Every year, Motor Trend selects a car from the year’s all-new or substantially-updated models, to give it the Car of the Year award. The cars are judged using six dimensions of criteria, including Advancement in Design, Engineering Excellence, Efficiency, Safety, Value and Performance of Intended Function. All those considered, the 2014 Cadillac CTS walked away with the coveted calipers this year.
The all-new sedan came out on top amongst a group of finalists which included the BMW 4 Series, Jaguar F-Type, Mazda 3, Mazda 6, Kia Forte and Mercedes-Benz S-Class. MT praised the CTS’ engine range, saying the “most surprising” engine is the turbocharged 2.0L four cylinder LTG, commending the 30 MPG highway fuel economy numbers and class-leading power figures. The publication even credited the twin turbocharged LF3 V6 with outperforming the equivalent German forced-induction V8s.
Meanwhile, the CTS’s Alpha architecture was referred to as “an absolutely fantastic chassis” that benefits from being hundreds of pounds lighter than those of the competition.
“The all-new 2014 Cadillac CTS prevailed over one of the most competitive fields in recent memory because it best met our award’s key criteria. Our judges were particularly impressed by the CTS’s responsive powertrains and masterful balance of smooth ride and sporty handling,” said Motor Trend editor-in-chief Ed Loh in a statement.
Following comments on the award, executive chief engineer for Cadillac David Leone chimed in about the impending CTS-V. “”With V-Series now embedded into the fabric of Cadillac, we designed the new architecture with CTS-V clearly in mind. Now it’s down to us to raise the bar, and that’s what we’re doing”, said Leone.