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Still no Coupe de Ville, but definitely more coupe-like.
What It Is: A 2015 Cadillac ATS coupe—no, a 2015 Cadillac ATS sedan, caught completely undisguised. This year, Cadillac introduced the ATS coupe, a two-door BMW 4-series competitor spun off of the sweet-driving ATS sedan that’s been on sale for about a year already.
We haven’t yet driven the ATS coupe, but we really dig the ATS sedan, which has notched a close second-place finish in a comparison test with BMW’s 3-series and a third-place finish in a separate test with the 3er and Lexus’s updated IS350 F Sport. The Caddy’s only major demerits are its unsatifying engines and overcomplicated CUE infotainment system. It has a chassis tuned by the gods themselves.
Why It Matters: After debuting to much fanfare for the 2013 model year, the ATS sedan lost a smidge of muster after the fresher-looking ATS coupe landed at the 2014 Detroit auto show. While two cars sharing a name can look slightly different, one (the sedan) probably shouldn’t be distinguishable from the other (the coupe) because it looks older—showroom equilibrium must be maintained. So Cadillac sent the sedan back to the stylists so they could gift it the updated coupe pieces, including a more modern front-end treatment and the latest badge design.
Platform: The 2015 ATS sedan rides on the exact same rear-drive “Alpha” platform as before—and which also underpins the coupe—but could see some mild hardware changes. For example, it isn’t clear from these photos whether or not the sedan gets the coupe’s widened front and rear tracks. While technically possible, we’re not completely sure Cadillac would port the coupe’s wider haunches over to the sedan; after all, it needs to set the coupe apart somehow.
The ATS’s body, on the other hand, gets a few readily apparent tweaks, mostly to the front. The coupe’s front-end styling appears to have been slapped onto the sedan without any changes. The grille is larger than before, with elegant, thin slats in place of the current model’s mesh treatment, and Cadillac’s now-wreathless badge is on prominent display. Underneath the grille, there’s a full-width lower intake element identical to the coupe’s air-sucker. Out back, the only change is the adoption of the new badge.
Powertrain: This specific ATS sedan is a base 2.5-liter model, as evidenced by its single tailpipe (turbocharged four-cylinder and V-6 models get dual exhausts), so we suspect the entry-level four-cylinder will carry on. Don’t be surprised if Cadillac infuses the optional 2.0-liter turbo four with a bit of the coupe’s mojo. In the two-door, the mill makes 272 horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque; the sedan’s version makes the same power, but 35 fewer lb-ft. The added twist would make for a nice boost.The sedan’s range-topping V-6 likely won’t get an upgrade, given the six gives an identical 321 horsepower and 275 lb-ft of torque regardless of the number of doors it’s dragging around. A six-speed auto should continue to be standard on the base 2.5-liter, V-6, and all-wheel-drive turbo-four models, while a six-speed stick likely will remain available only on the rear-drive turbo cars.
Competition: Audi A4, BMW 3-series, Lexus IS, Mercedes-Benz C-class.
Estimated Arrival and Price: Given how complete this ATS sedan’s transformation appears to be, we expect the four-door to hit dealers this summer. In keeping with the minor nature of the sedan’s upgrades, pricing should hew closely to today’s model, which starts at $33,990.
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