Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Cars
  3. Car News

2020 Cadillac CTS-V has reduced performance, but also a lower price

By
1 of 8
2020 Cadillac CT5-V and CT4-V
Image used with permission by copyright holder
2020 Cadillac CT4-V
Image used with permission by copyright holder
2020 Cadillac CT4-V
Image used with permission by copyright holder
2020 Cadillac CT4-V
Image used with permission by copyright holder
2020 Cadillac CT4-V
Image used with permission by copyright holder
2020 Cadillac CT4-V
Image used with permission by copyright holder
2020 Cadillac CT4-V
Image used with permission by copyright holder
2020 Cadillac CT4-V
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Cadillac’s V-Series performance sub-brand turns 15 this year, and to celebrate the firm is launching not one, but two new V-Series models. Cadillac unveiled the 2020 CT5-V and CT4-V in its hometown ahead of the Detroit Grand Prix, where its race cars took to the track. Both new V-Series models are tamer than expected, but at least Cadillac was able to keep pricing reasonable.

Recommended Videos

While the CT5 was revealed to the public at the 2019 New York Auto Show, this is the first time anyone outside of Cadillac has seen the smaller CT4 sedan. The CT4 and CT5 will serve as replacements for the current Cadillac ATS and CTS, respectively.

Related

The CT5-V uses a 3.0-liter, twin-turbocharged V6 producing 355 horsepower and 400 pound-feet of torque. That’s 20 hp more than the base CT5, which gets a twin-turbo V6 as an optional extra, but torque is unchanged. Just like the base CT5, the CT5-V will be available only with a 10-speed automatic transmission, with standard rear-wheel drive or optional all-wheel drive.

The V-Series double reveal is our first look at the Cadillac CT4, which will take up the departing ATS sedan’s fight against the BMW 3 Series and other small luxury four-doors. On the outside, the CT4 looks like a shrunken CT5, and interior photos show the telltale light bar for Cadillac’s Super Cruise driver-assist system on the steering wheel. The CT4-V sports a 2.7-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder engine making 320 hp and 369 lb-ft of torque. Like the CT5-V, it will only be offered with a 10-speed automatic transmission, but with the choice of rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive.

1 of 4
2020 Cadillac CT5-V
Image used with permission by copyright holder
2020 Cadillac CT5-V
Image used with permission by copyright holder
2020 Cadillac CT5-V
Image used with permission by copyright holder
2020 Cadillac CT5-V
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Compared to previous V-Series models, the CT5-V and CT4-V seem a bit weak sauce. The outgoing Cadillac CTS-V boasts a 6.2-liter, supercharged V8 making 640 hp, while the ATS-V has a 3.6-liter V6 twin-turbocharged to 464 hp. Despite their names, the CT5-V and CT4-V seem less like full-fledged V-Series models, and more like lower-level competitors to the BMW M Performance, Audi S, and Mercedes-AMG 53 and 43 series.

At the launch of the CT5-V and CT4-V, Cadillac did allude to more powerful V-Series models, showing camouflaged prototypes at the Detroit Grand Prix. It’s possible that Cadillac could shoehorn the 4.2-liter twin-turbo “Blackwing” V8 from the CT6-V into the CT5. Given that the CT6 is not long for this world, it would make sense for Cadillac to try to find a new home for that engine, which is currently used only in the CT6. It’s also unclear how Cadillac’s new role as the spearhead of General Motors’ electric-car plans will affect the future of the V-Series.

Cadillac subsequently announced that the CT4-V will start at $45,490 with rear-wheel drive. All-wheel drive is an $1,100 option on the smaller sedan. According to Cadillac’s online configurator, the CT5-V starts at $48,690 with rear-wheel drive, while all-wheel drive is a $2,600 option. The CT5-V only costs about half as much as its predecessor, the CTS-V. But the CTS-V also had a supercharged 6.2-liter V8 making 640 hp.

Updated on November 27, 2019: Added pricing information.

