What It’s Like To Drive A Cadillac ATS Coupe In Europe
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Without question, the European automotive market is saturated with cars. With brands. With choices.
For consumers, it’s great. For the automakers, it’s a Parisian traffic jam. A struggle to balance economies of scale with shreds of market volume. German brands notwithstanding.
There’s Renault, there’s Skoda, there’s Dacia and Lancia. And Opel and Vauxhall. There’s Peugeot and Citroen. Seat. There’s even Daihatsu. None of these brands are attainable in the United States. Yet there’s no shortage of familiar household nameplates Americans are familiar with. Ford, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Hyundai… all present and accounted for. And when one experiences the variety first hand on the streets of France, it doesn’t take much thought to wonder why Chevrolet — a French name — is largely folding its cards and shuffling itself out of the European deck, save for the Camaro and Corvette.
Meanwhile, there’s Cadillac.
Armed with virtually no dealer network and just five models, seeing a Cadillac on the road in Europe is more infrequent than seeing a Ferrari, or an Aston Martin, or a Lamborghini. I know because I was keeping score. Because I was driving a 2015 ATS Coupe 2.0T all over France earlier this summer.
The only other Cadillac I saw was a 2004 XLR in Monaco. In short, Monaco is an ominous principality which was otherwise an opulent sea of Porsche and Mercedes vehicles. But the rarity of what I was driving gave a sense of the angle of exclusivity Cadillac has been pushing for lately. Not that the BMW buyer couldn’t afford one, but because they would really have to go out of their way to acquire one. And if they did, they would own a conversation piece. One that may be given a glance here in America, but not much more. In France — especially during the time surrounding the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which is why I went in the first place — onlookers would point and even double take. Hard to accomplish with a gray C-segment coupe otherwise.
We’re no strangers to the Cadillac ATS family. Through its life-cycle, we’ve spent time in both manual and auto 2.0L turbo models, V6 offerings, as well as slicing and dicing through Road America in the new 464 hp 2016 Cadillac ATS-V. Our Euro-spec model happened to be 2.0T equipped with the six-speed automatic transmission (never mind the manual transmission in the photos, which was a gray ATS Coupe 2.0T from another time).
The lasting impressions among the entire ATS base line for us is as follows: it’s a pretty body with sharp steering and chassis dynamics. The stick shift adds a few numbers to the fun-meter, as does the right interior color configuration (red leather with carbon fiber inserts just drips with sex appeal). The 3.6L LFX V6 remains our favorite engine to choose from even though the manual gearbox is currently only available with turbocharged 2.0L LTG four-pot. It’s important to also mention that European buyers are sadly denied the V6 in the first place.
Otherwise, driving a distinctively American car had me feeling like some sort of ambassador in a country that holds one of the greatest sporting events of the year: the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Driving the ATS Coupe from Charles de Gaulle airport outside of Paris to the historic town of Le Mans goes against instinct. It’s Western Europe, therefore I should be using the refined transit systems in place there. If I did, I wouldn’t have had to deal with Paris traffic, or toll roads, or even trying to figure out which direction to go from the airport. Or perhaps I could have at least rented something unobtainable in the United States. Like an Opel Adam, or a Renault Twingo.
I’ll save those experiences for next time. Because out of all of these methods, driving an ATS Coupe on France’s A11 highway with other Le Mans racing pilgrims was perhaps the only way to get the driver of a Porsche 911 GT3 to turn his head in curiosity and amazement. Something he likely wouldn’t otherwise do if I had a more familiar-looking BMW, Audi or Mercedes.
The only noticeable differences of the European-spec Cadillac ATS Coupe compared to what we have in America are the rear turn LED turn signals that emit a yellow lighting instead of red, in accordance to European safety standards. But it’s only made apparent when the indicator is on, as the lamp housing remains red, and looks no different from the North American ATS. Euro safety standards also demand larger side mirrors. Other than that, it’s the Cadillac ATS Coupe we’ve enjoyed before. Therefore, it’s a highly competitive offering to an audience that’s traditionally gone German, with a hardline emphasis on driving performance.
My entire French driving loop totaled several thousand kilometers. From Paris to Le Mans. From Le Mans to the Mediterranean town of Nice. Then from Nice, back to Paris. Over a span of 9 days. Truly beautiful is the French countryside, and it was only made more enjoyable by driving the Cadillac — a brand named after the 1700s French voyageur and founder of Detroit, Michigan. Its balance of size and comfort along with its honed athleticism made it the perfect road trip vehicle for two. We had no troubles fitting six bags of luggage (in other words: two personal items, two carry-on items, and two checked bags) in the trunk, and its luxury vehicle comforts made the hours of driving fly by. Piloting the 20 minutes-worth of whimsical noodling of coastal tarmac connecting Nice to Monaco and back was the driving highlight of this journey, thanks to the ATS Coupe’s chassis tuning, 272 hp/295 lb-ft of turbocharged punch, and Brembo brake pads. The scenery of the Mediterranean and coastal mountain slopes amplified the grandeur, as did a belly full of roast Niçoise leg of lamb. If you’re ever in Monaco, by the way, go to Monaco Ville (the old town up the mountain that overlooks the yacht harbor), and look for a restaurant called Pinocchio. You will not be disappointed.
