ATS Coupe Another Compelling Cadillac

LITCHFIELD, CT – Despite scads of well-reviewed vehicles, Cadillac sales fell 2.0% through July.

One of the General Motors luxury brand’s best-reviewed models, the 2-year-old ATS sedan, was down 20.8% through last month vs. year-ago.

So it is with great hope Cadillac is unleashing the 2-door ATS, on sale late this month in the U.S. in rear- and all-wheel-drive.

The car gives Cadillac parity within the segment, as most German and Japanese luxury brands offer 2-door variants of their midsize sedans, including key target BMW with the 4-Series.

After driving the ATS coupe here, we find it strongly matches the ride-and-handling characteristics of the 4-Series, but in a more stylish package.

The ATS is a looker, as Cadillac’s angular art-and-science design language is worn better by a vehicle with two fewer doors that don’t chop up the sculpted body.

The ATS coupe’s appearance arguably is more progressive than those of its German and Japanese competitors, whose design language veers toward round.

From sedan to coupe, Cadillac redesigned every piece of ATS-sedan sheetmetal save for the hood.

Some specific changes include a lower beltline over the rear wheels, that emphasizes the coupe’s more sinuous body; frameless glass doors, that allow for thinner metal trim on the body; a smaller center-high-mounted stop lamp; and exterior mirrors from the CTS-V, that are not seen on the sedan.

Both the sedan and coupe get the new, wreathless Cadillac badge for ’15.

The 2-door ATS has the same wheelbase as the sedan, but in typical coupe fashion is lower and wider.

Two Engines, Two Different Experiences

The new Cadillac forgoes its sedan sibling’s 2.5L 4-cyl., but offers that car’s 2.0L turbocharged I-4 and 3.6L naturally aspirated V-6, both with direct injection. The turbo engine sees a 14% increase in torque from the same mill in the ’14 ATS sedan.

On paper, the 2.0L turbo has more torque than the 3.6L: 295 lb.-ft. (400 Nm) compared with 275 lb.-ft. (373 Nm). It also reaches its peak torque sooner, at 3,000 rpm vs. 4,800 rpm.

But combined with the time it takes for the turbo to spool up, a wimpy accelerator tip-in and the fact 3,000 isn’t all that low, the BMW 428i’s 2.0L twin-turbo I-4 peaks at 1,250 rpm, the 3.6L is preferable, despite excellent real-world fuel economy of 29.1 mpg (8.1 L/100 km) posted during a 2.0L test drive.

The V-6, with its light tip-in and lack of a turbo, hence a lack of turbo lag, provides for blistering acceleration.

As is to be expected from a larger engine, the V-6 also has more horsepower, a hefty 321, which outdoes the BMW 435i’s 3.0L N55 I-6 engine with twin turbochargers.

Still, the Cadillac V-6 isn’t perfect.

While the Bimmer I-6 has a lower, 300-hp peak, it still rules in fuel economy, one of the key reasons it was a Ward’s 10 Best Engines winner in 2011, 2012 and 2013.

On the highway, the RWD 435i boasts a 32-mpg (7.4 L/100 km) EPA-estimated rating and the all-wheel-drive 435i xDrive model is rated at 30-mpg (7.8 L/100 km). Cadillac estimates the V-6 ATS musters 28 mpg (8.4 L/100 km) on the highway.

Still, mixed-but-spirited driving in the RWD V-6 ATS coupe returns a not-bad 25.3 mpg (9.3 L/100 km) here.

The Caddy V-6 also has taken Ward’s 10 Best Engines honors, but not since 2009. This reflects the lack of change to the engine, which also powers GM’s large, 3-row CUVs.

However, it appears one of our key criticisms of the mill in recent years, excessive noise, vibration and harshness, has been addressed for the ATS coupe, as the car’s cabin is whisper-quiet, nearly on par with the personality-sapping silence of a Lexus.

The ATS 2-door carries over the sedan’s multilink MacPherson front and 5-link independent rear suspensions.

The front setup, shared with the ATS sedan, is a double-pivot design using two ball joints out at the knuckle, says ATS coupe Chief Engineer Dave Masch. The setup results in a shorter spindle offset, which improves the car’s steering feel and gives the driver better control of the tires, he says.

Steering Superb

For ’15, all ATS models snag ZF’s premium electric steering system, which has a rack-mounted, belt-driven motor that makes for a more responsive and connected feel.

Unlike the 2.0L’s torque, this is one claim that lives up to the hype in the real world. The car may have the most direct steering of any vehicle in recent memory, as tires immediately point in the direction you want to go.

The ATS 2.0L and 3.6L coupes handle the numerous curved roads of Northwest Connecticut extremely well. At high speeds going into and out of corners the car neither is tippy nor lumbering.

A cast-iron limited-slip differential, part of the ATS’s FE3 suspension package, likely aids us here, as does FE3’s Magnetic Ride Control real-time damping system.

The interior of the ATS coupe is shared with the sedan, a look best described as “restrained bling.”

On the sides of the center stack there is attractive and unique stitching, with a mix of horizontal and vertical lines. Bits of aluminum-look metallic trim placed around the interior are handsome.

ATS coupe fit-and-finish is almost perfect, save for a stray thread on the driver’s-side A-pillar in our 3.6L test car. The ugly leather-grained hard-plastic trim on the walls next to the rear seats is a rare misstep.

Front-seat comfort is good but the rear seat is fine only for adults with legs, but not heads.

Cadillac has ballyhooed $5-$50/month 4G LTE WiFi in the ATS. A demonstration here went perfectly, but for the subscription-weary it’s yet another monthly bill.

The ATS coupe is priced below major competitors, a possible sign Cadillac is pulling back on its price-as-the-Germans-do strategy that has limited sales.

A lower price of entry, coupled with great design and V-6 performance, should put the ATS on more buyers’ radar screens. The car is the latest in a series of vehicles that proves GM is dead serious about doing luxury right.

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’15 Cadillac ATS coupe 3.6L Premium