Yahoo Autos 2020 Cadillac CT5 and 2021 CT3/4: The ATS and CTS, Renamed and Repositioned
Cadillac’s biggest problem is the positioning of its cars versus their competitors. Here’s part of that back story: When the CTS came to life in 2002, it slotted into the luxury segment as a sedan slightly larger than the BMW 3-series but at about the same cost. The strategy was to offer buyers a traditional American virtue: space. Keep in mind, this happened while class-leading dynamics overtook virtually all else as the brand priority. Two generations later, the CTS remains, functionally, between the 3- and 5-series, but its cost is closer to the latter’s. We thought the CTS was worth its price, and said so, but the market is a fickle mistress; it prizes stuff like interior quality and roomy rear seats over limit-handling sharpness.
The story isn’t too different for the ATS, which lacks the rear-seat space and comfort of the Audi A4 and the BMW 3-series. Cadillac is cagey about how it’s going to handle this, but it’s clear that a product realignment is in order. For now, all the company admits is that the ATS, CTS, and XTS will be replaced with two all-new models in separate segments and that the CT6 will remain situated above those new offerings.
The most likely scenario pits the redesigned ATS, which is to be renamed either the CT3 or CT4, against the Audi A3, BMW 2-series, and Mercedes-Benz CLA. Though the smallest CT will remain on the rear- and all-wheel-drive Alpha platform that underpins the ATS and CTS, it’s unclear what, if any, resizing will take place. Up a class, the CTS gives way to the CT5, which will also remain on the Alpha platform but will target more directly the A4, 3-series, and C-class bogeys.
Powertrains sit longitudinally in the Alpha platform, so rear-wheel drive will be standard in both cars. All-wheel drive will likely remain optional depending on powertrain choices. Expect GM’s turbo 2.0-liter four to be the base engine for both cars and a larger, yet-to-be-unveiled boosted four to serve as the upgrade. Should sanity prevail, V versions will have the option of one of the twin-turbocharged sixes (3.0 or 3.6 liters). And if the engineers run the asylum for long enough, one of several upcoming twin-turbo DOHC V-8s might find its way into the mix, though installing such a reactor in the CT3/4 is akin to powering a taco truck with a Merlin 1D rocket engine. It’s also not an entirely bad idea. Eight- and 10-speed automatic transmissions are abundant in Cadillac’s powertrain arsenal, but we can always hope for a manual, which is currently offered in six-speed form in the ATS. Look for the CT5 to hit showrooms sometime next year starting in the mid-$40,000 range and the CT3/4 in 2020 in the mid $30,000s.
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