The 2020 Cadillac CT5 has been priced in the United States, with the luxury sedan starting from $37,890 for the entry-level Luxury model with rear-wheel drive and the turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine.
Prices for the 2020 Cadillac CT5 Luxury with all-wheel drive, meanwhile, will start at $40,490, representing a price premium of $2,600.
The CT5 Premium Luxury will start at $41,690 with rear-wheel drive, while the CT5 Sport starts at $42,690 with rear-wheel drive.
General Motors’ press release notes the CT5 has larger dimensions than competing products like the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, BMW 3-Series and Audi A4, whilst also undercutting those products in price.
2020 Cadillac CT5 Luxury | 2020 Cadillac CT5 Premium Luxury | 2020 Cadillac CT5 Sport | 2020 Mercedes-Benz C300 | 2020 BMW 330i | 2020 Audi A4 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
RWD | $37,890 | $41,690 | $42,690 | $41,400 | $40,250 | $39,200* |
AWD | $40,490 | $44,780 | $45,290 | $43,400 | $42,250 | $42,000 |
*Base Audi A4 is front-wheel drive, whereas rest of segment is rear-wheel drive.
“This year, Cadillac has introduced a new sedan portfolio that better differentiates our vehicles in terms of size, price and features,” the automaker said in a statement. “The first Cadillac sedan to employ this new strategy is the first-ever 2020 CT5, and we are pleased to announce that it will have a base price starting lower than its competition, without compromising design, content or performance.”
Cadillac is only sharing prices for the 2020 Cadillac CT5 with the turbocharged 2.0-liter LSY engine right now, with pricing for the 3.0-liter LGW twin-turbo V6, V-Series model and additional features such as Super Cruise to be announced at a later date. The automaker also says the 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 is a “later available engine,” so it seems only the 2.0-liter will be available from launch later this year.
The 2020 Cadillac CT5 also undercuts the 2019 Cadillac ATS in price, which started at $38,995 for the 2019 model year. It’s certainly better value than the now discontinued luxury compact, with larger dimensions, more up-to-date tech, a 10-speed transmission, improved chassis and the same engine.
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Comments
That’s actually a pretty good bargain. I’m interested to see how much the engine upgrade and packages cost. But if it drives like a CTS, Cadillac might have a winner on their hands.
Smart play Cadillac!
Ok, so it has a low *base* price going for it. That’s good for marketing and should pull some inquisitive foot traffic into dealerships, although it’s hard to say how many many entry-level units they’ll find in stock. I’m sure that the base model will do everything ‘adequately’. Bring on the first-drive reviews!
Hot take: Didn’t it used to be Buick’s place to offer cost-conscious entry-level luxury, with the value-add being that it was in a larger, roomier package? “…press release notes the CT5 has larger dimensions than competing products like the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, BMW 3-Series and Audi A4, whilst also undercutting those products in price.” – sounds a little like the marketing tack that was taken with the made-in-Germany Regal when it was reintroduced to North America for 2011.
Don’t forget the original CTS and it’s follow-up were “tweeners” as well.
Especially the first generation. And that worked out fairly well for them. I suppose that’s why they went back to that strategy. But, we both know it’s a different game now with the raised wagon craze.
Time will tell…
Time will tell, indeed! 😉
The CTS used to truly physically be a ‘tweener, but now that it’s virtually the same size (e.g. 0.5″ from a 5-series), the ‘tweener tag is less convincing…lol.
No disrespect, I’m a bit confused. You said the CT5 was only a bit shorter than the BMW 5 series. It’s the pricing against the smaller 3 series, A4, and C-class (among other new competitors) that make it a tweeter. Not the size. Caddy says that’s the bonus. More, for less.
Whether that works, is a , wait and see!
You’re making me think, and I appreciate that. 🙂 The successful gen2 CTS was ~2″ shorter and notably lighter than the mid-size Germans of its day, so the ‘tweener tag was well-earned as it was reflected in both price and sizing. There was some logic to that.
I understand Cadillac’s marketing strategy with pricing, and their ‘tweener explanation. What’s making their plan harder to swallow is the series of announcements made and expectations that were allowed to persist, based on the information they gave.
