I should also mention that after lunch I tested the STS with snow tires. While the stock all-season tires were
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| As I was getting more and more comfortable with the car, track and new tire setup, I managed to overshoot turn one and beach the poor STS. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
surprisingly capable, they were also no match for tread designs and rubber compounds designed specifically for taking on ice and snow. The car accelerated with greater confidence, offered more control under braking, and managed corners with an ease that approached wet weather driving... almost. I say almost because, as I was getting more and more comfortable with the car track and new tire setup, I managed to overshoot turn one and hit the wall! Hit the wall? That's a racing term for plowing your car into the concrete barrier that separates car and driver from what would otherwise be a life shortening experience. Fortunately for me, the wall that surrounded the Steamboat track was comprised of snow, and we merely pulled it out with a nylon rope and the aid of a truck. Being the only one that day to find the limits of my car, I acquired a greater understanding of what the STS was capable of. In other words, I felt like an idiot and let down my entire nation, being that I was the only Canadian at the event. I can hear you "Easterners" now... ruddy Vancouver drivers, a little snow and you're all sliding into each other!
One thing we can all relate to is the rising price of gasoline and how wonderful it is to own a fuel efficient car when it comes time to fill up. To that end the STS
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| Being the only one that day to find the limits of my car, shown here prostrate on a pile of snow, I acquired a greater understanding of what the STS could and wouldn't do. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
isn't particularly efficient, as would be expected of a car that weighs almost two tons in base trim. What I didn't expect is that the V6 model actually achieves a poorer rating than the V8, go figure? In a way it makes sense, being that the larger engine doesn't need to work as hard to push the car's mass around. In the city both are rated at 14.2 L/100 km. On the highway the V8 edges out the V6 with 8.6 L/100 km compared to 8.8 respectively. Adding all-wheel drive drops efficiencies even more, to 15.8 L/100 km in the city and 9.7 on the highway. Cadillac may want to follow Lexus' lead and incorporate a hybrid-electric drivetrain into its luxury models.
