- The Porsche Panamera Turbo carries a hefty price tag.
- The Cadillac CTS-V is essentially a Corvette Z06 with four doors.
- Can the awesome Caddy face down possible the greatest sedan on Earth?
ADVERTISEMENT
We drove the Porsche Panamera Turbo and the Cadillac CTS-V to see which mega-sedan was better — here's the verdict (GM)
We drove the Porsche Panamera and the Cadillac CTS-V to see which large sedan had more to offer.
ADVERTISEMENT
Recommended articles
The Porsche Panamera is an incredible car — so incredible that we named it Business Insider's 2017 Car of the Year.
The Panamera in Turbo trim is actually monumental: there's a stonking twin-turbocharged, 4.0-liter V8 under the hood, cranking out 550 horsepower. But behind that motor is a cabin of unparalleled luxury. For those who want it all, the Panamera Turbo doesn't disappoint. But it will cost you more than $150,000.
That's a rich sticker, but for about half the price, you can get your hands on even more power. It won't be German power. It will be Detroit oomph. And it will have a Cadillac badge.
ADVERTISEMENT
The CTS-V is probably my favorite high-performance four-door on planet Earth. If you like the Corvette Z06 and its 6.2-liter, 650-horsepower V8 widowmaker, the CTS-V has the same powerplant, just tuned down by ten horses to 640.
Let's call the comparison a showdown between perhaps the greatest sedan in existence and the extreme value proposition. Read on to see who wins:
The CTS-V in "Red Obsession." I enjoyed the vehicle immensely. Our test car cost over $90,000 and was very well optioned. Base, the CTS-V is about $86,000.
The "V" cars are Caddy's answer to high-performance versions of European sports sedans: BMW's M Sports, Mercedes-AMGs, and the Audi RS. And of course dedicated high-end rides, such as the Panamera. It's tough to climb much in the General Motors lineup than the CTS-V, however. With the Z06 and forthcoming ZR1 Vettes, you get mountains of power but no back seats, and the flagship CT6 Caddy doesn't yet come in V trim.
ADVERTISEMENT
I will at this point acknowledge that one might not be cross-shopping a CTS-V and a Panamera Turbo. But then again, a lot of folks don't think they should cross-shop a Z06 and, say, a Ferrari 488. That doesn't mean they shouldn't.
I also more recently checked out the car in a fetching "Crystal White" paint job. It got some serious stares, but I still liked the CTS-V better in red.
The heart of the Caddy is the savage, 640-horsepower, supercharged V8 LT4 motor, which the CTS-V shares with the Corvette Z06.
This engine is sublime. For my money, it's better than the Porsche's 550-horsepower V8, but I tend to think that big V8s get along better with superchargers than turbochargers (both increase the compression of airflow headed in an engine's cylinders for combustion, but superchargers are powered by the motor itself, whereas turbos are spun by engine exhaust).
The best part of driving a CTS-V, in many ways, is starting it up and hearing the gutsy roar and rumble. Because we're dealing with a luxury sedan here, out on the road the CTS-V isolated the driver and passengers from the exhaust note, but you can sure as heck feel those 640 horses doing their thing.
ADVERTISEMENT
The eight-speed automatic has a manual mode, so you can use the paddles behind the steering wheel to shift your own gears. The CTS-V also has various drive modes, including a ferocious Track option. I found that skipping the paddles and going with Comfort and Sport modes were the best route.
"Driving the car is glorious," I wrote in 2016. "The Z06 requires constant attention. The CTS-V, by contrast, is an insane beast when you want it to be, possessed of earth-splitting violence delivered via a 0-to-60 time of 3.6 seconds."
Cadillac Cue has become one of the best and most user-friendly infotainment setups available.
The large touchscreen is responsive, the Bose audio system sounds wonderful, there's easy Bluetooth connectivity, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and 4G LTE wifi.
There's a reason why this GM system was a runner-up for our BI Infotainment System of the Year in 2016.
ADVERTISEMENT
And what about the driving part?
"Cadillac has been working on taking it to BMW's M cars for some time now, and with the CTS-V ... well, it may have taken it PAST the M's," I wrote in my 2016 review.