Way back in 2017, Cadillac announced that CT5 (starting <$40,000) would replace both ATS/CTS; ATS/CTS would not be *directly* replaced, and a small (then unnamed) sedan to compete with the A3 would follow. There was no talk of size or a 'tweener pricing strategy, so in the context of what everyone knew (CTS=mid-size, ATS=compact, A3=sub-compact), CT5 was expected to be significantly shorter than the current CTS: trimmer than CTS, but more leg room than ATS. Bringing up A3 comparisons made everyone believe that the smaller sedan would be significantly smaller than the ATS, to compete in the sub-compact market. Cadillac never said anything different, so…
Fast forward to the launch of the CT5, when it was revealed that the not-a-direct-replacement-for-CTS was pretty much the same size (just ~1.5" shorter) and even had a longer wheelbase. Cadillac said 'tweener but a lot of people saw a car that still fit the mold of the traditional mid-size luxury category. It looked like a duck, quacked like a duck, but Cadillac said it was a goose.
Then the supposedly sub-compact CT4 comes, and it's effectively a longer, redesigned compact-luxury-class ATS, right down to nearly identical dimensions for the interior and shared track and wheelbase lengths. So the promised 'not-direct-replacements' angle seems disingenuous, when the replacements for two canceled models are the basically the same size (or longer than) and weight as the outgoing models.
After years of declining ATS/CTS sales, the change in pricing strategy is welcome, as it's probably a better reflection of what the public is willing to spend for a Cadillac sedan of those sizes, no matter what the competition is supposed to be. Reverting to calling the new cars 'tweeners is a convenient way to acknowledge that ATS/CTS pricing was too optimistic. That's not to say there's anything wrong with the new cars. It's about the value of the Cadillac brand in the minds of the non-enthusiast buying public. Given $50K to spend on a luxury car, I don't know that the practicality of a few extra inches of leg room outweighs the perceived status that comes with parking something German or even a Tesla in the driveway.
I hope the new cars sell well, and the revised pricing will help. I'm just tired of the mismanaged expectations. If Chevy replaced the compact Cruze and mid-size Malibu with a single Malibu-sized car and told you it was a 'tweener because it was priced like a compact, would that sound right? In simple terms, I think it feels like Cadillac's trying to convince everyone that the same poorly-priced-and-marketed orange they've been selling for years is actually an apple, because now they're the same price. But we're all, like, "Dude, no, that's still an orange! You just lowered the price so you can sell more."
Now that the focus is on crossovers, the remaining sedan nameplates are going to have to find ways to differentiate. Cadillac is obviously going to try to maintain reasonable sales volumes by being priced the most aggressively. Jaguar and Alfa wish they could price their cars lower, but they don’t have the scale and exchange rate in their favor.
Smart pricing. This could work out quite well. I would imagine a “base V” starting around $48? and the Blackwing around $58? If those numbers are even close to my uneducated guesses, that would be quite the performance bargain. Especially if one could get a loaded AWD CT5 Blackwing V (or whatever they will name it) with 600 plus
HP topping out under $65- $70, that’s nowhere near the CTS-V’s $100k.
Maybe there is hope for Cadillac after all.
Now, bring on the RWD-AWD, SUV’s V-series to compete with Ze-Germans.
Not the same engine as the ATS.
I’ve read wildly different reviews of it in the XT4. Burlapp said it was noisy after a cold start but quiet when warm, others said noisy all the time, others quiet.
Who would pay that much for a car with vinyl seats? I suppose I sweat more than normal, but I would only have them on a work truck.
Show me a German competitor at that price that has leather seats as standard equipment… I’ll wait…
My co-worker has a mid range X3. It has “Pleather” seats….
The base CT5 will not have leather seats. Leatherette will be standard in the base Luxury and base Sport trims.
I know that, but do they sell many with vinyl?
It seems like a loss-leader to get buyers through the showroom door. If they offered cloth seats at that price, I think they’d have more takers. I’d look at one if I weren’t so spoiled by my DTS Platinum, and I need a bigger trunk.
