handler – particularly when fitted with the optional torque splitting all-wheel-drive system. Plus, braking is by Brembo all around, even on base models.

Sales of the Oshawa, Ontario-built sedan are slated to begin late next spring, and if you're thinking a V-series version sounds compelling, don't be surprised if it shows up in two years time.