Could be better, could be worse.
It’s been a long road for Cadillac’s new mid-level sports sedan, and it’s not even in the hands of buyers yet. The CT5-V debuted nearly a year ago – May 2019 to be exact – but Cadillac’s full online configurator is only now up and running. That means it’s time for us to see just how expensive this car can get with all the options selected. And it does get rather pricey.
We start things off with a CT5-V all-wheel-drive model at a base price of $51,290. That comes with a black interior, a choice of either white or black for the exterior, and of course, it has a 360-horsepower (268-kilowatt) 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged V6 under the hood. A 10-speed automatic is the only available transmission.
Mixed Messages About V:
From there, Red Obsession Tintcoat for the exterior is a $1,225 option. 20-inch wheels either painted or polished adds another $2,350; we chose polished because painted wheels are so overdone these days. There aren’t any other exterior tweaks to call upon so from there, our financial journey takes to the inside.
The big add-on is the Platinum Package, which curiously shows up as a $6,290 option but when you select it, $13,130 is added to the price. That’s because the package also adds every other package you can get automatically, which makes things both convenient and confusing for shoppers. With that one box checked off, the CT5-V gets all kinds of driver assists, exterior cameras, a 15-speaker Bose sound system, and the monotone black interior is swapped with an attractive tan/black combo.
The V model already has all the go-fast goodies, but a modest array of mechanical options such as red brakes calipers for $595 are available. And while the Platinum Package already includes most everything available for the interior, premium carpeted floor mats are not part of that $13,100 upcharge. Selecting them here dings us another $205, and an all-weather cargo mat costs another $105. A suede microfiber steering wheel and shift knob are $300, and a handful of other things such as cargo organizers and safety kits take us to $69,000.
With destination charges, you’ll pay just about as close to $70,000 as you can get – $69,995 to be exact. A plethora of dealer-installed accessories like license plate frames, tool kits, jump starters, and various cables for electronic devices are offered, and you could easily add another $2,000 to the cost but alas, we’re looking for manufacturer pricing. That means we stick to items offered from the factory, and it looks like $69,995 is our top figure.
It’s certainly not outrageous, and you’ll pay much more for a well-equipped Mercedes-AMG C43. However, an optioned-up BMW M340i xDrive is priced right there with the Caddy, offering 382 hp (285 kW) and a measure of confidence behind it. The BMW 3 Series has been a benchmark in the sports sedan segment for decades, whereas the CT5-V is brand new and very slowly coming to market from a company that, frankly, seems a bit lost right now when it comes to performance.
Given a choice, would your $70,000 luxury sports sedan be a Cadillac CT5-V, or a BMW M340i xDrive?