REVIEW 2015 Cadillac ATS Coupe Needs More Power
When Cadillac dropped off its 2015 ATS4 Coupe in my driveway, I thought to myself, “An all-wheel-drive Cadillac with a heated steering wheel and seats?” It struck me as a cold-weather car. I thought it was a little out of place in the Austin, Texas area, a section of the country that almost never gets snow.
Sometimes you’ll see people wearing shorts and t-shirts in the winter here. We don’t get a ton of rain, either. I certainly wasn’t going to complain, though. I had a job to do: Drive the two-door for a week and find out which of its other characteristics would strike me.
Cold Weather Comfort
Believe it or not, we recently had a day here during which temperatures dipped into the 40s. I immediately tried out the steering wheel heater. I couldn’t feel a pronounced warmth in it after a few minutes, even with my bare hands. However, the three-stage heated seats were nice and toasty. In fact, the maximum setting was a little too hot. I could feel it through my jeans and a sport coat.
While wearing a pair of leather gloves, I reached out to the Cadillac User Experience (CUE) touchscreen interface and discovered they didn’t keep me from changing the radio station or adjusting the climate controls. The touchscreen on my smartphone isn’t that compliant. I can’t access anything on it if my hands are covered.
Steering/Suspension
I certainly don’t mind an unseasonably warm autumn day every now and then. On a perfectly sunny Friday afternoon, after an Americano and a blueberry muffin with my ex-girlfriend, I asked if there were any good driving roads in her neck of the woods. She suggested RM 2222. Before we reached a starting point, I switched the car into Sport mode and turned off the traction control. Then we blasted through the Hill Country.
It was on the straights that I discovered the ZF Lenksysteme electric power steering’s rock-solid on-center feel. A combination of sweeping and tight curves revealed the setup’s reassuring heaviness. The steering wasn’t twitchy and nervous, so neither was I.
The coupe’s Sport setting was only truly punishing if I ran over the worst of paved surfaces. Tour mode was, of course, less taut, but not as bump-absorbent over highway joints as I would’ve preferred.
Engine/Brakes/Transmission
Other things my spirited journey up and down 2222 made clear to me were the limitations of the ATS Coupe’s engine. The 2-liter turbocharged I4 produces 272 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque. On trips to my local Walgreens or down the freeway, that output was perfectly adequate.
The ATS Coupe certainly wasn’t a greyhound, but it wasn’t a drowsy sheepdog, either. It only seemed short of breath when I was lead-footing it up and down the numerous elevation changes surrounding Lake Travis. The Brembo brakes shed speed quickly and predictably. The left pedal didn’t feel overly heavy or light. To me, it was perfectly weighted.
No matter where I was, the six-speed Hydra-Matic 6L45 automatic was ready for action. It shifted smoothly and quickly. What surprised me was how suited it was to sporty driving. The magnesium shift paddles behind the leather-wrapped steering wheel were the right size. Their tops poked out just above the wheel’s spokes and were within easy reach of my fingertips.
If I felt like pretending I was in a three-pedal car, I used the gearbox’s shift lever. Its top fit perfectly into the palm of my right hand. Up- or downshifts were a just a short “throw” away. Oddly enough, this four-cylinder, all-wheel-drive Cadillac was the first car in which I used its automated manual function as often as I allowed the transmission to shift itself.
The automaker doesn’t market its ATS two-door as a sports coupe, but it definitely made me feel a little more sporty. Despite several full-throttle upshifts and numerous cruises up and down toll roads at 75 or 80 mph, I averaged between 23 and 25 miles per gallon. The EPA gave my tester 20-city, 28-highway, and 23-combined mpg ratings.
Technology
Usually, when I look at the window sticker of one of my review vehicles, I see a laundry list of optional features that add $10,000 or more to the car’s base price. That was not the case with this $50,990 ATS. The only add-ons it had were its $495 Dark Adriatic Blue Metallic paint and $1,295 Morello Red/Jet Black interior. On the other hand, my media loaner was a Premium model, so it already came standard with loads of content.
Pairing my phone and iPad with the ATS through a Bluetooth connection was an easy, trouble-free process. I enjoyed the ability to select a driver-focused output from the 12-speaker Bose surround sound audio system. When I was shifting “manumatically,” I made sure to check the full-color head-up display’s convenient rev counter, which was under the digital speedometer.
My only gripe with the unit was that if there was a turn coming up in the route to my selected destination, the HUD would show the maneuver to make and not my speed. Luckily, I was able to see that on the large, center-mounted speedometer.
I could even have one of the three panes in the multi-information display below the speedo show it, along with the tires’ pressures, the radio station to which I was listening, instant fuel economy, or the readout of one of two trip meters, among other things. What a thoughtful and useful bit of tech. The OnStar 4G LTE Wi-Fi hotspot was one, as well. It seemed to load Facebook and other web pages on my phone as quickly as my home connection does.
Passenger Space
Although I was comfortable in the driver’s seat (especially after I electrically adjusted the width between the side bolsters), I found myself cramped when I sat in one of the rear buckets. My knees almost scraped the back of the front seat. I honestly expected that I’d need to put them in my mouth to fit back there, but that didn’t end up being the case.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to sit up straight. I’m 5’10”, so the back of the top of my head hit the roof’s interior right at the point where the top of the car starts to slope down toward the trunk.
Ultimately, it was hard to fault the 2015 Cadillac ATS Coupe. It bundled together effective hardware and helpful technology. Could it have used a little more power? Sure, but at least the numbers from its small engine were accessible. This isn’t a sports car (or sports coupe), after all. The upcoming ATS-V models, on the other hand…
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