Imagine ordering a ton of bricks. The 400 red bricks are a weight of five pounds per piece. You know, the stones, are from Indianapolis, famous. They are yours. Now, do you want your ton of bricks you throw all of them at once? Or you want to pass rather a stone?
The manual transmission, the 2016 ATS-V sedan, Cadillac one-brick-at-a-time-performance machine. Sometimes it is the feeling of oven-hardened clay in the hand than the brick in place and stunning to build you something. To goes other times it is Bouncing, the folder in her hand for a moment only, before the expansion of the stone through a window and runs like hell. so, With 464 HP from its 3.6-liter twin-Turbo V-6, which is one of the world’s great brick-and-delivery systems. And it excels at running like hell.
Three-Pedal Performance
The stir-it-yourself-transmission in this ATS-V sedan is not a secret box. The Tremec TR-6060 six-speed, a further development of the T-56, has been in several Camaros, Vipers, Mustangs for almost a quarter-century. All the demons were expelled, the this gear decades ago, and it was refined to the point that its layers are intuitive. That is, if it solves your intuition some seriously beefy muscular reflexes.
Cadillac is optimized for the TR-6060 due to the addition of the two active-rev-matching-logic and no-lift shifting. The rev-matching feature blips the throttle when it expects a downshift to the shift change smooth, while the no-lift feature makes it easy to upshift without the driver put the go-juice. Both technologies work well, keep the engine in the meatiest part of its torque production, even if the stupid driver couldn’t pierce it with a steak knife.
A couple of switches behind the gear lever, the controller of the three modes to operate in the ATS-V: Touring, Sport and track. A switch is an arrow pointing up, showing the other arrow down. Why you might not switch to cope with this task, is a mystery, but what the heck.
In Touring mode, the engine idles almost silently, and rises in a slight vibrate old, as it runs through the gears. It is never loud, but it is an appealing resonance is the note on the exhaust. The drive is compatible, without being mushy, and the steering wheel is loose. In Sport and Track modes, the steering, the conscious effort, the suspension is stiffened considerably, and the exhaust is louder and livelier, but still falls short of our acoustic expectations (both the C63 is a bombastic V-8 and the M3/M4 ripping inline-six are far better). Sport mode is fun. Track mode, the ATS-V feels as if it is in hot pursuit of a Trans-Am title.
The ATS-V twin-turbo V-6 is a sister to the naturally-aspirated 3.6-liter V-6, General Motors sets up everything from the Chevrolet Colorado pickup at the livery-spec Cadillac XTS that you picked 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 is rated at 420 HP, but in the ATS-V, it is titanium connecting rods and new turbos, among other changes, and is tuned to 464 horses deliver. The are 39 more horsepower than a BMW M3’s 3.0-liter twin-turbo in-line six-cylinder-but 39 hp behind the 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8 in the Mercedes-AMG C63 S. This is a nice symmetrical splitting of the differences.
High Level Of Mechanical Intimacy
Most of the ATS-Vs will be delivered with the eight-speed automatic as the ATS-V was in our recent comparison test against the BMW M3 and the Mercedes-AMG C63, But while the manual has two less gears, it uses a more aggressive 3.73:1 final drive ratio, compared with the automatic setting of 2.85:1 gearbox. Both the fifth and sixth in the instructions are overdrive ratios, but the second, third and fourth (direct 1:1 ratio) to thrive with this short gear—not so much in the absolute performance, but in almost absurdly entertaining.
The manual transmission provides a direct connection between driver and car. You can torque brand feel the end up on the shift lever in the hand, and you know the exact moment when the clutch engages with the pedal to rise on your toes. This is a high-level of mechanical intimacy.
So we asked them to dance. On the right California mountain road, second gear alone a Golden Globe nomination could earn. Even in the quiet, Touring mode, the rear a bit and then dig in the drifts, before the traction and stability control engage in systems abruptly. In Sport mode, traction control, moderated a bit and is less Intrusive. To have the most fun in the curves, in Sport mode, the traction off control, if the bite in the rear 275/35ZR-18 Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires return to the heroic, the top, and spin the ATS-V to.
Watch out for the rev-limiter. Lose sight of the tach, and run to the 6500-rpm fuel cutoff, and the V-6 snaps-with emphasis. And the needle will rotate until it is fast, delivers fresh gobs of torque right up to the computer, his self-preservation S. O. S. sends If you stay mindful of the speed, however—after all, the torque peak of 445 lb-ft at 3500 rpm—it’s all Six Flags over Cadillac.
Keep this in mind, know that our Tests have shown that the ATS-V is a gear faster with the automatic. With its shift paddles, the automatic ATS-V sedan to 60 km / h in just 3.9 seconds and slaughtered the quarter-mile were ran in the 12.1 in the case of a rib 122 miles per hour. This manual model with 4.2 seconds needed to reach 60 km / h and 12.5 complete the quarter-mile at 117 km / h. If the absolute performance is the ultimate decision, go for which trigger automatic moved. Apart from the styling and interior volume, there is nothing here that the sedan is different from the ATS-V manual coupe we tested; it is 60 mph hit in 4.2 seconds.
While the nitrogen brings additional entertainment, what is best about the ATS-V remains a spectacularly well-tuned chassis, reinforced with magnetorheological dampers. With the best initial turn-in bite sports sedan, it is great when the frantic speed and a blast on a tight, narrow road, where a quarter of Gas is enough to entertain. The steering is so good and satisfactory in your feedback, that only commuters are the highlight of your day can be.
CUE to Pay the Piper and the price
The EPA rating of the ATS-V manual at 17 mpg in the city (1 mpg better than the automatic transmission) and 23 mpg on the highway (1 mpg worse). Driven aggressively to extract maximum yuks, the Caddy sipped premium fuel at a rate of 15 mpg in our care.
What is holding you back, the ATS-V, no matter what the transmission, the dinky rear bench seat, often frustrating CUE infotainment interface, and some lack of cohesion in design elements (e.g., switching and measuring devices, we associate with the family sedans are more than a luxury-brand Sport-model). The ATS-V is the performance it brings seductively near to the best in the class, but the manual transmission is probably not enough to get it past both the M3 and the C63 S AMG in a comparison test. For those who move, the better, for yourself, if the only other choice is the BMW (the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio also offer guidance on when it goes on sale).
The brilliant Recaro front an offer at $seats 2300 option price, but the $5000 carbon-fiber package could be skipped, taking into account the vulnerability of the front splitter. Maybe after some acclimation, it would be to use a deep-rooted habit, to avoid the front-facing camera, a scratch, but the ATS-V would be just as entertaining, without the worry. As it is, our vector Blue Metallic test car-load option to increase the total chit out of his $61,460 base price is around $75,900. Cadillacs have never been cheap, and neither is this, although it should be noted that the German alternatives are easily optioned into the mid-$80K range and even over $90,000 if you have no self-discipline.
The ATS-V is seamless, a seamless performance is in stark contrast to the-smashing slamfest, is his radical big brother, the CTS-V, which starts at $84,990. With its 640-HP 6.2-liter supercharged V-8, the CTS-V Cadillac is supplied for those prefer to always have your ton of bricks, all at once. You have a choice.