When I initially tested the CTS its interior caused me to complain, not because of the overall design but due to a less than premium perceived interior quality. The plastic used was too hard, not of the soft-touch variety that gives Audi's A4 and BMW's 3-Series such an upscale feel. The switchgear wasn't too bad, but still not world class while the center stack with its orange LCD displays looked hardly high-tech, but instead mirrored an ancient pre-Pentium PC running DOS. There was a quality glitch or two as well, the worst being an interior trim panel coming loose from the C-pillar.
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| High-tech? The orange monochrome LCD display is reminiscent of an old PC running DOS. (Photo: Shawn Pisio, Canadian Auto Press) |
Fortunately Cadillac listened to both the praise and gripes of North America's media, as well as its own product leader, chairman of GM North America Bob Lutz, and temporarily canceled plans to export the CTS to Germany. To be fair the decision was only partially due to the interior materials and workmanship not being as high in quality as its Euro competitors, the strong U.S. dollar to euro equation factored in as well. As most should be aware the latter has changed, at least for the time being.
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| With many improvements over the last year the CTS has moved near the top of the class in terms of interior quality. (Photo: Shawn Pisio, Canadian Auto Press) |
What you many not know is that Cadillac has made impressive improvements inside the CTS over the last year, enhancing the texture of its plastic surfaces, especially the center stack panel. Now the car is only slightly shy of the class leading Audi, easily worthy of its premium class status and more than capable of being sold across the Atlantic.
