The Cadillac CT5 made its first appearance at the April at the 2019 New York International Auto Show. The new sedan indirectly replaces the Cadillac ATS as the brand’s latest D-segment four-door. Now, we’re taking a look at the CT5 in Summit White paint.
This is the first time we’ve seen the Cadillac CT5 in this particular paint finish, and, as evidenced by the pictures, it gives us a better look at the sedan’s styling and curves. We also like how the white is offset by a number of contrasting black accents, and in our opinion, this color looks far better than the other paint finishes we saw at the CT5’s debut, which included a purple color on the Premium Luxury trim level, and a gray color on the Sport trim level.
To note, this exterior color is dubbed Summit White (color code GAZ), which is a new hue for the CT5. It’s got a non-Metallic finish, which is pretty big news given the previous Cadillac ATS and Cadillac CTS never offered this color. Previously, the ATS and CTS were only offered in Crystal White Tricoat, which was an optional extra priced at $1,000. And that meant anyone who desired a white ATS or CTS was forced to purchase a metallic hue they may not have otherwise wanted.
The CT5 fixes this issue with the non-metallic Summit White, which is offered as a standard color at no extra cost. Meanwhile, Crystal White Tricoat remains an optional extra. More information on all that can be found here.
This particular model is the Cadillac CT5 Sport trim level, and features a standard turbocharged 2.0L four-cylinder engine (production code LSY) mated to a 10-speed automatic transmission with Electronic Precision Shift technology. The Cadillac CT5 is built on the critically-acclaimed Alpha architecture, with RWD being standard and AWD as an optional extra.
The Sport trim level is differentiated from the Luxury and Premium Luxury thanks to darker exterior accents, including bits for the grille and rocker extensions. The Sport also comes with standard 19-inch wheels and Brembo brakes. It’s also worth noting that the Cadillac CT5 Sport features the same suspension as the Luxury and Premium Luxury trim levels, as we covered previously.
| Dimension | Measurement |
|---|---|
| Wheelbase (in) | 116 |
| Overall Length (in) | 193.8 |
| Overall Width (in) | 74.1 |
| Overall Height (in) | 57.2 |
| Front Track (in) | 62.8 |
| Rear Track (in) | 63.9 |
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Marshall Sumner
The CT5 looks very impressive in white. So now, when is it going to be available at my dealer?
John Engelman
According to Motor Trend this car is uninspiring, under powered, and does not handle as well as the ATS, and CTS. Sad! They say that in their haste to price it below BMW, they cut too many corners. This does not bode well for the survival of the CT4, and CT5.
Geoff
Cadillac challenged BMW at their own game, making a dynamic driving machine and beat them on the track. Repeatedly. As much of a significant accomplishment that is, that didn’t translate into sales.
Motortrend (and all other periodicals) tested the non-V variants, which do not receive magnetic ride control, only your tradition dampers. Probably the reason why they found the driving dynamics lackluster. I can assure you, the V cars and higher will be amazing to drive, as their predecessors were. The truth is, people who slot into the lower trims probably do not care about the 4 cyl, nor what mag-ride is, nor is it a deciding factor, pulling people away from BMW, Audi and Mercedes.
The interior is fine, I quite like it. It’s a huge improvement versus the last generation. It’s functional, attractive, and not too busy – as some of the competitors are.
Alex Luft
Totally agree with your take, Geoff.
The CT5 improves on and addresses the things where the ATS fell short. The base model should pick up a good amount of BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi loyalists… along with Lexus, Acura and Infiniti owners. The CT5-V will take it to the intermediary performance variants like the 340i, S4, and C43 AMG (none of which are really impressive, by the way)… while the CT5-V Blackwing will demolish the C63 and M3.
Let’s remember that all the buff books like Automobile and MotorTrend were all down on the last-gen 3 Series, but it had no problem remaining the best-selling model in its class.
Joe B.
I like the summit white. Liked my Artic white GS C6, although it’s impossible to get the color to “pop”. But 0-60 in 7.1, that’s a half second slower than my XTS which I may replace. Speaking of sluggish, it’s a 2020, should have been here by now, not in Dubai.
Frank Ricciardi
I like the car in Summit white and it will save me approximately $25 per month on my lease, but I wish they offered a nice, rich, dark red leather interior to go with it. My 91 Seville was white with a burgundy leather interior and it was stunning!
Joe B.
Absoulutely, my GS had the Cobalt Red and Black interior. The CT5 has mostly bland for offerings. I guess black would be the way to go.
Greg
I remember when the last 3 series debuted. The press had a similar reaction. There was disappointed that it wasn’t the Ring-Burner the previous one was, apart from the M cars. Mercedes C, outside of the AMG cars, has never pretended to be. Sales of the ATS/CTS started out mediocre and fell from there. Why apply the same formula to the new Generation? I can’t blame Cadillac for softening things. And remember we haven’t seen the Blackwimgs yet.
Cadillac offered red interiors in the ATS/CTS for years. If there isn’t one available in the CT5 it’s likely the take-rate was too low. And again, we haven’t seen the Blackwings yet.
Frank Ricciardi
If I’m not mistaken the Morolo (Red) interior was a $1400 or $1500 option and it wasn’t very nice. I considered it when I bought my 2014 CTS, but didn’t think it was worth the price. You should also recognize that the last generation CTS, introduced in 2014 had a huge price increase. The The president at the time, JDN, (I’ll never spell his name properly)called it “premium pricing”. As a result the CTS, which had been Cadillac’s best selling product, was collecting dust on dealer lots. My 2014 CTS Luxury V-6 listed for $64,000. A year later they reduced the price by nearly $5,000, but the momentum was lost. My 2017 CTS Luxury V-6 listed for just under $58,000. As a result of the price increase many CTS buyer switched to the ATS. Several that I know were very disappointed and switched to a different brand. In my opinion “Premium Pricing” killed the CTS.
Joe B.
The order guide I see does not have the 3.0 available in Sport trim. Has that been changed?
Alex Luft
Nope, the CT5 Sport with the 3.0L TT is called the CT5-V.
Paul
For all intents and purposes I think they’ve done a pretty good job with this. It looks good to me even in white.
Richard Ewald
I purchased the ct5 to use as my winter car.During the summer I use my grand sport corvette for performance. I’m getting a lot of likes on my ct5 in the metallic wave color
Frank Ricciardi
Anybody know when the Build and price tool will be up and running on the Cadillac web site for the CT5???
Greg
The strike delayed everything for a month. Now that it’s over I think it should be up in a week or so.
Frank Ricciardi
Thanks, Greg, I appreciate your response
Greg
My pleasure. Though it is just a guess.
Art
It will be nice to have the build + price running, since we still don’t have the V or the 3.0 cost. I have been studying the order guide and a couple other build site, where I notice that the Sport + V don’t come with leather seats. If you want leather on them, it’s a $1,500 option.
There is a choice of self seal or run flat tires, but no donut spare option.