2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe
Now in its second generation, the Cadillac CTS sedan has proven to be the pivot around which GM’s luxury brand has turned both status and market share. And like any smart car maker, they’ve built on that success by adding a high performance V-series variant, a sport wagon, and now a slick two-door coupe. While the luxury-sport coupe market is small, it makes up for volume with big buyer impact. So now’s our chance to see if the new CTS coupe hits its mark.
For starters, the 2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe is a stunner. Its dynamic Art & Science front fascia transfers over nearly unchanged from its four- and five-door stablemates. But, from there back, everything else has been honed to give this luxury sport coupe an even more aggressive stance. A faster windshield drops the Coupe’s roofline two inches from the sedan’s, a clipped rear overhang cuts three inches stem to stern, while the rear track steps out two inches.
So, despite being built on the Sigma chassis 113.4-inch wheelbase used by the sedan and wagon, the CTS Coupe looks like its own animal. One with claws shod with stylish 18- and 19-inch alloys that completely fill the wheel wells with wider tires at the rear. And they all hide massive disc brakes that reside at all four corners.
In profile, the wedge-shaped Coupe bears simpler lines than its siblings with a knife-edged, fast back roof NASCAR could love. Touch-pad handles tucked on the trailing edges of the Coupe’s long doors keep the big coupe’s lines shaved to design-sketch simplicity. Roll down the windows for a B-pillar-less true hardtop look.
At the rear, the Coupe’s unique character is further defined. A chevron-shaped stop-light spoiler mounts atop the tall decklid, set between trademark vertical taillights, and above angular twin center-exit exhaust ports.
The CTS sedan and sport wagon’s optional 3.6-liter, direct-injected, twin-cam V6 is a Coupe standard, delivering the same 304 horsepower and 273 lb-ft of torque. Like all world-class luxury sport coupes, manual transmissions are in play. Rear drive Coupes sport a revised Aisin six-speed manual as standard.The all-wheel drive Coupe comes with a six-speed manual-shift automatic, which is also optional with rear-wheel drive.
Government Fuel Economy Ratings are 16 City/25 Highway for the manual, and 18 City/27 Highway for the automatic, all on regular gas.
To fit a more aggressive behavior, the coupe’s suspension gets a number of key upgrades, including smaller-diameter front, and larger-diameter rear sway bars, along with stiffer dampers all around. A limited-slip differential and stability and traction control naturally are standard.
Together they give the CTS Coupe an even more planted feel than the sedan. We noted on our Napa Valley, California preview drive that there is some tradeoff in ride comfort, but it’s acceptable given the CTS coupe’s sharper response and decreased body roll when compared to the sedan. Front and rear balance seems near perfect as this car slingshots around corners and down the road. Zero to 60 is dispatched in six seconds with the manual.
As you would expect, the supercharged V-Series treatment kicks this coupe’s fine performance equation up another couple of notches. We’ll cover that car in detail in a few weeks.
Inside, the CTS’ dynamically flared interior treatment is back. With thick-rimmed wheel, motorcycle-like analog gauges under a no glare hood, and a water-fall center stack, everything looks both serious and inviting, including optional Bose 5.1 surround sound, 40-gig hard drive, and pop-up navigation.
The standard front bucket seats are comfortable, but a bit flat. We prefer the optional Recaro Sport seats. They are thickly-bolstered and do a proper job of keeping you in place during enthusiastic driving.
Even though this is a 2+2, rear seat legroom shrinks by less than an inch compared to the sedan. But, the coupe’s sexy roofline cuts rear headroom down by over 2 1/2 inches. Still, the CTS Coupe has more rear legroom than either the BMW 3-Series or Infiniti G-Series Coupes. The flip-side of the fine interior equation is a small trunk- at 10.5 cubic feet. Still, for more stow and go, the Coupe’s rear seat does fold flat.
Prices for the 2011 CTS Coupe are competitive to rivals, starting at $38,990. All-wheel drive adds $1,900 more, while options can easily push it over 50 grand.
With a sedan, a wagon, and now a luxury sport coupe, the CTS stable looks complete. All of our favorite facets of the sedan have been left intact-or improved upon-for the new Coupe. The 2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe not only hits its mark, it blasts right through it.
