For the first time, spy photographers have snapped the 2020 Cadillac CT5 testing in the wild. We’ll assume the CT5 name until further notice since this car will replace the CTS and XTS. A second sedan will arrive to take over smaller sedan duties from the ATS. Both new sedans will do a better job of defining their dimensions with less overlap.
Unfortunately, there are no photos of the rear, but the front and side views still tell us quite a bit. Foremost, the front end looks very Escala-like and we’re nearly certain the headlights are horizontal, rather than vertical like the current CTS. We’d ignore that hood scoop, which is likely some clever cladding to throw off spy photographers, though it doesn’t look horrible. Also ignore the chiseled door scallops, which recall the Dodge Charger. Again, more cues to throw off curious observers.
Moving toward the rear, it’s more Escala. The roofline follows the concept car’s fastback look and we wouldn’t be surprised if the CT5 adopts a liftback feature like the Escala, either. The 2018 Buick Regal Sportback has already joined the club.
If Cadillac sticks to its newfound pre-production strategy—revealing new vehicles earlier in an effort to strip camouflage for real-world testing—we could see the CT5 debut in early 2019 if in fact this will be a 2020 model-year car.
Spy shots:Â Autoblog
Comments
I really like the profile, I may be in the minority but I like that they are going back to the tweener models like the previous gen CTS. In my opinion the current ATS is a bit to small and CTS just a bit too big….. I sound like goldylocks lol.
I can’t wait what the V models have in store for them and I hope the give the V-sport treatment to every Cadillac in the line up
one of the biggest draw backs of both the ats and the cts is they are both some what cramped on the insides compared to their german competitors.
And a Cadillac should never be cramped, given their history and brand recognition. One of Cadillac’s problems is that the current executives of the brand don’t even know what Cadillac means.
From what can be seen, it’s looking pretty good.
This has me pretty optimistic for the rumored CT3. If the CT3 is poised to be an Audi A3/S3/RS3 competitor, and will spawn a “V” variant with a 2.0t and AWD, it will probably be my next purchase.
the CT3 or whatever it will be called will be on the alpha platform so you should expect something bigger than a 4 banger as a v series model. the A3 and CLA are FWD based so powertrains are limited.
Not gonna lie, the first thought that came to mind when I saw these spy shots was 300C or Charger! The photographers have a good eye for spotting this Cadillac under that camo!
That being said, this thing is shaping up quite nicely! Judging by the photos, it looks to be either relatively larger than, or at least the same size as the current CTS. And that hood scoop is certainly eye-catching! I assume it’s housing some form of turbocharged or supercharged engine; hopefully the 4.2 TT V8 at least! Can’t wait to see it in the flesh!
Yes, I thought Charger, too. A refined Cadillac based on the general form of Charger actually wouldn’t be such a terrible thing if the surfacing resembled what we see on Mazda Vision.
Lots of camo, but still looks good. It will be a fully D-class car(BMW 3, MB C-class, A4 fighter). The next gen CT6 will be slightly reduced to fit in the E-class/5-series segment.
CT5’s interior will be inspired by Buick Avista’s interior.
Like the CT6 before it, this car looks beautiful even with all the camo. Proportions are everything and this car has that nailed. With such a good proportions, it would be hard to mess it up with surface detailing but I’m not too worried about that as Cadillac has done an excellent job with that element of design even when they’ve had inartful shapes, like the XTS and frumpy CUVs, to work with. The car should be beautiful. I just hope they reach far enough design-wise to have a product isn’t merely good looking, which is assured with these proportions, but is truly the stunning comeback car Cadillac needs.
Cadillac would be smart to go back to the tweener strategy. It worked for the first and second generation CTS and is working now for the CT6. Provide more car, for less money. Price it like a 3 Series, but make it closer in size to the 5 Series. Sedans are a dying breed. There needs to be some kind a differentiation and value over competitors. A sportback would only add to that. Overall, looks like it should be a good vehicle
I just hope Cadillac focuses on refinement for this vehicle. I hate my 2016 CTS with the 3.6 V6. No refinement whatsoever. Initial quality is good, but soon fades.
Exciting few years to come for Cadillac.
Hate is such a harsh word for the car that is universally praised in almost every which way by most people.
The bigger mystery to me is why you own the car? Did you get a longer seat time in the test drive before purchasing?
I suppose I misspoke. The vehicle is great, but I hate the 3.6 V6. I noticed a vibration in the car at highway speeds days after taking the lease. I brought this up to the dealer and they looked at it multiple times, tried changing tires, wheels, transmission mounts, and concluded that the cylinder deactivation causes a vibration in the vehicle when in V4 mode. They said that the engine was performing as designed. I test drove another new CTS vehicle with the same engine and it did not vibrate. They said some vehicles will show more feedback than others and that it was performing as designed. Believe me, the vehicle I test drove was excellent, but there are issues being reported more and more with the cylinder deactivation. There was an issue on the Escalade with the 6.2 that required dealers to issue a software update. However, Cadillac is not issuing a similar fix for the 3.6 (probably because of the CTS’s low volume and small margins). The technicians at the dealer don’t disagree that the vibration is present, but Cadillac is claiming this is per design. Strange.