Editors’ Recommendations

Topics
Stephen Edelstein
Stephen Edelstein
Contributing Editor
Stephen is a freelance automotive journalist covering all things cars. He likes anything with four wheels, from classic cars…
Rivian set to unlock unmapped roads for Gen2 vehicles
rivian unmapped roads gen2 r1t gallery image 0

Rivian fans rejoice! Just a few weeks ago, Rivian rolled out automated, hands-off driving for its second-gen R1 vehicles with a game-changing software update. Yet, the new feature, which is only operational on mapped highways, had left many fans craving for more.
Now the company, which prides itself on listening to - and delivering on - what its customers want, didn’t wait long to signal a ‘map-free’ upgrade will be available later this year.
“One feedback we’ve heard loud and clear is that customers love [Highway Assist] but they want to use it in more places,” James Philbin, Rivian VP of autonomy, said on the podcast RivianTrackr Hangouts. “So that’s something kind of exciting we’re working on, we’re calling it internally ‘Map Free’, that we’re targeting for later this year.”
The lag between the release of Highway Assist (HWA) and Map Free automated driving gives time for the fleet of Rivian vehicles to gather ‘unique events’. These events are used to train Rivian’s offline model in the cloud before data is distilled back to individual vehicles.
As Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe explained in early March, HWA marked the very beginning of an expanding automated-driving feature set, “going from highways to surface roads, to turn-by-turn.”
For now, HWA still requires drivers to keep their eyes on the road. The system will send alerts if you drift too long without paying attention. But stay tuned—eyes-off driving is set for 2026.
It’s also part of what Rivian calls its “Giving you your time back” philosophy, the first of three pillars supporting Rivian’s vision over the next three to five years. Philbin says that philosophy is focused on “meeting drivers where they are”, as opposed to chasing full automation in the way other automakers, such as Tesla’s robotaxi, might be doing.
“We recognize a lot of people buy Rivians to go on these adventures, to have these amazing trips. They want to drive, and we want to let them drive,” Philbin says. “But there’s a lot of other driving that’s very monotonous, very boring, like on the highway. There, giving you your time back is how we can give the best experience.”
This will also eventually lead to the third pillar of Rivian’s vision, which is delivering Level 4, or high-automation vehicles: Those will offer features such as auto park or auto valet, where you can get out of your Rivian at the office, or at the airport, and it goes off and parks itself.
While not promising anything, Philbin says he believes the current Gen 2 hardware and platforms should be able to support these upcoming features.
The second pillar for Rivian is its focus on active safety features, as the EV-maker rewrote its entire autonomous vehicle (AV) system for its Gen2 models. This focus allowed Rivian’s R1T to be the only large truck in North America to get a Top Safety Pick+ from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
“I believe there’s a lot of innovation in the active safety space, in terms of making those features more capable and preventing more accidents,” Philbin says. “Really the goal, the north star goal, would be to have Rivian be one of the safest vehicles on the road, not only for the occupants but also for other road users.”

Read more
Jaguar Land Rover, Nissan hit the brake on shipments to U.S. over tariffs
Range Rover Sport P400e

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has announced it will pause shipments of its UK-made cars to the United States this month, while it figures out how to respond to President Donald Trump's 25% tariff on imported cars.

"As we work to address the new trading terms with our business partners, we are taking some short-term actions, including a shipment pause in April, as we develop our mid- to longer-term plans," JLR said in a statement sent to various media.

Read more
Toyota shifts gears: 15 New EVs and a million cars by 2027
Front three quarter view of the 2023 Toyota bZ4X.

After years of cautiously navigating the electric vehicle (EV) market, Toyota is finally ramping up its commitment to fully electric vehicles.
The Japanese automaker, which has long relied on hybrids, is now planning to develop about 15 fully electric models by 2027, up from five currently. These models will include vehicles under the Toyota and Lexus brands, with production expected to reach 1 million units annually by that year, according to a report from Nikkei.
This strategy marks a significant shift for Toyota, which has thus far remained conservative in its approach to electric cars. The company sold just 140,000 EVs globally in 2024—representing less than 2% of its total global sales. Despite this, Toyota is aiming for a much larger presence in the EV market, targeting approximately 35% of its global production to be electric by the end of the decade.
The Nikkei report suggests the company plans to diversify its production footprint beyond Japan and China and expanding into the U.S., Thailand, and Argentina. This would help mitigate the impact of President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on all car imports, as well as reduce delivery times. Toyota is also building a battery plant in North Carolina.
For now, Toyota has only two fully electric vehicles on the U.S. market: The bZ4X  and the Lexus RZ models. The Japanese automaker is expected to introduce new models like the bZ5X and a potential electric version of the popular Tacoma pickup.
Separately, Toyota and Honda, along with South Korea’s Hyundai, all announced on April 4 that they would not be raising prices, at least over the next couple of months, following the imposition of U.S. tariffs. According to a separate Nikkei report, Toyota’s North American division has told its suppliers that it will absorb the extra costs of parts imported from Mexico and Canada. Another 25% for automotive parts imported to the U.S. is slated to come into effect on May 3.

Read more