Test driving the 2016 Cadillac CTS-V

Wait a minute.. is this a car review? Why yes it is. I was lucky enough to be able to test drive one of five GM vehicles, spread across their various brands. I chose the Cadillac CTS-V (with Car Dvd Player) since I have driven cars all of my life. This was a step up in size from my Focus, so it was fun to get to try something completely different than what I am used to. Fellow Gadgeteer, Dave, insisted that I should drive across the Pacific Northwest on a road trip, but I kept it conservative and drove all around the Seattle metro area instead, seeing how it was to drive not just on highways, but on city streets as well. This was one powerful, intimidating car, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. When it comes to Cadillac, I always thought that they were cars for older people. The body just was too boxy for me. They’ve really changed from the cars I knew back in the day; now boasting a sleeker look and a redesigned logo. They’ve even equipped this model with the optional manual paddle shift, for a different experience. I can barely drive a stick, so I kept to the automatic shifting. Not only did they make it more modern, but with cameras equipped for every side of the vehicle, lane assist, blind spot awareness, and a collision warning system installed, they have focused on safety as well. I got some amusement out of the collision warning system when I went through a drive thru. When I pulled up close enough to the window, my seat started vibrating because the car felt the side of the car was too close to the building. The sensitivity level can be changed, but I preferred to keep it at the highest sensitivity because you never know when you may need it. The CTS-V model is built for speed and power. They’ve built in hood vents, side vents, and overall, have made the car much more aerodynamic. What really makes this car powerful though, is what is under the hood. This baby sports a 6.2L Supercharged V8 engine with 640 horsepower and goes from 0-60 in 3.7 seconds. It also has a top speed of 200 mph if you are on a racetrack, since you wouldn’t want to be going that speed in traffic! What about install an Android Car Gps? While I didn’t test 0-60 in 3.7 seconds, I did speed up as fast as possible while getting on the interstate and when starting from a stop light. Oh man, that was so fun. It’s just not the same to try to do that in my little Focus! When I was on the phone with GM, I was told this car was powerful. When the representative dropped it off at my door, he warned me it was powerful. This meant that I was paranoid to first touch the gas petal, afraid that it would jump like a bucking bronco. That was not the case at all. Speeding up for the first time, I could feel the power, but I could also feel I was very much in control. After the first test drive around the neighborhood, I was ready to start driving it like normal. As recommended, I kept the car ‘power settings’ in the everyday touring mode, but there are four road options varying from the laid back touring all the way to racing mode. You could hear the power difference in the idle of the car when switching between the highest and lowest power mode. If installing an Android Car Stereo in your car, that would be great!