2014 CADILLAC XTS

Do Not Buy

Performance: 0 Comfort: 0 Fuel Economy: 0 Fun To Drive: 0 Interior Design: 0 Exterior Design: 0 Build Quality: 0 Reliability: 0 Comfort Rating: 3 Performance Rating: 4 Interior Rating: 2 Reliability Rating: 1 Safety Rating: 3 Technology Rating: 2 Value Rating: 1

Poor resale, excessive repairs, CUE system is unintuitive, hard ride, mediocre handling, uses premium gas

Loved it at first, but fatal flaw...

Performance: 0 Comfort: 0 Fuel Economy: 0 Fun To Drive: 0 Interior Design: 0 Exterior Design: 0 Build Quality: 0 Reliability: 0 Comfort Rating: 4 Performance Rating: 4 Interior Rating: 4 Reliability Rating: Safety Rating: 5 Technology Rating: 3 Value Rating: 4

I recently had this car for an extended rental covering nine days and 1200 miles, so I hope my review holds some weight. When I first got on the road in this Cadillac, I was thoroughly impressed and thought GM has come a long way since the last time I had regular use of another GM vehicle in the late 90's. This Cadillac had good power, good braking, decent handling and road feel. The HID headlights light up everything on the road, but get used to the flashing from oncoming cars thinking you have your high beams on. The 6-speed transmission is good but is no match to an 8-speed ZF transmission. The interior is very nicely appointed, but the infotainment/climate control is extremely cumbersome. Buttons would not register depresses or would be delayed. Adjusting the audio volume with buttons that had a delay couldn't be more annoying. The large LCD screen showed fingerprints all over and there is color banding if viewed thru polarized sunglasses. The hidden compartment behind the controls was too easily opened when inadvertently touched. The Bluetooth connection also intermittently would not play audio from an iPhone and would require an effort to disconnect and reconnect. Which leads me to review the worst design flaw of this vehicle: the "smart" key. The locking algorithm of the car allows the user to lock the key inside the car with no ability to unlock the car. I experienced this when I had the key in my hiking backpack, walked up and opened the trunk where I placed said pack and key inside the trunk and closed the trunk. Doing so, locks the trunk without alarm and does not unlock the trunk and/or doors. No other smartkey equipped car I've experienced would allow the user to do this, and I cannot believe GM engineers did not think of this all-too-common scenario. Even a 2007 Toyota Prius would unlock the cabin doors if it detects the user closing the hatch with the key inside the hatch. Overall, this was a nice effort by GM in producing a luxury vehicle to compete with the Japanese and German manufacturers, but it still misses in the fine details that make a good car a great car.

My 2014 Cadillac XTS

Performance: 5 Comfort: 5 Fuel Economy: 5 Fun To Drive: 5 Interior Design: 4 Exterior Design: 5 Build Quality: 5 Reliability: 5 Comfort Rating: 5 Performance Rating: 5 Interior Rating: 4 Reliability Rating: 5 Safety Rating: 5 Technology Rating: 5 Value Rating: 4

My 2014 Red Cadillac XTS was delievered in Sept 2013 and I now have 1500 trouble free miles on my car. I have purchased over a dozen new cars over the last 40 years and only my Porches were this reliable out of the gate. It is so quiet I accidentaly left the motor running when my wife and I went to lunch - it was still running when we returned - there is no key. It is a better value for your money than the Mercedes E Class, BMW 5 or the new 2014 Cadillac CTS Sedan.