I guess they sell enough of the base models to make it worthwhile, or more importantly, it allows them max profit on the ‘cheap’ model and to create the perception with the casual observer that even the base car has ‘leather’. For the customers that take issue with having leatherette, the dealer will gladly upsell them to the next rung on the trim ladder. These are the cars that show up on used lots later, described as “Fully loaded with leather seats!” …lol.
Cadillac has been lowering the horsepower output of it’s engines and one can imagine that even the CT5-V if equipped with the LT4 may not be the fire-breathing beast of yesteryear as Cadillac wouldn’t want the LT4 to outshine the Blackwing which could lead to a revised LT4 generating only 500 hp from less boost.
All new? Not even with those same door assemblies from the CTS. The front passenger compartment is from the CTS, as well as the door look buttons, window buttons, the grab handle is identical to the CTS. GM added a metal speaker to make it look different but it’s the same.
Well if there’s one place I’d prefer costs to be cut to offer as great of a bargain as the new CT5 hopefully promises to be, I don’t mind it being the already-adequate and still stylish door handles and window switches rather than the rest of the interior or the engineering. I’ve had both current generation ATS and CTS and never had a complaint with those parts bin switches… Change for the sake of change versus offering a crazy value? I’ll take the value
Smart move Cadillac.
I love Cadillac but with the new CT4, CT5, and CT6 they basically announced to the whole World that we are done and cannot compete with the Euros. What a shame. If Cadillac will give us Tweener cars, then please someone explain to mean the Point of Buick?
Cadillac should have been trying to get back to the Standard of the World and instead it has turned into like a Lincoln, Acura, and Infinity fighter. What a shame.
I think everyone here is missing the main point. The CT5 is maybe a nice vehicle if viewed on its own, but a Tier One Luxury Sedan it unfortunately is not. Having said all of that, it will probably sell in decent numbers but again the main point is Cadillac is NOT and will never become a True Tier One Luxury maker ever again. GM should quite simply be embarrassed of themselves with what they have turned Cadillac into.
I almost vomited in my mouth with what I am about to type but Lincoln CUV’s are much nicer than the Cadillac CUV’s.
Lets all Pray they don’t ruin the Escalade.
Cadillac deserved better!!!
More than likely, the Premium Luxury & Sport models will command most of the sales volume. So give or take, the upper trim models are priced the same with more interior volume and features for the money.
Never say never if you truly believe that Cadillac will not be true tier one luxury brand. You will never know what could happen to the brand 5 to 10 years from now.
Last time I checked, Lincoln, Acura & Infiniti don’t have a V-Series competitor.
I left out the V Series as none of us here really have a clue as to what it will be called or even be with these two new Sedans. I pray those aren’t ruined by GM as well. I will say that I disagree with the new strategy of getting rid of the V Series name though if true. You spent like 15 years on that and now you get rid of it?
As of right now it doesn’t seem like Cadillac will have a proper M5 fighter which is a real shame.
They dropped the “Cadillac Specific” 3.0TT in the CT6 in favor for the much cheaper to produce Corporate 3.6 HFV6. Nobody here can defend that decision without lying to themselves about it.
I love Cadillac, always have. I am strictly stating that with their all New lineup, they are nowhere near a Tier One Luxury Brand and yes as much as it pains me, the Lincoln CUV’s are nicer. The Xt6 when compared to Aviator is borderline a joke, the XT5 and the Nautilus are pretty much the same. And the XT4 compared to Crossair is a loss.
I am glad that Cadillac decided to keep Sedans but I personally dislike the Tweener strategy that Beancounting GM has decided to take up yet once again with Cadillac.
I do hear what you are saying about the future but an All New Lineup is once again 10 years away, do you think GM will then Spend the money it will take to make Cadillac a True Tier One Luxury Brand? You think they will walk away yet once again from the Tweener strategy?
I could be way wrong but I think the last chance that Cadillac has to truly become a Tier One Luxury Brands in the future is with their upcoming EV’s. The General better come out guns blazing and zero excuse execution of them.
Again ONE MORE TIME, Never again will I own a Cadillac of any size with a 2.0T.
Yes to the 2.7T or the 3.0TT, would prefer the 2.7T, but NEVER again a 2.0T.
