Review: 2012 Cadillac CTS-V w/ 595 HP 

Years later, the CTS V is still badass. Tons of torque and power.

You can criticize the recaro seats, the infotainment system, the Government motors buttons all you want. The shiteating grin on your face betrays how you really feel about that car. By the way - those seats are meant to hold your ass in, because of the power that caused your shiteating grin in the first place.

That is what makes this guy fun to watch! Don't change a thing, have a good time.

your reviews are good and your face is priceless, you don't hold back your enjoyment lol

The CTS-V is geared towards the M5. Not the M3. And I'd take the V. Easier to work one. Cheaper to maintain. And not as stuck up looking.

love the look of Cadillac's

This is the first time a tester did not recommend the recaro seats. All other testers that I am aware of says "make sure you get them" they are worth the extra 3 grand.

Re: the Recaro seats, they can take a bit of time to adjust correctly, because they're 14-way adjustable. Mine has the same seats, and trust me - when you get them dialed in, they are excellent. It took me 2-3 weeks to get them set up the right way but now they're extremely comfortable. I've taken many 600+ mile trips in them now and haven't had any issues.

The CTS-V all day over any BMW, I'd rather have a hot wheels car over a any BMW car.

Long term, I would think maintenance costs would be much more reasonable for the v than an m3. big selling point for me.

I just HAVE TO SAY that intro with the great angles and music gave me chills. SubaruWrxFan you do the best intros!

when the video started i was expecting “Rev up your engines!”

All this bickering between American and German cars is getting old. When will people be able to see past the manufacture's badge and respect a nice car when they see one?

Way more exciting than the Corvette. The supercharger really adds to the experience. This felt way better in the corners than the corvette did too in my opinion.

the ctsv is a fantastic car. Thought i'd never get this in automatic.

Thanks alot for the support in using our music man! :) Really well made video, impressive!

this is the best review ever. i drove the ctsv once but had the dealer person in the passenger seat so i couldnt floor it as much.

Your reviews are honestly just so honest and just perfect but the one thing I personally would really love to see are a couple of revs from both interior and exterior :)

Thanks! I plan to keep doing both the older and newer stuff.

Thank you! I appreciate that!

This really makes me miss my 2009 CTS-V, which I should never had sold. *sigh*

Haha thanks, glad you enjoyed it Arthur!

i can tell my dad is having a mid life crisis because he has been looking to get one of these for a year now :) great review!

I think its awesome to subscribe to his page because when he drives on back roads his laugh is so funny but its fun...

I like this guy lol! I like how excited he gets when he smashes on the gas. That's definitely a real reaction, that's not biased in any way! Great review man!!

"lets turn down this back road and see how it does" best part of the videos

Agree completely. A coworker had an M3 (coupe though) that I was in love with before driving (and buying) my V. M3 seemed a lot more of a finesse car, one that won't be "fast" without a driver who knows what they are doing. The V is more of an every man's "fast" car. I'm not a bad driver, but the V makes me feel like a damn superstar behind the wheel.

That supercharger sounds amazing is so clear

Cars and Coffee is this Saturday, I'll be there.

Your face when you rip the accelerator is so awesome, wish I could drive this thing.

looks incredible, definitely something you don't come across too often here in the netherlands.

Wasn't this car made to compete with the M5 & not the M3?

I have a 2009 Pontiac G8 at the moment and a CTS-V i think will be my next purchase. I like your reviews because you show actual enjoyment when you drive the cars! The smile on your face in this car says it all! I wonder how you would have liked the stock seats over the Racaros? Keep at it!

Nice review bro. I appreciate your honesty and I also appreciate that you really love cars. Keep up the good work.

It's cool to see how much you enjoy testing the car, especially the WOT runs. I own a bolton c6 vette that runs 11.90's but am thinking of getting a V for it's everyday practicality and performance. The 12mpg is of no concern to me since I work from home. Upper and lower pulley,air raid, tune, exhaust, drag radials and the car should be a beast.

