Car Review: 2022 Cadillac CT4-V AWD

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As consolation for not getting a heated steering wheel in our $60,000 Cadillac CT4-V, GM offers a $25 credit on the invoice for the car. For not having rear park assist, there’s another $50 off. So, $75 in credits for two features held hostage by the global semiconductor shortage but kinda essential for a luxury car. Really GM? The price of an Uber ride to the airport?

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The shortage and the lack of a real discount for the missing features is a genuine shame, both for customers who have ordered (or might be considering) a CT4, and for GM, which is stuck building cars absent key features, on cars that define themselves by their luxury features. In Canada, especially for those who drive luxury cars, a heated steering wheel is pretty much like having heated floors in the ensuite bath: anyone who’s ever experienced them can no longer live without them.

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It’s a shame for the CT4-V too. The subcompact sports sedan is otherwise an agreeable car at a reasonable price given it has AWD, a plethora of features, and plenty of poke. At $48,000 to start for the V-series, the CT4-V gets excellent brakes, tight steering, and an engine that truly surprises given it only commands four cylinders.

Most four cylinders are about as exciting as electric weed whippers; but Cadillac has managed to wring 325 hp and 380 lb-ft of torque from this turbocharged 2.7-litre. Hit the gas hard and the AWD claws forward like a cougar in pursuit of rabbits. No, there’s not much in the way of sonorous exhaust angels to soothe the inner soul, but the expediency to 100 km/h is exhilarating. Shifting can be handled automatically by the 10-speed transmission or executed via magnesium paddle shifters. (While some have reported weird mapping or lack of refinement in the 10-speed, we didn’t have any issues.) Fuel economy averaged 9.6 L/100 km in a mix of highway and urban driving.

Handling, too, was mannerly and composed even when pushed hard, reminiscent of the rear-wheel drive ATS after which this car is modeled. It’s no Carrera, of course, but it will devour country roads with a casual disregard for physics, remaining as well composed in tight S turns as it does in sweeping bends, delivering the kind of playfulness found in something with a much higher monthly payment. Selectable drive modes, a customizable “My Mode” and V Mode alter the transmission shifting, suspension, steering and brake feel as well as front-rear torque split. It is, simply, fun to drive this car fast. It definitely needs to be compared, back-to-back, with the limited-edition CT4-V Blackwing and its 472 horsepower twin-turbo V6. That car starts at just over $65,000 before options.

Therein lies a problem. The fastest and top-line CT4 Blackwing costs just $5,000 more than our moderately-optioned CT4-V AWD. As such, our Cadillac didn’t feel all that special, even if the design is very good, looking hot in its stunning skin of “blaze orange metallic,” coupled with black leather interior bordered with orange piping. For sure, it’s a brilliantly nice GM product, but it never felt like the driver was getting the royal treatment — this from a nameplate that derives its reputation as a car for the kings and queens of industry. Compared to a similarly-priced Mercedes, BMW, or Audi, the CT4 didn’t present with enough premium attributes.

Yes, the head-up display is great, and the configurable 12-inch digital dash easy on the eyes, but the smallish, 8-inch infotainment touchscreen is pretty much the same as that found in an Equinox. At least there are real buttons, wireless charging and CarPlay instead of silly, touch-sensitive controls that drive most users mad. Front seats are comfortable and supportive, and the electronic shifter has a proper chime when put into park. But why is safety so overdone that I need to buckle my seatbelt just to get into reverse and back out of the driveway to park on the street? Console storage is not plentiful. Back seat room is limited but the trunk will easily swallow three large golf bags.

And then there’s the current chip shortage nixing the availability of a heated steering wheel, an ordeal that portends a difficult electronic future should this be the dying days of internal combustion at Cadillac. Sure, GM might be able to retrofit the CT4-V down the road to warm our hands in winter, but for many, that could just be a case of too little too late. How about $7,500 off a CT4-V right now instead of $75?