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The 2014 Cadillac CTS arrived again in my driveway this month like some sort of intergalactic space ship. Silvery. Swoopy. Otherworldly. It\u2019s been half a year since I was last visited by this visage, but it has lost none of its wonder.<\/p>\n
My 2013 Detroit News Vehicle of the Year is still the most stunning, midsize luxury\u00a0sedan But when I stomp on the pedal to initiate Warp Speed something is different. This starfighter is motivated by a, um . . . four-banger?<\/p>\n Sure enough. Where my $63,895 Vehicle of the Year came with a lusty, 3.6-liter, direct injection V6, my new, $65,425 steed bears the four\u2019s coarse, unmistakable woodpecker-like thrum as the CTS rapidly pulls away from dock and into the stratosphere. Packing 272 turbocharged horses, the four doesn\u2019t lay about, vaulting its cargo from 0-60 in 6.2 seconds \u2013 just .2 seconds shy of the V6 (numbers courtesy of our pals at Car & Driver). Impressive. But the sticker price still begs the question: Does four belong in a first-class,\u00a0midsize sedan But Caddy is a rare four-pot pioneer in big car luxury (joined only by BMW and its five-series). Other automakers shy from equipping their luxes with quads. \u201cOur luxury customers want the performance of a six or eight-cylinder engine,\u201d said Hyundai Motor America Chief Dave Zuchowski upon introducing the Korean automaker\u2019s gorgeous 2015, $38,000-base Genesis with a silky-smooth V6 this spring.<\/p>\n \u201cBut that\u2019s a Hyundai!\u201d I can hear Caddy marketers murmuring. They\u00a0have<\/i>\u00a0to sell V6 luxury to gain separation from their econobox stereotype. GM, on the other hand, has been selling dynamite 2-liter turbos in its upscale Buick Regal GS and entry-level lux Caddy ATS. Our customers know our performance brands. They trust our technology.<\/p>\n And so, apparently, they do.<\/p>\n Since its launch last year, Caddy has sold two turbo-fours for every six-cylinder (60 percent of sales, compared to 30 percent for the V6 with the wicked, neck-snapping, twin-turbo V6 gobbling the last 10 percent). It seems the four belongs with the swells. Welcome to the ball, Cinderella.<\/p>\n I would offer this caveat, however.<\/p>\n In replacing the CTS\u2019s old, 270 horsepower, 3.0-liter six, the blown four has given the lightweight, 3,731-pound midsize a base engine with plenty of get-up-and-go and better fuel economy to boot. But not that much better. Surprisingly, the turbo four gains only one mpg (23 vs. 22) on the new, 320-horsepower V6 as Caddy engineers have tuned the fab four for low-end torque over fuel efficiency.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/images.intellitxt.com\/ast\/adTypes\/icon1.png\")
<\/a>\u00a0on the road. It\u2019s perfectly-proportioned, angular face looks like it was designed by Angelina Jolie\u2019s \u201cMaleficent\u201d makeup team. Beauty with a touch of menace. The LED headlights glow. The key in my pocket automatically opens the locks. Like a magnet, the CTS pulls me into its space-age interior. I push the start button and blue ambient lighting shimmers through the cabin as the Cue infotainment system awakes with a chime right out of \u201cClose Encounters of the Third Kind.\u201d The auto-tightening seatbelts conform to my torso. Take me to the moon.<\/p>\n<\/a>?<\/p>\n\u00a0In autodom these days four is the new six. Under relentless pressure from Washington\u2019s righteous greenies, automakers must meet fuel-sipping, 52-mpg fuel efficiency mandates by 2025 while still satisfying performance-hungry\u00a0customers<\/a>. The powerful, fuel-efficient 2.0-liter turbo has been the popular answer, powering everything from compact VW hot hatches to midsize Ford Fusions.<\/div>\n