So we wait again longer, AGAIN.
Wait, and wait, and wait !!
And no it was not good enough in the CTS, ATS, CT6, XT4, or this CT5, or the up and coming CT4.
O ill wait to drive it, just like the XT4 but driving that just reassured the NON purchase of a XT4.
So maybe the 10 speed will make it that much better than the XT4 but well see !!
The Premium Luxury provides a lot without options. It has most of what the CTS Luxury had
at $10k less.
Options will likely increase the price quickly, if you want them.
Some options require another option or two.
Let us know when the online build is ready.
Why would a supposed luxury marque be trying to compete on price? Hmm? Seems like a flawed position to start with. The CT5 from all dimensions is within an inch of BMW 5 series yet nearly 8-9 inches than a 3 series. Unless the CT5 is a game changer, and from the bang up job GM has done in its design and marketing, it doesn’t seem to be, then what would compel one to buy it? If anything, maybe a 5 series, E Class or A6 prospect may take a look at it but right now from market perception, I’d pass on what appears to be an also-ran and just buy the 3 series or C Class. Or for that matter a G70.
Why woud you have to follow the German dimensions?
Cadillac/American cars have always been 5 foot (little exaggeration) longer than the Germans. It has been a shame that Cadillac/American cars followed the Germans in length. Especially for the cars that are not projected to sell in Europe.
(and if people over here are complaining about a 2.0l engine not being enough for a such a car, never go to Europe… You will probable be afraid of all those 1.6/1.5l Renault engines in those Mercedes cars.)
Maybe because the Auto World is Global and you just made my point as to why the Tweener strategy is not a smart but a cheap decision.
This strategy once again tells us they cannot compete and will not be selling in Europe any time soon. GM should be ashamed what they’ve done to Cadillac.
Only hope I now have for this brand is its upcoming EV’s. Those better be zero compromise execution.
Also, why did they copy the Germans’ stiff ride and the spartan, drab interiors they used to have?
That’s a steal. Cadillac seems serious about hitting BMW where it hurts.
I wonder what a CT5-V with Supercruise will cost. I do like this car a lot and I can’t wait to try it out.
I hope that the next generation XT4, XT5, and XT6 are based on the CT4, CT5, and CT6 chassis. Every Cadillac sedan should have a coupe and crossover SUV variant that shares the same scalable rear drive architecture with all other Cadillacs (other than the Escalade, which should stick to the body on frame formula).
Isn’t the CT5 supposed to compete with a BMW 5 Series? Why does the article compare it to a 3 Series?
No. CT5 is a D segment entry. C-Class, 3 Series, A4, Giulia, G70, etc…
Well as expected. Its a D class car and has a D class price.
I just hope they will change that cheap ass rear console.
Bigger outside smaller inside. This new no name Caddy sedan family is design disaster. Luxury car with fake plastic C-pillar window, average middle class interior with non integrated tablet display (and Chevy infortaiment system), cheap volume knobs and ugly Bose speakers. Who in luxury class cares about money? Cadillac lost rest of its prestige. Genesis by Hyundai is better choice than this GM lost luxury horse.
Riiifht!!! Because a customer who shops this space walks into a showroom and thinks “Yeah, this rear window looks cheap and plastic. I don’t want it.”
For the record, the execution does not look cheap or silly in person. It’s just fine. The amount of noise about this is great than the amount of true signal. I would be willing to put money down that actual potential customers will have no issues with the design of the C-pillar area in the CT5. It’s a huge blown/up fallacy that they somehow cheapened out on it or whatever. It looks good, it will have the Cadillac script on it, and it’s a total non-starter.
Middle class interior? I don’t know… I liked it, and I would buy the CT5 over the rivals in the segment. I almost bought a C43 AMG a few months ago… that should tell you something.
Smaller inside? It almost has the same amount of room as the segment-larger 5 series and E-Class.
Non-integrated display? Is that also a thing! Because it hasn’t prevented its direct competitors from selling like hot cakes with non-integrated displays. Another silly expectation and form of reasoning.
Now, the knobs are far from cheap. I played a lot with them knobs. They feel better than the ones in the C-Class, which has a cabin that looks good but feels cheap in certain places.
