The Human Connection

Impressive as these numbers may be, our modern era has managed to distill the essence of straight-line speed and endless cornering stability into ones and zeros that are easily digested by an automobile’s software and then spat out again in the form of electronic driver’s aids. It’s here that the Cadillac ATS-V makes the biggest break from the pack of would-be hi-po luxury contenders by bridging the digital divide between the human heart and the car’s computerized brain in order to strengthen the connection pilots feel with the road rather than distance them from the world as it zips by underneath the Cadillac’s sticky rubber.

It all starts with GM’s excellent magnetic ride control suspension system, which has been upgraded to respond even more quickly to changes in both road conditions and driver inputs, following in the footsteps of the similarly sharp setup available with the recent Corvette Z06. The adaptive design works hand in hand with a chassis that has been stiffened by 25 percent as compared to the standard ATS, as well as Cadillac’s five-stage Performance Traction Management (PTM) system, which calls down stability and traction control orders from the pulpit with a surprising degree of leniency: mid-tier, track-oriented menu selections allow you to keep the tail sideways through a corner without arrogantly ordering me back in a straight line, while “full off” and “hold my hand” settings are also available. Both manual (six-speed) and automatic (eight-speed) transmissions offered with the ATS-V also come with a launch control feature linked to PTM, and the traditional gearbox offers no-lift-shift capability as well as automatic rev-matching on downshifts.

The end result is that the 2016 Cadillac ATS-V is not just a willing partner in posting up lap times that would qualify you for the front row at Indy in the 80s, but it’s also a car that makes you feel like you’re actually part of the process as you sweep past every apex and barrel down whatever stretch of road might open up past each bend. This is a sharp contrast to the numbing distance that has crept into the platforms of once-engaging European options in the ATS-V’s class, vehicles that increasingly make you feel like freight rather than Fernando Alonso by way of their clinical, post-perfect engine and chassis management philosophies.

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