"The CTS-V bears no resemblance to the Caddys of the Carter and Reagan administrations, and it has grabbed the sports-sedan concept and pushed it into new territory. You can now have your midlife crisis without embarrassing yourself."
But now that checked back in with the car, how does it stack up against then Panamera? Well, let's find out ...
The Panamera Turbo, in all its glory, was our 2017 Business Insider Car of the Year.
ADVERTISEMENT
Here's what BI's Ben Zhang had to say in his review of the car:
I second that opinion.
The Turbo has a 550-horsepower, twin-turbocharged V8 engine under the hood.
That 100 fewer ponies than the Caddy — but it doesn't feel like it! The Panamera Turbo exudes power with every stomp of the gas pedal.
ADVERTISEMENT
The 0-60 mph time has been clocked at 3.4 seconds, meaning the Panamera and the CTS-V are in a near dead-heat on the drag strip. In the old days, you might have concluded that the performance comparisons would end once the cars have to go around corners and can't just duel in a straight line.
But the Caddy actually produced a lighter vibe when one's hands are on the wheel and one's eyes are seeking curves in the road. And guess what? The CTS-V weights about 300 lbs. than the Panamera (4,150 lbs. vs. 4,400 lbs.). For me, the Panamera Turbo had a solid, planted demeanor, and this actually bummed me out a bit. I wanted a little more Porsche sportiness.
The CTS-V, by contrast, had that wild vibe. Quite rewarding. The Panamera 4S with its smaller, 440-horsepower turbo six-banger gave me more of what I was looking for. But our competition here is between the CTS-V and the Panamera Turbo.
Some of the extra weight and ground-grabbing of the Porsche can be chalked up to all-wheel-drive. Both cars are running eight-speed automatic transmissions, the Porsche a dual-clutch unit with marvelous paddle shifters, the Caddy with an automatic-manual options that I didn't seem to want to use that much. Keeping it in Sport mode and letting the CTS-V do its own shifting was fine.
Porsche infotainment system is much improved.
ADVERTISEMENT
"The PCM system is a major leap forward for the German sports-car maker," we wrote in our selection of the Panamera as our 2017 Car of the Year. "It marks a major improvement in capability and usability over the previous infotainment system."
We added: "Overall, the Panamera's new infotainment system is a success. It's quick, responsive, and packed with features. But the system is complicated to use. It's an unfortunate byproduct of Porsche trying to deliver so much functionality in such a small amount of real estate."
All the critical features you'd expect are present, however. There's nothing Cadillac Cue can do that the PCM can't.
So how is the Panamera Turbo to drive?
I personally prefer the big Turbo's little brother, the V6-powered 4S, but there's no denying that the Turbo is a tough-to-match combination of boulevard cruiser and spirited sports sedan. You might think this would mean the car has a dual-personality problem: a limo masquerading as a sports car, or vice versa.
ADVERTISEMENT
Nope, the remarkable thing about the Panamera Turbo is that it's a car that can truly do it all.
So our winner is the Panamera Turbo. Because it's SO worth it.
The question you have to ask yourself is, "Is the Panamera Turbo worth it for the many, many extra thousands?"
The answer is, "Heck yes!"
The Caddy CTS-V is a spectacular value — a four-door Vette, and a four-door Z06 Vette at that — and its infotainment suite is superior to the the Porsche's.
ADVERTISEMENT
But the Panamera Turbo is almost in a class by itself. Yes, you have to pay to access this class. But that's sort of the point. And if you don't want to, well ... the CTS-V will be waiting for you.
FOLLOW BUSINESS INSIDER AFRICA
ADVERTISEMENT
Recommended articles
Congo is spending 22% of its scarce revenue on security - Minister
Another African country is set to get a Russian embassy
Medic West Africa 2024: A resounding success in fostering collaboration and innovation for a brighter healthcare future
10 African countries with the most troubling external debt in 2024
10 African countries with the least soft power influence over the world
Kenyan government rejects calls to ban TikTok, recommends tighter control over
Congo accuses Apple of conflict minerals in its supply chain
Top 10 African countries with the highest fuel prices in April 2024