Yes, there are quirks, but nothing here that hasn’t been outlined countless times before. Yes, CUE and the instrument panel need to be redesigned to increase their ease of use, and to upgrade visual appeal, respectively. Yes, the 2.0L turbo doesn’t feel as refined as others in its class, and a six-speed automatic transmission feels a generation behind what is available elsewhere today. But above everything else, not having a diesel offering in the European market hurts the most, as filling up a gasoline engine over there makes the wallet burn in agony. Just about every German luxury sedan I observed featured either “TDI,” “BlueTec,” or a “d”-badge. Then again, having minimal dealerships and product offerings in Europe also hurts Cadillac as a whole. But we understand that this won’t be the case in the next five years or so, as brand president Johan de Nysschen has emphasized plans to turn things around with new products, diesel engines and even right-hand-drive models starting around the 2020 time frame.
Until then, Cadillac buyers in Europe will dare to be different. Some may even say, they’ll Dare Greatly.
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Sounds like a fun trip!
Do you have any pictures of the yellow turn signals? Are the lenses clear like the 2nd generation CTS ones were? I wish they’d offer those here (or make them standard). I think it’s safer because it’s much more clear to other drivers that you’re signaling, not tapping your brakes.
+1 would like to see the rear turn signal in action. I’ve seen some clear tail lights on the prev gen CTS’s and besides a silver car it does not look good.
In static they look the exact same as here, just like the photos above. They’re not clear. The only difference is when the indicators are on, where it’s flashing yellow instead of red.
You are right and also wrong. The Euro-spec Cadillac ATS Coupe has bigger side mirrors while ours over here are smaller. The Euro-spec CTS and CT6 side mirrors are the same size like the Euro-spec ATS Coupe as well.
The question was about the lights. Not the mirrors, which I didn’t mention.
I’m a fan of Cadillac is hope that with the $ 12 billion allocated by the GM for the relaunch of the brand, he is able to recover the internal market in the US., That was stolen over the years with various German and Japanese.
I live in Italy I personally believe that as a first step we need to take the Diesel models and manual transmission, dealerships entirely dedicated to the brand and more advertising in Europe.
Finally Cadillac brand will become a totally dependent on GM, new models for the rest of the year is not nothing to envy to the various BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi.
“The 3.6L LFX V6 remains our favorite engine to choose from even though the manual gearbox is currently only available with turbocharged 2.0L LTG four-pot.”
Yeah, well, the V6 engines aren’t available in Europe at all (beside the SRX), so…
i live in France and never see a Cadillac ATS. The ATS base price with 2.0 engine is 37.900 euro ( 20% tax included) (no 3.6 engine in France).The ATS co2 is 178 grams/kilo, so at the ats base price u must added the CO2 french tax that is 3000 euro!. 1 liter gasoline in France is at 1,60 euro!. In all France u have just 7 cadillac dealers.
The biggest problem is not lack of diesels but lack of engine choices in general. It’s lack of V-6 because when somebody buys an American car in Europe he does it for ‘real’ engine – at least a v6. Most of the Mustangs sold in Europe are V-8s… Of course without dealers, repair and service, spare parts availability, marketing, ads, RHD Cadillacs will still be rearer than Lambos.
P.S.
50% of the ‘dealers’ mentioned on official Cadillac Europe web page are FAKE (!). They don’t sell Cadillacs. They only have Cadillac logos on their websites but they dont have ANY new cars on the lot! Their service knows NOTHING about Cadillacs (just ask people who went there with their Caddies). There’s a ‘dealer’ in Spain http://www.cadillacvigo.es/ go and click their ‘cadillac stock’ it will direct You to…TATA vehicles page. There’s also a ‘dealer’ in Slovenia who sells…boats and can’t even spell word Cadillac. On his page You can see word ‘Cadilac’. Many of French, German, Skandinavian, Italian web pages listed on cadillaceurope.com DO NOT WORK AT ALL. Many sales & service spots DO NOT SUPPORT CADILLAC (!) they are only Opel outlets. Many countries do not have any kind of Cadillac dealers (even the fake ones). For ex. Poland has a very fast-growing luxury car/suv market and guess what? Not a single Cadillac dealer (!). INFINITI HAS THREE (!!!)
I suggest writing a separate article about how GM ruins Cadillac image in Europe by letting this kind of things happen. And please don’t tell me ‘GM will promised to take care of Cadillac in Europe’. They’ve been promising it for 10 years now! Seeing is believing!
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thank u OPC for the video, interior look cheap plastic and plastic move, really shock about this video , i have an OPEL INSIGNIA (BUICK REGAL) and interior look better quality and any plastic move . This car is at 41000 euro (with co2 tax in France) for the base model !! at this price european consumers want quality! .For 37.000 euro u can have the 2.0 Audi A4 (no co2 tax) .
But it’s not cheap plastics though Adriano
vic1212, good if is not feeling cheap plastic, i really like ATS but for me the price here in europe is overpriced, base sedan 41.000 euro and ATS coupé from 44.000 euro to 53.300 euro
I had a good chance to sit inside one…. I feel like the interior has good material… But again that’s just me. I think it might just be the money exchange issue
*Most* of the interior materials are well done. Except the rubbery/plastic buttons on the doors and center console by the cup holders. The cup holders are also in the worst place they can be for anybody that opts for the stick shift. Right in the plane of motion where the arm travels.
That said, it’s amazing what kind of car the ATS is considering GM’s coffers were empty when allocating the budget for the program.
Manny, how long did you stay overseas if you don’t mind me ask? It does seems like you had a great time at lemans on instagram
Landed the Thursday before the race, left the Sunday the week after. Europe’s always a good time, and this was my first time in France. I need to go back, even if just for the race.
I’m definitely jealous that you get to go bro! But it’s good that you actually get to experience lemans and Paris overall. Props!
If you ever go, let me know and I’ll give you some info.
To be honest it’d be sick if we just met at there out of nowhere haha (no homo)