Yes, alright, there's a very obvious rival missing from this comparison.
We know.
However, there are some very good reasons why the Mercedes-AMG E63 is not in this little
shootout.
Obviously it would have qualified, because it's a damn fine car, but that's the point:
the M5 v. E63 comparison is being done everywhere, the triple test of all three is following
in Autocar and, well, when there's a chance to do something different, PH likes to do
it.
The Cadillac CTS-V may have been around for a while, but it's largely unfamiliar to a
British audience, and it more than merits inclusion in this duel: not only is it more
powerful than the M5, it's lighter and, of course, rear-wheel drive only.
There's more to it than just brute force, too.
The CTS, as well as its ATS brother and the sixth-gen Camaro that we've praised very highly
on these pages, is based on GM's Alpha platform; it's the architecture created by General Motors
when brands like Chevrolet and Cadillac needed a dynamic kick up the bum, and is said to
have been heavily influenced by the E46 3 Series.
This car uses GM third-gen magnetorheological dampers, an electronic limited-slip differential,
Michelin Pilot Super Sport tyres, huge Brembo brakes and will hit 200mph.
Not only was the CTS-V faster around Big Willow - just - than the four-wheel drive E63 (when
it was 18 months old already), Motor Trend said it was a better car overall.
And that was with Jethro Bovingdon involved, too, before you cry too much about yee-haw,
God bless America home bias.
The big Caddy will run 11-second quarter-miles while you sit in a 16-way adjustable electric
seat - it absolutely deserves to be here.
It's worth outlining, however, just what the Cadillac is up against before the 1,200hp
battle royale commences.
Because this F90 M5, without wishing to be too blunt about it, is a devastating super-saloon.
Part of BMW's UK launch for the car involves laps of Anglesey - because you would if you
could, right - and the circuit performance for a two-tonne luxury saloon is remarkable.
Of course it's really ruddy fast, yet the greatest revelation of all is discovering
that four-wheel drive has added to the dynamic experience - not detracted from it.
You don't have to feather the throttle or face the frustration of a TC light, instead
get on the gas as early as you like and feel the momentum move in the car, yet with the
security of a driven front axle.
It still feels rear biased, there's still throttle adjustability if you want - particularly
in the 4WD Sport mode - and there's still the balance between front and rear you'd hope
for in an M saloon.
It hasn't been desensitised by 4WD, thanks goodness.
It feels reminiscent of an M3, in fact, with a tenacious front-end (no doubt helped by
275-section front tyres) only with less trepidation about applying the throttle.
It's a very clever set up.On the road the M5 is perfectly good, though arguably a tad
less awe inspiring thanks to the limited opportunities presented to fully appreciate it.
We've been here before, of course, and it's an accusation that could be levelled at many
if not most super powerful and super luxurious cars - by distancing the driver to provide
refinement, excitement is sacrificed just a bit.
By the same token the M5 feels big on a Welsh B-road - it's longer, wider and taller than
ever - but then name a saloon in this segment that wouldn't.
In the same way that Donald Trump doesn't really do small scandals, the world doesn't
do compact, wieldy, truly exploitable fast saloons any more - the world has changed,
and we're all just going to have to deal with it.
Even with those provisos taken into account, the M5 remains fairly astounding.
The reworked turbo V8 has fabulous response, the gear ratios are sensible enough to make
use of its mighty oomph, the front end is fantastically keen and the body control is
near enough unflappable (at least once Comfort dampers have been swapped for the Sport setting).
Again, as on track, the four-wheel drive setup enhances the M5 experience.
There's more confidence than you would have with rear-wheel drive, but crucially not the
aloofness that can accompany some similar systems.
So 4WD Sport really does feel like omnipotent rear-wheel drive, the same sensations reaching
the driver, but with the added value of greater assurance.Which must make the Cadillac feel
like a proper old blunderbuss, right?
Well, no, actually.
Driving the CTS-V for the first time is like your first Five Guys experience; you think
you know what it's about - after all, this is just a big V8 Yank saloon, like Five Guys
is just a burger - yet there's real subtlety, finesse and quality there, too.
Confounding expectations is what they both do very, very well.
At the same time, neither (don't worry, this analogy doesn't last much longer) loses sight
of what it does best, or attempts to overcomplicate things.
So the Caddy does comfy V8 saloon better than M5, riding with a suppleness at low speed
that eludes the Beemer - and if you want to argue that the firmness is there at low speed
to support the M5 potentially doing 190mph (with an option, of course), don't forget
that the Cadillac will do 200mph as standard...
Let's not get ahead of ourselves, however: as a driving environment, for example, the
CTS-V can't hold a candle to the M5.
The 'CUE' (Cadillac User Experience) infotainment is an absolute nightmare, the plastics aren't
brilliant and the graphics would look a bit low rent in a Mini.
That being said, the basics are decent: the wheel is all Alcantara (and very nice), you
sit low and the dials do at least provide all the information you might need.A lot of
that information relates to the incredible supercharged V8 that lurks ahead: the amount
of fuel it's using (lots), the amount of speed it's generating (lots) and the revs required
for that speed (not many).
It really is a fabulous engine, detuned from the Corvette Z06 application but still pumping
out an absurd 640hp and 630lb ft.
It feels that prodigious, too, striding forward imperiously with immaculate response and indecent
speed.
As quick as the M5?
Once rolling, most probably.
Does it sound better?
Without doubt, even if there's more supercharger shriek than V8 rumble.
Its transmission though is no match for the BMW's; the Caddy's eight-speed auto being
occasionally indecisive and never quite as quick even with manual control.
Still, with 630lb ft, what gears do you need beyond fourth and eighth?
Furthermore, when you are stringing some corners together in fourth - having marvelled at just
how good the traction is - the Caddy is a really satisfying car to drive.
There's a slight mismatch between turn in response and chassis behaviour - the first
being slightly quicker than the second - but it's never quite enough to catch the car out,
even if it can make corner entry a bit unnerving.
Once in the bend you can appreciate the fine work of those magnetic dampers to keep the
body composed and the prodigious grip, but also then how that can be adjusted with, without
wishing to put too fine a point on, 200lb ft more than an M3.
To be honest the traction control could do with a mid-way setting, 'on' feeling a little
too strict and 'off' a bit too intimidating, because it's evident the chassis quality is
there.
In fact the Cadillac could do with some of the BMW's configurability, its more aggressive
drive modes (that you'll want for the noise) inextricably linked with more severe damping
and unpleasant steering weight.
Which you don't.Truth be told the BMW has the Cadillac covered everywhere.
As you would expect, of course, given it's the newer, more expensive car from the manufacturer
who largely created the genre.
It requires less from the driver to go quicker, it inspires more confidence, it's more technologically
advanced, it's more luxurious and it's a more cohesive, more capable driver's car, too.
But the Caddy is a three year-old car and here it costs £40k less - you have to be
realistic.
What this comparison has shown is that the CTS-V absolutely warrants comparison with
Europe's best, objectively as well as subjectively.
It remains a capable, accomplished sports saloon despite having some flaws, and not
just likeable as a US curio because of them.
It also, in case the point hadn't been made, has as much power as a Huracan Performante
from a V8 that's manifestly more charismatic than the M5's.
So while the BMW is the clear victor in this test, the Cadillac points to an even brighter
future for American fast cars - and that's arguably even more exciting than the M5 being
right back on form.
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