Having re-fuelled and put thoughts of a nap temporarily out of our minds…
…our Cadillac XTS convoy (that’s crankandpiston lensmen Moe and John, myself, and two brand new XTS Platinum edition saloons courtesy of General Motors) begins the final leg of its journey to Ras Al Khaimah.
The only slight buggeration is the near-one hour of drive in-between. Don’t get me wrong. So far drive-wise we’re looking pretty good with the new XTS.
Ride comfort for instance is almost without fault, and (with a bit or practice), we’ve now got our heads around the new CUE (Cadillac User Experience) interface system. Room and practical is one thing though, but the main surprise for me lies elsewhere.
Namely with the 3.6-litre V6 under the bonnet, and the six–speed gearbox connected to it, which – we’ve discovered with a few experiments – can really take some punishment.
Select ‘sport’ drive mode, for example, pull the gear lever way back to select manual, drop a gear with using the paddle shift, and plant the right foot.
Acceleration will never be anything more than linear, even if grunt in the higher revs is a little more dynamic. But the gearing is pretty impressive. So smooth in automatic that you may not even feel them, in manual the gears seem to go on forever, with no signs of fatigue or strain from the engine.
And this soon turns into a game: who can hit the highest speed in the lowest gear. My personal record stands at 60kph in first gear and 90kph in second.
It’s difficult to fully put the XTS through its paces on the straight highway tarmac, but feel through the Goodyears is pretty good, the responsiveness through the steering wheel (light but not overly so at cruising speeds) even to keep you connected with the drive.
I’d perhaps question ‘Sport’ mode (we get a bit of bodyroll here or there), but the XTS has certainly prove itself energetic.
