The Cadillac CT5 arrived last year at the New York International Auto Show, slotting in as the brand’s latest D-segment sedan. Three trim levels are on offer, including the base-level Luxury, and followed by the Sport and Premium Luxury, per Caddy’s Y-trim level strategy. Whereas the Sport is heavy on the black trim bits and performance-flavored design details, the Premium Luxury takes a more flashy approach, and now we’re picking out the latter model’s various details in the following Live Photo Gallery, captured at the CT5’s debut in NYC.
Compared to the rest of the lineup, the Cadillac CT5 Premium Luxury offers different door handles, a different grille, different window moldings, different taillamp housings, and various other unique bits and pieces. Let’s start in front, where we find a bright grille treatment, complete with crest-shaped design cues for the insert. The design is a departure from the black mesh grille insert found in the Sport, and comes complemented by a bright metal surround.
The 2020 Cadillac CT5 Premium Luxury’s profile stands out thanks to further bright accent bits and trim pieces. There are bright window surround moldings, alternatively known as Daylight Opening, or DLO, whereas the Sport model gets black moldings.
The Premium Luxury also equips body-colored door handles with bright accents, plus an illuminating feature as standard, unlike the rest of the CT5 lineup.
In the corners, the Premium Luxury mounts 18-inch wheels as standard, while larger 19-inch wheels are an available extra.
Moving around to the tail section, we find the 2020 Cadillac CT5 Premium Luxury offers LED lighting, with red outer lenses for the taillamp housings. By contrast, the Sport model features neutral-density (or clear) gray-tinted transparent outer taillamp lenses. The Premium Luxury also gets a different lower valence compared to the Sport, which incorporates dual parallelogram exhaust tips.
Even more high-class goodness can be had with the Cadillac CT5 Premium Luxury’s optional Platinum Package, which feature exclusive interior upholstery, heated/ventilated/lumbar massage seating, and more.
The Cadillac CT5 Premium Luxury is equipped as standard with the turbocharged 2.0L LSY inline four-cylinder gas engine. Output is rated at 237 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque. Additional muscle is offered with the optional twin-turbo 3.0L LGY V6, which produces 335 horsepower and 400 pound-feet of torque. Both engines connect to the new GM 10-speed automatic transmission with Electronic Precision Shift technology, feeding the rear wheels as standard, or all wheels as an available option.
| Dimension | Measurement |
|---|---|
| Wheelbase (in) | 116 |
| Overall Length (in) | 193.8 |
| Overall Width (in) | 74.1 |
| Overall Height (in) | 57.2 |
| Front Track (in) | 62.8 |
| Rear Track (in) | 63.9 |
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This report was created in collaboration with our sister publication, Cadillac Society.
Comments
I have a prediction: This car will languish in the marketplace throughout 2020 and 2021. For the 2022 model year, GM will rework the awkward and universally panned C-Pillar to eliminate the cheesy plastic and make a few other alterations to enhance what is otherwise a well proportioned vehicle. They might even through in a better engine. All the folks here will be happy. Then two months later, GM will announce at Thanksgiving, 2021 that the Lansing Grand River plant will shut down come January of 2022 and production of CT4, CT5, and Camaro will cease. Mary will say they are “realigning capacity” and she’ll promise great things just around the corner in terms of the coming e-Caddys.
You hit a lot of great points, but GM won’t listen to the customer they seem to have their own game plan of what design and materials should be. I worked for them for over 25 years in dealerships and with then now defunct Motors insurance corporation. I watch GM self-destruct on the Roger Smith, seems the arrogance is still present in certain things and you’re right about the engines because that v6 motor is garbage.
Fleet sales only….
CT5 is a very impressive car. I urge anyone considering a mid sized luxury sedan to drive one.
I already test drove a 350T. Looking forward to trying the 550T when I can.
Sorry,
But its just to cheap, for a Cadillac !
I do not like the screens sticking out of the dashes, looks cheap !
And spend the money for a window if you want a window, not a piece of plastic, geese.
Plastic, plastic, and top that off with the standard 2.0T,
Whatever.
Still sad days here at Cadillac.
Just SAD !
Have you not seen the rest of the competition? Their infotainment screens are sticking out as much as the ct5. On top of that most of the competition also features plastic. With the only real exceptions being the giulia and c class. I do agree with the c pillar. But also note that all the German manufacturers offer 2.0t’s as their base engine. Cadillac is doing a good job competing on paper. But their reputation is probably what’s hurting them the most. That and stupid commercials that is rarely seen. They need to market their cars better. Actually GM as a whole needs to market their cars better.
GM couldn’t market water in the desert.
Go drive a two wheel drive CT5 sport model if you can. You will be pleasantly surprised at the ride/handling unless you are used to driving the CTS or ATS.
That’s just the thing……..
I drive an ATS, and the CT4/5 doesn’t do anything for me.
Exactly…Randy!
Already drive an ATS and a CTS before that.
Will NOT be buying another Cadillac with a 2.0T EVER, and I could care less what the competition has.
Further more we drove an Audi A4 a while back with the 2.0T, and it would put our ATS to shame, and is less money for the equal ATS at that time.
We were waiting for a CT5 2.7T – 10 speed yet we get another 2.0T – nope !
However we will drive a CT5 with the 2.0T in the AWD, and a CT5 with the 3.0TT in an AWD, and make our decision what to buy at that time.
Yet no 3.0TT yet so we play the never ending Cadillac wait game !
And I would NEVER blind order a Cadillac without driving one first any longer, and we will be driving 4 competitive vehicles from the competition at the same time, for the first time ever !
GM was just one more time, to Cheap with these new Cadillac vehicles in this last onslaught !
They did NOT change the status quo.