CTS-V all day it killed that year at the Nuremberg ring b ever value for money, easier/cheaper to find parts. easy win for the caddy

Black and lightly modded this is exactly what I want for my next sports/luxury car.

Just got one of these...LOVE THIS CAR!! So much fun to drive!!

Nice review brother. One of my favorite Sedans ever made!

Oh wow...that is one of the sweetest sounds ever

Hopefully I can afford one of these at some point. i would love one with the 6-speed manual.

Oops didn't mean to do that... What I was trying to say was when you put the power down it made me smile too. I could only imagine what that kind of power feels like! Love the reviews Matt!

You what would make your reviews killer, is a camera slider, You can buy for as low as $100. Awesome opportunity to review this car, your are fortunate!

6:30...I love how your speech dramatically changes after the acceleration. Haha, you can tell your heart rate skyrocketed

I haven't yet, I'm still having trouble finding a 350z and 370z to drive around here. As soon as I find one I'll review it!

These CTS V are beautiful. I've driven my cousins 2012 and I like it waaaay better than the S4. I was actually looking into Lexus, but after driving this...I think I've changed my mind.

I ordered a 2012 CTS-V wagon from the factory (measly 556 HP). I first checked out both the optional Recaro seats (which were a pricey option) found in your car and the standard seats. To my pocketbook's delight, I (at 6'3", 205 lb.) liked the standard seats better, having much the same reaction to the Recaro's you did. Only significant option I'd strongly recommend is the super-large moon roof; I enjoy it thoroughly. I also agree with you about the radio/nav controls and the tranny. But overall it's a fantastic car -- the best I've ever driven.

Can't wait for these to come to Australia.

Subaruwrxfan - I gotta say, you are doing a much better job with these than when you started. Props.

Nah these were special coming out at the time. 2012 very few supercharged 4 door cars are was comin out like that, from the FACTORY. I’m not a big Cadillac fan, but I give em all the props fo makin dese whips. Very nice! 👍🏿

Thanks, and yep, once I can find one to drive I will.

The V all day! The seats in this video are actually the upgraded options geared towards those that want to track the car. The stock seats are actually more comfortable to most people.

Awesome review, I was smiling so hard when you did those acceleration runs.

If you want to mod your car (motor), there is no question as to which one is the 'better' vehicle. I'm at ~770hp with about $4k in parts...hard to match that with any other car in this class. I agree with the dual clutch points, but the 'old' torque converter transmission in the V is amazingly stout. People are running 9's on the stock, unbuilt, 6l90e. They're getting better, but dual clutch transmissions haven't had a great track record for strength. The m5 is a closer competitor, imo.

I think the gauge cluster is nice, and the steering wheel with the alcantara is really nice. Most of the car is not cheap plastic, it's real wood, real Italian leather, real soft touch dash, not cheap plastic.

Thank you for this review wrx fan

Looks like you're having a lot of fun! That's a lot of car for the money and usable every day!

I love that bass drop at 0:40

I realize I am so late to this video but I have to comment. I have a 2011 CTS-V with an Airaid intake and Corsa exhaust, so you are basically testing my car! I really don't think the intake and exhaust can bring the HP from 556 to 595. If the owner dynowed the care and got those results I think there must be some other mods going on. Nonetheless they are fabulous cars to drive. Thanks Matt!

Cadillac CTS-V all day

i didn't know that this cadillac has that kind of power, outstanding O: !

Thanks Ruben!

I'd definitely have the CTS-V over the M3 as well... I really love the Beemer, but this... THIS.... it's pretty hard to beat. Specially considering the only down side for me could be the transmission, not the seats. As always, great review, Matt, made me laugh a lot on the acceleration passes. Have a great one, Arthur.

Its called touch screen. You don't need to keep hitting the audi button. Just touch the dam screen.

