2015 Cadillac ATS Coupe – First Drive and Review
By Christian Stampfer on 2 January 2015
NEW YORK – The 2015 Cadillac ATS coupe celebrated its world premiere at the 2014 North American International Auto Show in Detroit last January and competed since then in the premium coupe market with the BMW 4 Series, the Audi A5 and the Lexus RC coupe. Cadillac offers its ATS coupe customers a choice of four different lines, namely Standard, Luxury, Performance and Premium, as well as two engine options.
We picked up our short-term test car, an ATS coupe in black diamond with a 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbo engine in downtown Manhattan. The coupe stood out as it pulled out into the street thanks to the car’s deep roofline, its thin head- and taillights, and its center-stage single-frame grille.
ENGINE AND TECHNOLOGY
Cadillac currently offers two gasoline engine variants for the ATS Coupe (excluding the high-performance ATS-V model). The line-up starts with the basic 2-liter four-cylinder turbo engine with direct fuel injection. The four-cylinder produces 272 horsepower at 5,500 rpm with 295 pound-feet of torque available between 3,000 and 4,600 rpm.
Customers who desire more power can select the 3.6-liter V6 engine with 321 horsepower. Cadillac offers its ATS Coupes with rear- or all-wheel drive.. However, the six-speed manual transmission is only available on the 2-liter rear-wheel drive version. Brembo performance brakes are standard on every ATS coupe.
INTERIOR
My colleague, Jonathan Spira commented how much the interior reminded him of a much more advanced version of his parents’ mid-1980s Eldorado coupe. He couldn’t quite quantify it but assured me it was a good thing.
The ATS’ cabin was elegant and comfortable, the seats provided excellent support when cornering and Cadillac used high-quality vinyl and leather materials throughout. The door panel, however, stood out as it had seven different types of material on it, a bit of overkill in my estimation.
Click here to continue to Page 2 – Driving the Cadillac ATS Coupe