Specifications
- Engine: 3.6-Liter Direct-injected Twin-cam V6
- Horsepower: 304
- Torque: 273 Lb Feet
- 0-60 MPH: 6.0 Seconds
- EPA: 16 MPG City/ 25 MPG Highway
2023 Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid
Crossed Up Corolla Gets More Efficient
Toyota offers a hybrid powertrain in just about everything they make, so it did seem odd that last year, when they debuted an all-new SUV version of their long-time best-selling Corolla, a hybrid was nowhere to be found. Well, it didn’t take long for Toyota to correct that situation, delivering this Corolla Cross Hybrid for 2023.
With prices for everything seemingly going up daily, we can all use a little more cost efficiency in our lives. That’s a mission that Toyota has been undertaking for some time now and continues to do it with this 2023 Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid.
The Alabama-built Corolla Cross arrived just last year as Toyota’s attempt to bring their best-selling nameplate into the SUV era, and give them an additional entry into the most popular automotive segment going right now, small crossovers.
There are some RAV4 styling cues here, but the Corolla Cross is mostly its own deal, and the Hybrid is more than just a fuel efficient option, it has added performance too. So, it’s offered only in Toyota’s S line of trims S, SE, and XSE, where the standard Corolla Cross is available in base L, LE, and XLE.
There are some differences outside, most notably unique front and rear fasicas; the front with a much more aggressive look, with larger grille and blacked-out trim.
Black trim and logos in back too, along with a redesigned bumper; plus, you can optionally go 2-tone by adding black paint to the roof.
Great packaging has it feeling roomier inside than most small 5-seat utes, straddling the line between subcompact and compact. And seats are way more comfortable than your typical urban-minded utility.
In fact, the entire interior feels quite upscale, and the layout will be very familiar to those stepping up from an actual Corolla.
Those who put off buying a Corolla Cross until now will be rewarded with upgraded infotainment, as all Hybrid’s will come with Toyota’s latest 8-inch touchscreen multimedia system standard.
The Hybrid’s small battery is located under the rear seat, so there’s minimal loss of rom, with a good 21.5 cubic-ft. of cargo space available; expanding to 61.8 with rear seatbacks folded.
Getting to the heart of the matter, the Corolla Cross Hybrid’s fuel-sipping ways are courtesy of the 5th generation of Toyota’s Hybrid System which outputs a combined 196-horsepower through its trio of electric motors and naturally-aspirated 2.0-liter 4-cylinder gasoline engine. One of those motors operating strictly the rear axle for standard all-wheel-drive.
At our test track, there was a nice little chirp of the tires off the line, but that’s where the excitement ended.
So while a 7.5-second trip to 60 may not raise your blood pressure, it’s a full 3-seconds quicker than the standard Corolla Cross we tested last year. We’ll take that!
CVT automatic means engine revs and engine noise both hang relatively high throughout the whole ¼-mile, which took us 15.6-seconds to complete, finishing at a reasonable 90 miles-per-hour.
The Hybrid also gets a “sport-tuned” suspension, and indeed it felt light and nimble through our cone course, very neutral too, with no noticeable understeer or oversteer. Steering was light but still provided good feedback. With some grippier tires, this would certainly give the best handlers in the segment a run for their money.
But the real reward comes in Government Fuel Economy Ratings which are 45-City, 38-Highway, and 42-Combined. We averaged a great 43.3 miles-per-gallon of Regular; that’s a 40% increase over the 30.9 miles-per-gallon we averaged in the standard Corolla Cross last year.
But, that does come at a cost, though it’s difficult to make direct comparisons with separate trim families, but pricing starts at $29,320 for the Hybrid, about 3-grand over a base all-wheel-drive non-hybrid. Top XSE comes in at $32,400.
As influential as Toyota is in spreading the hybrid doctrine, it was indeed odd that the Corolla Cross arrived last year without a hybrid option. Smartly, it didn’t take them long to right that wrong, as it was always part of the plan, and the Corolla Cross has benefitted from it greatly. The 2023 Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid is not just more efficient, it’s more capable, and a much better small utility all around.
Specifications
- Engine: 2.0-liter 4-cylinder
- Horsepower: 196
- 0-60 mph: 7.5-seconds
- MW Fuel Economy: 43.3 MPG (Regular)
- Transmission: e-CVT
- Torque: 139 lb-ft
- 1/4 Mile: 15.6-seconds at 90 mph
- EPA: 45-City, 38-Highway, and 42-Combined