Looks like a great job! Traveling around and test driving great cars! I've always wanted the CTS-V, from the first time I saw the body style I knew I had to have one. Then I find out just exactly how much hp these cars have. Mind blowing! I'm going today to look at one. Thanks for the videos and keep up the great work. Of the two cars, it would have to be Cadillac all the way! BMW's and Mercedes-Benz's feel like lady cars to me.

You should definitely keep reviewing the older cars that are more affordable not saying this car isn't but like the vw review you had. Btw great and informative videos!

My god what a beauty, i would just remove that spoiler.

Your great! Keep making more reviews! Looking forward to them.

We didn't get the GC8 STI here in America. If I could find an STI swapped GC8 Impreza to review that would be awesome though, haha.

I would rather have an M3 because I feel its more of a sporty car. The vibe it gives off

I really hope you get the top gear thing that would be crazy and maybe a big save ik it's a long shot but I think you would be an amazing top gear host and to have fun man !

I own a cts coupe 3.6 once im done with college i will forsure pick up a V model

No, I just drive out this way because that's where the dealership is.

Nice review, but I do love my seats. While I was having sciatica problems those seats were the most comfortable place to be for me. By the way, I owned a WRX not long before this one. Even with a nice sounding V8 I miss the boxer rumble. If I could afford it, I would have one for the winter months :)

Black rims and it would look really nice. But I also dig the sleeper look

That is fucking mint! Now that these go for quite "cheap" I can honestly start looking at one.

firm seats reduce long-haul fatigue.I can drive a cts-v nonstop to L.A. from nor-cal and not be sore. I DO get sore on the same long haul with my cruze and its cushy seats.

I really like the looks of this car, nice video!

The whine of a supercharger is like nothing else!

595hp ............... and now you know why the Recaros are so firm. What a putz!.

Dang that supercharger sounds insane!!

I've been looking to drive some of the newer ones. I love Mercedes. Can't seem to find any to drive right now though.

This is a monster only thing I'd ditch a mustang for

WoW! I never thought I'd see Beavis in human form.

I like the M3 but you can get a lot more HP with mods on the CTSV. Just getting a smaller pulley can give you 600hp.

They're going in a different direction now and want to compete with the Germans. They do want to get back to the big luxurious stuff too which is why the Elmiraj concept was made and will likely go into production. I'm a big fan of classic cars so I love all the old Caddies but I wouldn't expect fins or super long bodies to make a comeback anytime soon :(

Those Recaro seats are an option. Base models come with regular Cadillac seats

Pro-tip for changing audio ... it’s all on the screen. You want XM? Push the button that says “XM”. Crazy right?

Ill take the caddy, that thing was awesome, the exhaust this had a beautiful sound

I really want to drive one!

Im a huge fan of your channel and this video has to be old because the Dodge hellcat charger is the fastest sedan with 707 stock productional horsepower. But i love ur videos keep posting and try to get a hellcat review

Great review as always man! :)

After one year, mine has not needed any repairs. Skip the Recaros, they're brick hard. Skip the automatic, the 6 speed is much more fun. Flip the switch, and the suspension goes from highway soft to well damped and tightened up. I've driven the M3, the CTS-V is much stronger without having to wring its neck to get it moving. I think the handling would favor the M3 by a small amount. The V's brakes are better. The V's base seats are better than the M3. BMW's ala carte options list is maddening. To get the same level of options as the V has standard, the M3 will cost a few grand more. Also, for about $1000, there's another 100 hp to be gained in the V. GM leaves a lot on the table.

Is this an episode of old celebrities "Where are they now? Now we know what Beavis has been up to. My dream car though in wagon form.

Thank you so much for the video. Your genuine reaction in 6:27 won it all.

Great review! One of the best

I'd take a cts-v wagon, I have a strange soft spot for high performance wagons...

Damn he seemed pumped is hell

Been looking for one for 3 years I’m 18 now still haven’t sound the right one but Yeooo bro definitely been in my exs brothers shit was tuff

Yup i was just sitting inside of audi 2013 s4 and all cars mentioned comment below and i have to agree audi makes really comfortable well interior designed cars