darrinb

how the hell did the cts beat the 04 TL in the comparo...:o
1st place: g35 sedan
2nd: cts
3rd: TL

Red-CL

What are the specs on the CTS?

6spdmanual

WTF?!

scalbert

RWD and a great chassis.

95gt

Duh .RWD makes any car better than the TL. Even one that looks like that caddy. God i hate that styling

scalbert

Even with interior and exterior styling that may not appeal to many, the car does drive very well. The steering response is excellent giving a very BMW like handling quality which I never expected from a Cadillac.

Scrib

What was the target market??? Sport? Entry-luxury? Was it just those three cars?

If it was just those three, and it was a review based more on a driver's car; sporty, the results don't surprise me one bit.

Black CL-S 4-Life

This doesn't surprise me either. Acura is getting slammed by the critics for not making the TL RWD.

JZ

I actually am quite fond of the CTS styling--best looking caddy maybe ever. In fact, I think the new TL took a lot of styling sues from the CTS in its angular approach.

Chaptorial

Yeah but it did beat the Saab 9^3.

They called the test "Four aspiring 3 Series alternatives whip luxury and sport into a golden state"

4th Place:

Saab 9^3:

Whats Hot:

-Couplike design
-Solid Body structure
-Trim size

Whats Not:

-Turbo lag
-Nonlinear steering
-Overintrusive stability control


3rd Place:

Acura TL

Whats Hot:

-270hp standard
-XM Satellite Radio standard
-Italianate sheetmetal, artful cabin design

Whats Not:

-Light, darty steering
-Torque steer
-Long stopping distance


2nd Place:

Cadillac CTS

Whats Hot:

-Crisp Steering
-Comfortable Euro-sedan ride quality
-Bank-vault-like structural integrity

Whats Not:

-Tall, narrow body proportions
-Jarring shapes and textures on dash
-No manumatic control available for auto


1st Place

Infiniti G35 Sedan

Whats Hot:

-Son of Z-Car V6 powertrain
-Son of Z-Car chassis balance and response
-Value for dollar

Whats Not:

-Some interior plastic trim below par
-Brakes a bit grabby
-Rear-end design somewhat blocky

CLpower

I read the review, thought it was fair

TL_Type_S

I've been complaining of that annoying "light darty steering" since i got this car..

it's waaay too light.. to the point where i don't trust myself to use one hand driving on the highway at highspeeds b/c if i hit a slight road bump, my wheel will jump to the right or left ... they need to do something about this for '05

FWD FWD FWD ... i think they just need to STOP comparing FWD cars against RWD cars... b/c the ultimate conclusion is always, well, the TL is great, but didn't win b/c it's FWD.

Who gives a sh*t anymore... we all know what the outcome is gunna be of these MT and C&D comparos.

As far as the braking is concerned.. though I haven't done any emergency braking, i find the TL brakes just about the same as my Type S brakes... i do not have the brembos.

ferizzo

I think its a testament to acura that they are compared to sporty RWD sedans and coupes (even if they usually lose). They do what they do well. Unfortunately they are always going to be at a disadvantage in the sporty categories.

1SICKLEX

That is Acura's fault. Acura is the one positioning the TL as a sports sedan. If the TL did not go against RWD cars, then it would be compared against:
ES 330
Maxima
I35
Audi A4 without AWD
Volvo S60 without AWD

I was shocked at how well the CTS drove. I do not like the styling inside or out but it is a great driving car.

synth19

I've noticed that car mags sentence death for those who don't offer AWD or RWD...

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

Pretty much. I mean, look at it. The two RWD vehicles took the top 2 places, whereas the two FWD cars took the last 2.

Even Car & Driver, with their some-10-15 car tests, RWD wins.. always.

The truth it, you can't blame them. RWD does drive nicer, and it's a lot sportier, not to mention fun.

FWD for the winter? Learn how to drive. I went by for 2 and a half years in Michigan weather with RWD. Only got stuck once when I tried to go through a parking lot, and got stuck on the curb.

If RWD is so bad in adverse weather, then I wonder how these RWD vehicles are out there driving around in the snow.

FWD was implemented because it was cheaper for the car manufacturers. They just did a great advertising job to sucker us into thinking that FWD is lightyears better in bad weather. Sumbitches.

95gt

Sorry to burst your professional driving skills bubble but most people will find driving a FWD car in the snow much easier than a rwd. Fishtailing is not something a lot of the public can handle

With more weight over the driving wheels getting started is almost always easier in a FWD car.

Most of those cars you see going are because people have to be out and about (plus many are large sedans (crown vic) that have sandbags in the back and weigh a ton anyway). I would bet 90% would rather be driving a fwd when they were out in that weather.

We are not talking about 2% of the driving public that can drive just as well in either but the other 98%

Crazy Bimmer

well i have driven

FWD, RWD and AWD within the past 3 years during winter :o

My thoughts... that any car would suck in the snow without proper tires. I would rather drive a RWD car with snow tires than a AWD car with summer tires.

Also dont forget most rwd cars come with summer tires and owners forget to change them out for winter.

I really want to drive the CTS, i heard nothing but good things about it.

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

If you can't control fishtailing, then you don't deserve to drive a RWD. I've never lost control of my old car with RWD, yet I've already lost control of my TL and put it into a ditch.

I don't know or do I care about the 98%. That's not selfish, because they can drive whatever they want. But I feel more confident and comfortable with RWD. You can control car via steering and throttle input. But with FWD, you don't have as much control. Once those rear wheels kick out, counter steer and pray to God that they will fall back under control.

Not to mention you lose grip when launching, understeer, torque-steer, and the lack of fun factor.

So why did I get a FWD? I had to compromise. RWD wasn't offered on cars I was looking at.


Back home, the roads are still littered with RWD cars during the winter. And Michigan winter doesn't mess around.

Besides, BMW, Mercedes, Jaguar, etc, etc are all RWD (some AWD). Now Cadillac is switching to RWD.

And these are some of the world's top-selling marques. Explain that to me.

With today's technology, we don't need FWD. TCS and VSA can counteract that and then some more. This is what Chrysler is going for with the next generation Concorde platform. Caddy is switching the STS to RWD, and has already switched CTS to RWD.