Internal Mono(b)log

Last weekend I had the opportunity via Klout and Cadillac to have a Cadillac ATS for a 3 day test drive.  I know it’s off topic a bit for my blog, but I really wanted to share my experience with this car.

2013 Cadillac ATS (Photo credit: Automotive Rhythms)

So let me start by saying, a Luxury Sport Sedan is not in my snack-bracket.  In fact, living in the city, a 15 minute walk from work and close to all my amenities, I would have a hard time justifying a car at all.  Autoshare, Zipcar and Car2go supplemented with traditional rentals works just fine for me and is more cost effective.  All that said, IF I were in the market for a luxury sport sedan, the ATS would be atop my list.  Does the Cadillac name hold the “name appeal” of Audi, Porsch, BMW, or Mercedes?  Well no, not today, but with offerings like the ATS this may change.

I’ve driven quite a few performance cars, though none as recent as a 2013, and I have to say, I’ve never driven anything that impressed me as much as the ATS.  I had the 2.0L turbo with winter tires on (actually) wintery roads in Toronto.  I had the opportunity to drive the car on messy side-streets as well as clear and dry highway.  The car easily has the pickup and handling characteristics of a mid-series BMW.  Even aggressively accelerating onto the highway it was smooth and effortless.  Really though, the things that impressed me with the ATS were all the electronics systems and systemic integration.

Frankly, the ATS is a geek’s wet dream.

Things I loved about the car, in no particular order:

• configurable HEADS-UP-DISPLAY (HUD) projected on the windshield for the driver – OMG yes!  I wish it was bigger and used more of the windshield to display more stuff but even as it is it’s amazing and so convenient

• 360 degree monitoring and alerting (blind spot, parking, being-tailgated, etc)
• lane-drift warning (if it detects road lines and you start crossing without signalling it alerts you)
• a haptic alarm in the driver’s seat (yes your seat vibrates when warning conditions are active – SO COOL!)
• adaptive cruise control (cruise up behind someone who is travelling slower than you and the cruise control slows you to keep a safe distance)
• dynamic driver’s console and center console, further the center console is all touch activated (no mechanical switches)
• heated seats AND STEERING WHEEL
• strong voice recognition that better understands informal speech

Would I buy one?  No, it really doesn’t suit my needs (if I could justify a car at all, it’d be a SUV, Jeep, or pickup to support transporting bikes and race/training gear).  Would I give away/sell one if I were to win it or be given one?  NOT A CHANCE! 🙂

Thanks Klout and Cadillac! That was a lot of fun.