Review: The $80,000+ 2014 Cadillac ELR (Video)
Three little letters. They’re big business for Cadillac, which uses them to name almost all of its models, including the ATS, SRX and CTS. (The Escalade is too large a cash cow to fit within those alphabetical confines.) After a week with the 2014 ELR, I began to associate it with another trio of characters: BUT.
“It’s a Cadillac, But…”
With sport sedans such as the CTS-V, Cadillac has firmly established itself as a maker of luxury performance cars. The ELR certainly has the attractive Art & Science styling of its athletic siblings.
However, it goes in a completely different direction under its angular skin. A 1.4-liter four-cylinder engine fuels an electric generator and creates 83 horsepower. It teams up with an electric drive system that cranks out 157 horsepower in EV mode or 181 in conjunction with the I4.
That’s all connected to a 16.5-kWh lithium-ion battery pack. Total horsepower is 217; net torque is 295 pound-feet. Both amounts drive the front wheels.
The Cadillac site states a full charge takes between 12.5 and 18 hours using the included 120V travel charger. At a 240V station, that time drops to about five hours. A topped-off battery is rated for 37 miles of gasoline-free driving.
The ELR can travel 340 miles with full juice and 9.3 gallons of premium gas in its tank. I got about 36 miles per gallon after nearly draining both power sources. That’s not an earth-shattering number, but 4,050 pounds of curb weight makes some sense of it.
“The ELR Has a Flair for the Dramatic, But…”
On one hand, the ELR is pure drama. Its 20-inch Ultra-Bright machined aluminum wheels are pushed to the ends of a body that seems to have been conceived by the passionate, stiff-armed slashes of a designer’s pen.
On the other hand, extensive use of sound-deadening materials and active noise cancelling through the Bose audio system makes for a serene driving experience. The wind rushing around this geometric beauty was largely muted.
While the whooshing that greeted me upon start-up suggested I was about to hurtle through space in a rocket ship, I found I didn’t have to strap into a harness or tearfully kiss a picture of a loved one before setting out on a trip.
Once the ELR was in “D,” I floated to my destinations. The HiPer Strut front and Watts Link rear suspensions, along with Continuous Damping Control, neutralized jarring road imperfections and kept this car composed on the highway and in turns.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8Hnq8zSY_k]
Like the CTS Vsport I drove earlier this year, the ELR had well-tuned throttle and brake pedals. Even though there were a couple of times I noticed a bit of initial hesitation from the former in sudden full-tilt applications, its power delivery from that point on was smooth, linear and silent.
I couldn’t even hear the four-cylinder engine the majority of the time it was on. Only under heavy loads was it noticeably – yet pleasantly – raspy. Unfortunately, the more I depressed the right pedal, the more it sounded as if I were over-revving a motorcycle.
On a positive note, the left pad functioned as an extension of my right foot wired into my brain’s self-preservation instincts. Scrubbing off speed was a natural, predictable process free of aggressive intervention from the Regenerative Brakes.
“It Looks Great, But…”
My tester’s bold, statement-making design and fast roof line came at a price – in more ways than one. When I sat all five feet and 10 inches of myself behind the driver’s seat, my knees brushed against its back and the top of my head grazed either the back windscreen or the headliner, depending on how I (uncomfortably) sat.
A pair of comically thick C-pillars flanked me. Two of something are able to fit easily in the back of an ELR. Full-sized adults can’t, but children or big bags of groceries can.
Up front, the accommodations were significantly more pleasant. The Light Cashmere leather seats could be adjusted 16 ways, although they needed to provide a little more lateral bolstering. Matte-finish wood trim and suede-like microfiber, which Cadillac used in places such as the A-pillars and headliner, were simultaneously low-key and high-class touches.
The ELR’s $80,680 sticker price caused me to make a comment about the coupe that was soon echoed by my friends and family: “It looks great, but it’s really expensive.” While this vehicle is far from a Chevrolet Volt in terms of content and market position, the two GM products do have similar drive- and powertrains.
It’s impossible not to notice the stark contrast between the MSRPs of these corporate cousins. At a base price of $75,000 (excluding a $995 destination fee), the ELR costs an additional $40,ooo+ more than an entry-level 2014 Volt.
In defense of both vehicles, it must be said that each is eligible for up to $7,500 in federal tax credits that will make their Monroneys less menacing. Cadillac is even offering a free 240V home charging station and up to $3,000 worth of complimentary installation service for the device.
In fact, Cadillac has been making a variety of dealer and customer incentives available to reduce what was widely reported in May to be a 725-day supply of ELRs. I hope they work.
Despite its high price, I enjoyed this Cadillac for its design and driving dynamics. If it’s discontinued in the near future, I’ll be saying a word that also has three letters: “BOO!”
Check out tours of the exterior and interior of the 2014 Cadillac ELR in the videos above and picture galleries below.
What do you think about an $80,000 Cadillac? Beep your horn in the forum >>
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STUDIO
via [Cadillac], [Car and Driver]