I’m dumbfounded as to why you’d prefer the 2.7T over the 3.0TT. I simply don’t understand the logic there.
Though I have noticed that you are a major 2.7T proponent, as it comes up in what seems like half of your comments. Just drive the 3.0TT and let us know your thoughts.
I am sure the 3.0TT will preform better than the 2.7, whenever the time comes that GM gets a 3.0TT to a dealership.
Here is where I am at with the 2.7T, and I have said this so many times.
Cadillacs standard base engine should be the 2.7T as it is a step up from the 2.0T and a step up from the competition base.
The torque of 2.7T comes in at a lower RPM than the 3.0TT so the fuel usage and the engine noise is less.
With the 2.7T torque being higher at a lower RPM than a larger CC engine you will use less fuel.
And the main deal, is longevity and reliability, The 2.7T is a 4 cylinder, it has 2 less cams, one less head, one less turbo, and on and on and on.
So overall the 2.7T inline 4 should be a long term better engine than the 3.0TT.
But I still want the 3.0TT option, I would just prefer Cadillac offer more than the competition with their standard base engine.
And I have driven the competition, I know what the 2.0T feels like there !
And one more thing here,
will you all comment on what Cadillacs you have owned, and what engines you have, and how many miles you have driven each.
Even just ANY GM engine in general !
When is the last time you owned a GM vehicle that ran and drove until it wore out ?
This is mainly a US engineering question. years back when you bought a GM product, you could drive the wheels off, so to speak. Now lately something fails before it wears out.
You GM engineers know there is a difference, – right !!!
When the clutch plates in a transmission are just worn off !
When the cylinder walls are just worn with a ridge !
When the crank bearings just knock and knock, and the crank is .030 under from wear !
Do you GM engineers even know how to design an engine of transmission to wear out ?
There is always a premature failure, FAULTY PART !!
When the timing chain tensioners fail at 70,000 miles in the GM 3.0 and 3.6, you engineers do know it was your fault you under designed it !!
When the fuel pump goes bad in the Duramax and ruins the entire engine, it is you, the GM engineer, who said it was the right choice !!!
When the Corvette wheels bend and break, an engineer signed off on that, didn’t they ?
And if it was GM who told you to cut costs and under design it, it is ruining your reputation, as an engineer, get it ?
Its like the Boeing CEO blaming the pilots for crashing the 737 Max. Until the piolets said ” HEY wait just a minute, your plane does not fly ” Now there will be a better plane.
Why would you engineers, spend all that time going to school, learning your trade, to become a professional. And then let GM ruin the US engineering reputation, as to not being able to design anything to wear out any more ?
The overwhelming salvage parts from GM in the US have one or two simple things ( FAULTY PARTS ) wrong with them, they are not warn out, and some are brand new yet !
This is where the foreign competition really shines. Their engineers make things wear out. Sure it costs more to fix them when they fail, that’s because they are WARN OUT, SHOT, DONE.
With a GM product, you just need a 2 cent spring, or another piece of plastic, and away you go. But why does this constant repairing need to start when a vehicle is new ?
You US engineers need to stand up, like the pilots, and call out this, forced cheap designing, so you can build something in the US that is better than the foreign competition !
Doesn’t this bother you ?
It is your professional engineering reputation here !!
Or is it that GM is just to cheap to pay a good engineer to do the job ?
Something has to give here !
I saw one of these in the flesh for the first time on Sunday.
My first impression was shock at how big it was…it seems to be almost the same size as the CTS on first glance. I know its being advertised as a “tweener,” but it is nearly the same size as the CTS…and I appreciate that.
Second was the surprise at how well the interior fit and finish was. Those gaps are German-tight, which should be expected today. Additionally, the layout was really good, and the new CUE system is such an improvement. The interior was a great surprise.
Lastly, yeah, the C-pillar doesn’t look too good, but it doesn’t look as bad in real life as it does in pics, for whatever reason. I looked at two, a black one and a white one, and on the white one, it didn’t look too good. But the black one looked SEXY.
I’d love a CT5 Premium Luxury with the 3.0 for a daily driver. It is far better than I expected.
It is a CTS replacement regardless of what Cadillac says. It’s almost exactly the same size, and is built on an updated version of the already excellent CTS chassis.
The CT5 is the size of the 5 series for only a little more money than what you’d pay for a 3 series. That formula made the original CTS popular. It’s the same one that Genesis is using. Infiniti also did it with the G35 about 15 years ago.
I highly recommend test driving one if you are interested in a compact or mid sized luxury sports sedan. This is a much better product than anything offered in this segment by Lincoln, Infiniti, Lexus, Jaguar, or Volvo. The CT5 handles very well, the structure feels like a bank vault, and it has a very good infotainment system (perfect combo of touch screen functionality with hard buttons for climate control).
I would also choose the CT5 over the BMW 3 series or Mercedes C Class – it’s a size larger for the same price.
My only concern is that the base engine may be short on horsepower on paper. It feels powerful and matches the base engines from the competitors – but they could make a bigger splash by having the 300 horsepower 3.6L V6 as standard. A heavier motor like that may upset the handling balance though. The 350T model I drove felt very good (neutral handling).
IIRC, the popular G35 Infiniti from the early 2000’s had the VQ Nissan V6 as standard. Those days are gone though.
I saw one of these in person at the San Francisco Auto Show a couple months ago. It’s really underwhelming. From the side it looks like a Saturn, and the interior isn’t particularly upscale or impressive. This is the product of a company that’s given up trying to produce world-class luxury cars.
I’m sorry to say the CT5 doesn’t look like a Cadillac. It just doesn’t have the style, elegance or presence of the CTS its replacing.
We took an earlier out on our 2017 CTS and leased a 2020 CT6 because I just can get past the looks of the CT5.