2020 Cadillac CT5-V First Look

with the cts-v taking a bow this year, the only hot sedan remaining in cadillac's lineup would be the ct6-v. but cadillac has unveiled new performance variants of its upcoming sedans, including the 2020 cadillac ct5-v.

the ct5 looks to address a number of the cts' shortcomings, making it an all-around more appealing vehicle. notably, rear legroom has increased, materials quality seems to have improved, and the capacitive touch buttons have been tossed in the dumpster where they belong and replaced with a much friendlier-looking interface.

so far, so good, but the ct5 was missing a v performance variant. some faithful souls held out hope that it might receive cadillac's newly developed and romantically named blackwing v8 and match or exceed the insane 640 horsepower of the cts-v.

it turns out that is not the case.

apex or nadir?

under the hood, the ct5-v is down two cylinders and more than 300 horsepower from its predecessor, sporting a turbocharged 3.0-liter v6 that cadillac estimates will make 355 hp. that's a much more accessible number than the 640 hp the cts-v made, but some v fans are sure to be disappointed, and the drop in power takes the v branding down several notches in terms of raw performance, closer to where v-sport models used to compete.

the ct5-v's v6 engine is coupled to general motors' 10-speed automatic transmission, a sharp unit that we like in other performance applications. power is sent to the rear wheels, although all-wheel drive is available as an option. also standard are brembo brakes, an electronic limited-slip differential, 19-inch wheels and cadillac's magnetic ride control adaptive suspension.

all of the parts suggest that the ct5-v will be fun to drive. cadillac has proven it can make engaging and entertaining sporty sedans — in recent years that's been a consistent strength. but will an engaging driving experience be enough to tempt buyers the brand has trained to expect supercar-challenging power?

pricing and release date

perhaps if the more accessible power number equates to a more accessible price tag, we can call the whole thing a draw, but cadillac won't release official pricing until closer to the car's early 2020 on-sale date. stay tuned for edmunds for updates on the 2020 cadillac ct5 and ct5-v.