First Drive: 2008 Cadillac STS V-6

Previews

Cadillac’s mid-cycle refresh of the STS doesn’t include a 16-cylinder engine, but it gets a much-improved V-6, anyway.

When we first reported on Cadillac’s refreshed 2008 STS from the New York auto show, we quoted the new base engine—a 3.6-liter DOHC direct-injection V-6—at 298 horsepower and 268 lb-ft of torque. Since then, four more of each have been found, bringing the totals to 302 and 272, respectively.

That’s just 18 fewer ponies than the optional 4.6-liter Northstar V-8, while the V-6 model will likely cost some $9000 less. Nine grand for 18 horsepower!? That rivals some of the deals you’ll find on Shelby Mustangs.

More power, more refinement, more mpg, more gears.

We are strong advocates of increasing power in all engines, but this is not an issue we take lightly. Engines can not be merely stronger; we also prefer them smooth and considerate. In this, the STS delights, being noticeably more powerful—up 47 hp and 20 lb-ft on the powerplant it replaces—as well as higher-revving (7000 rpm vs. 6700), better-sounding, and marginally more fuel efficient. All that on regular fuel, too.

Attached to that new engine is the six-speed automatic from the STS V-8. Combined with the more powerful 3.6, the duo is good for 0-to-60-mph sprints in a claimed 6.5 seconds, a projection we consider fully doable after our first contact with the car.

Like we mentioned in our New York coverage, the 2008 STS receives a new grille inspired by the Sixteen concept. Elsewhere, the exterior gets all jeweled up with chrome door handles and trunklid trim plus fender “air extractors” that don’t function since air can’t pass through solid plastic. They look nice, anyways.


Updates

It won’t park itself, but it can make small changes.

Interior updates include a new, more sophisticated instrument cluster that looks much richer than those in past cars, as well as revised detailing on the center stack, and a new steering wheel, slightly smaller than the one it replaces. Unfortunately, nobody thought to soften the edge of the center console, which still bruised our knees after just a few hours of driving.

The new steering wheel directs the other headliner of the STS refresh, active steering. In this, a small actuator between the steering wheel and the front wheels works in conjunction with other stability control aids and is capable of adding up to 12 degrees of steering input in order to optimize maneuverability in adverse conditions.

During our drive at GM’s Milford Proving Grounds, we were able to conduct an emergency lane-change procedure on a wet tile surface that does a frighteningly good job of approximating the traction you’d have driving on ice. The Cadillac was easy to place and control on such a slippery surface.

The STS’s steering is also updated with a variable-ratio rack, which allows for quicker steering at low speed—less cranking in parking-lot maneuvering—and slower steering at higher speeds, so a freeway sneeze won’t tuck your Caddy under the rear axle of that tractor-trailer in the next lane. With all this gadgetry attached to the front wheels, we expected the steering feel to all but disappear, but were pleasantly surprised to find a positive connection to the road with wonderful weighting. Our only complaint is a slight twitchiness when encountering bumps just off center.

Adding to the STS’s newfound steering confidence is the Sport Package formerly found only on V-8 models. Available on V-6 cars starting in 2008, the package features Brembo brakes and 18-inch wheels wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport rubber. While we appreciate the larger wheels, the only real benefit of the larger brakes is better fade resistance, and we can’t say we know many Cadillac owners who will even understand what that means.


Safety Features

Oh, for cryin’ out loud. Keep your high-tech in the engine bay, please!

As pleased as we were with the STS dynamically, we were troubled to learn that it is headed in a technological direction we wouldn’t even wish on Ralph Nader (but only because he’d probably enjoy it). On each side mirror is a small icon of two cars, one apparently overtaking the other. See where this is going?

“Side Blind Zone Alert,” is what Cadillac calls its version of Volvo’s Blind Spot Information System, or BLIS. Instead of cameras mounted below the mirrors with an indicator light in the A-pillar, as on Volvo’s system, the STS’s SBZA (not quite as catchy as BLIS) uses radar and illuminates a small icon on the mirrors.

As much as we dislike these systems, Volvo’s is at least easy to see. Their light is big and placed inside the cabin, whereas the STS’s system is a small icon easily washed out by sunlight. We had to look at the mirror so intently to see if the icon was illuminated, we might has well have just turned our heads a little further and manually checked our blind spots.

But, you might say, turning our heads that much further might cause us to wander out of our lane! No, no, no, for two reasons. 1. We’re trained professionals (in our own minds). 2. Bundled with SBZA on the 2008 Cadillac STS is a lane-departure warning system that warns of crooked driving with a flashing dashboard indicator and three audible beeps.

How we wish someone at Cadillac would have taken to heart our “Five Annoying Safety Technologies” story, although maybe then they’d be waiting for us by the bike rack with a sock full of nickels. The lane-departure warning, at least, is among the least intrusive of its kind. Whereas Infiniti’s system in particular warns of your impending doom as soon as the car strays an inch from the center-line of the lane, Cadillac’s waits until the car is almost on the lane lines before speaking up. Fortunately, both the blind-spot alert and the lane-departure warning are quickly and easily deactivated.

Finer than the German cars?

Other than these few small technological nits we would simply not pick on the order form, the 2008 Cadillac STS is a vast improvement over the 2007. Expect ever-so-moderate price increases over ’07 stickers ($43,135 for a V-6 and $52,555 for a V-8). Is this STS the one to knock off the luxury sedan leaders? Our initial impression is a hesitant maybe. The materials in the interior are not quite up to par, and some of the switches and buttons lack the precision feel of the competition, but the new base engine and improved steering make compelling arguments for this Caddy.

BY JARED GALL,
caranddriver.com