Other than that, the vehicle is stellar, and that’s what is so frustrating. The engine ruins what is otherwise an amazing performance luxury sedan. I just hope the predecessor, and namely it’s powertrains, are more refined.
I own two of these engine and no issues.
Often the dealers like to blame the V4 but often it is a tranny fluid issue in many models. Flush it several times and it removes the issue.
The V 4 is locked in so little and mostly while coasting.
Might have them check for a TSB on the fluid flush.
I thought the same thing based on threads I read online, but in this case it is definitely the cylinder deactivation. You can watch the digital gauge cluster switch from V6 to V4 and the vibration is always present when V4 is shown on the cluster. Then when the vehicle needs a bit more power while still in V4, like going uphill on the highway, the vibration worsens, then as soon as it switches back to V6 for full power, the vehicle is smooth as glass. It is the strangest and most frustrating thing. I do a lot of highway driving so it goes on and off constantly. They won’t turn the feature off. The same thing happened with a friend of mine and his Escalade, but they got a software update. There was just a report on this site about the new ZR1 not having cyclinder deactivation in part because of customer complaints about feeling the feature turning on and off. I’d forgo the marginal fuel savings for a smooth ride.
Don’t agree about tweener strategy. When you are trying to make a car, which contains 2 segments – it means you’re getting none of them.
“Price it like a 3 Series, but make it closer in size to the 5 Series.”
Yaeah,then you hear people complaining about interiors that don’t look like the german ‘s.
You can’t price like a 3 series and make it look like 5 series. Look at the current Ct6’s interior and compare it to the S-class lol)
Everything should be clear: D-class is a D-class. E-class is an E-class. And so on. You just have to make it really good and it will sell. That’s about it.
So the car managed to go around a curve and they only took 3 photos? Hate how even the media is playing the game with us. Unless Autoblog got these photos from Cadillac and claiming otherwise. 3 weeks later we’ll see another headline. CT5 spied again and it’ll be 3 more photos from the same photo shoot.
Back to the car. That scoop! Oh….there is something sweet hiding under that bonet. RWD sweetness.
I’m going to be honest, I’m really disappointed in how this car looks so far. IMO the number one thing that made Cadillac special was the vertical front DRLs and tail lights. Cadillac is the only car company (except maybe Toyota) that has vertical lights, that’s how you know something is a caddy when you see it from a distance. Tons of other cars (Honda, Audi, Jeep, Volvo, Buick) use horizontal DRLs and its sometimes hard to tell them apart, but Cadillac is different, and they always looked great.
But then again, I judged the new Silverado by the spy shots and it ended up looking great.
If you look closely, there appears to be a vertical cluster of LEDs below the headlights that aren’t on. The cluster looks similar to the lower vertical light blade seen on the Escala. They’re basically evolving Cadillac design toward horizontal headlights and vertical LED fog light/DRL blades. I hope they are bright and stand out because I agree with you that vertical really makes Cadillac stand out.
I’m going to miss the vertical DRLs.
I HATE the horizontal elements coming to the new JDN Cadillacs, I’ve had multiple Cadillacs since the A&S theme came out with the strong vertical lighting and its just a nice, uniquely Cadillac detail that was built on their heritage.
I freaked for a second when I saw the Charger door sculpting. Very clever disguise work. Glad GM authority caught that.
They are not going to drop the vertical lights. They will add some horizontal elements. Look at the escala.
I wonder will this include the long rumored Twin Turbo 4.2 liter V8? Can’t wait to see it…I also thought for a second it was a redesigned Charger in SRT trim but its just some fake body cladding..
Since it is a D-class car, I doubt that they will put a V8 in a regular version.
Now the V version must get a V8.
This car would go very well with turbo inline 6 making 400ish hp. The smoothness, torque and sound of inline 6 is indisputable, so no surprise that MB is returning to inline 6. I doubt Cadillac have such an engine under development, but wouldn’t that be great?
I would love it if Cadillac games of car names again instead of letters and numbers
So much love and hate over nothing?
Let’s let them show us what they are really doing vs trying make it look like a Dodge to properly judge this car.
The details and focus of this car are what will make or break this car.
Before we jump to any conclusions we should let them finish this to see if JDN was given and does what is needed.
The XT5 is a wonderful vehicle but it still falls short of what was needed. While the vehicle is right the engine needs to be more Cadillac, it should not be the same engine as in my truck and Acadia. If anyone pays more 5ney should get more.
YES YES YES YES YES. ILU. SO MUCH BETTER.
I can tell they are aiming for something striking and sexy, and god ive been hoping for this a long time. The older Cadillacs are dull and boring, they need this so bad. ugh.
“Say hello to horizontal headlights.”
In other words, goodbye unique design, hello probably boring design cues same as every other car maker. I have zero interest in purchasing anything like that.