The infotainment system is actually different from anything Chevy offers. It has an additional processor plus a larger screen with a modified UI.
Ugly Bose speakers? You’ve lost me there. Seems like you’re just trolling at this point.
Alex, the issue is the the All New C – Class is right around the corner though. How will this CT5 interior stack up?
In my opinion, Cadillac needed to leapfrog the Competition not just match it. It is a Stretch to think this isn’t a Tweener vehicle and attempt by GM.
The only reason to chose this over the competition will be interior volume for the price. But then you have to factor in the almost laughable trunk as well.
I will say this though, this is a much better execution from Cadillac than the Ct4. I actually like the CT5 a lot. I’m just not a fan of the Tweener strategy.
Maybe, its about my projection of elegant Escala to all new Caddy staff but all is on the half way. GM saving money and you can see it in every new model. Cadillac needs to be unique luxury car not half baked something with plastic image on C-pillar and the same shared GM design and technology. Even the 2019 RAM 1500 is much more luxury inside than this Cadillac.
Current C class was introduced in 2014 as far as I remember. And it will be changed very soon.
CT5 is a new car, but still it has nothing that makes me say that its much better inside than the outgoing C class. Thats the problem. Cadillac is always behind. CT5 is ok inside, but it will be ouclassed soon by the upcoming C class. And that awful rear console without sceen and knobs.. sigh
+10. After seeing the car at the NY Auto show, that C-Pillar does brings the car down market. A window looks more classy; not a plastic insert with inscription.
So in response to Alex’s comment; ‘Because a customer who shops this space walks into a showroom and thinks “Yeah, this rear window looks cheap and plastic. I don’t want it.”’ Yes, that is exactly what a potential customer would say!
Why would a person in this space buy a so called luxury vehicle that looks as though some corners were cut to save money?
The CT5 competitors have cemented their position in the market place so they can take more risks including non integrated displays than Cadillac can. The ‘Bangled’ butt BMWs and slab sided Mercedes S Class still sold because of their status. Cadillac doesn’t have that status. The CTS and ATS were great efforts to build upon. The CT5 and CT4 don’t come across as the next level up.
This makes me super excited for the CT4. Could start below $30k.
CT5’s interior is simply not enough. Its good if u want to be just another ok car, but if u want to be a leader then its too weak: It has a dated infotainment system, no full digital dash.
Cadillac is in the position where it must be much better than the rivals.
Sorry, but I can’t say that its interior looks better than this
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/GWlhGKiUF6w/maxresdefault.jpg
And don’t forget that the new C class is around the corner.
The engine though isn’t going to be the same 2.0L Turbo that the ATS had. The CT5 2.0L Turbo is a weaker 237 HP. Not the 270’ish HP model from the ATS. I could be wrong on this spec, but I read that from another article about the $37K CT5.
The HP drop will definitely be noticeable since the CT5 isn’t any more light weight than the ATS. I think the CT5 will be near the bottom of the HP range for luxury cars in its class. Okay, okay. With fabric and vinyl seats, we are way more “near luxury” than luxury. Also the Audi I think is lower HP.
The up shot to this is that Cadillac now has an entry sedan for those aspiring to the Cadillac brand and don’t want the XT4 CUV.
The numbers are lower, but torque peaks and flattens at a significantly lower rpm, so less-than-full-throttle driving will likely be the same or better. How often and how long do most people drive at 6000+ rpm?
I guess that is a blessing in disguise for some driving styles. I had the ATS 2.0T for a week and while it was fast, the power surge was prominent and came about at higher RPMs. Having that power at an RPM that doesn’t make you look like you are hammering it is better for regular driving.
I am pleased with the car’s appearance but not happy with the two engines mentioned. Certainly turbo chargers allow engines to put out more power than without but they include a lot of moving parts and have heat issues causing fires sometimes. Should the turbo charger fail, and they do, you are looking at expensive repairs for a feature you should not have to begin with. Moving parts are distasteful, although you need to drive electric for a few years to learn that. For many years I flew airplanes with turbo chargers. There were unpleasant experiences and I am happy that is in my past. I do not wish to return to that feature in my car.