- Spacious rear seat
- Big V-8 for its final year
- Smooth ride
- Lots of standard tech
DISLIKES
- It’s gone soon
- The V-8 is hilariously expensive
- Never caught on
- Front seats don’t match rivals
- Don’t have the $100,000 for a CT6? Don’t worry, neither do we. Opt for a Premium Luxury if you’re planning to hold on to it for a while. It’s just as opulent as the big boy Platinum.
In its final year, the 2020 Cadillac CT6 is a tempting look at what could have been from the luxury brand.
Take a look at the 2020 Cadillac CT6 before it’s gone. This year is the last year of Cadillac’s full-size sedan, a lifecycle cut short by dwindling sedan demand, competitors, inattention, regime changes, life—pick the reason that suits you best.
The CT6 earns a 6.4 TCC Rating angled toward base versions. The top trim would earn a higher rating, provided you can find one of the very few available.
The CT6 never fit well into the Cadillac lineup. While its SUVs and other sedans leaned toward wild style and angular looks, the CT6 was relatively calm. Its pert curves and long hood are enviable, although nuanced, and its calming interior always begged for the long way. The CT6 has donated its vertical headlights to other Cadillac models since, but stylists have left the CT6’s subtleties behind by now.
Under the hood is General Motors’ tried-and-true 335-horsepower V-6 that shows in everything from the Chevy Camaro to the GMC Acadia. It’s teamed to a 10-speed automatic and all-wheel drive this year in the Caddilac.
A scant few CT6 sedans will get a 550-hp 4.2-liter twin-turbo V-8 that surely has life in GM’s performance portfolio for years to come. Like the V-6, the CT6 “Blackwing” gets a 10-speed automatic and all-wheel drive—but also a price tag that tempts six figures. If you can find one, it’ll be an instant classic.
The CT6 is a full-sizer in its interior room, too. It comfortably seats four adults, including a big back seat. Top trims get touchscreens, heated seats, and stretch-out space front and rear—we’d take one to Topeka, Kansas, in a heartbeat.
In its final year, all CT6 sedans get automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection and active lane control. Premium Luxury and Platinum versions get Cadillac’s Super Cruise driver-assistance features that can steer the car on selected highways for long distances. It’s one of the most advanced systems on the road.
Base cars start near $60,000 and have all the goodies including 19-inch wheels, LED headlights, power-adjustable heated front seats, leather upholstery, an 8.0-inch digital driver information cluster, a wireless phone charger, and a 10.2-inch touchscreen for infotainment with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility.
Platinum models sport the lusty V-8 and a 34-speaker audio system that’s better than being there live.
Unfortunately, the car won’t be a-live for much longer.
Styling
Subtle but stylish, we’ll miss the 2020 Cadillac CT6’s influence on the rest of the lineup.
The Cadillac CT6 is the automaker’s most regal sedan on sale, which is good and bad.
Its crisp lines and long hood are nuances that may get lost among more expressive sedans that cost as much as the CT6.
Starting from an average score of 5, the CT6 gets a point above average for its interior. The exterior is sharp, although we’re not sure how many will notice it once it’s gone. It nets a 6 out of 10.
Inside, the CT6 finds a balance between luxe and character. It’s far removed from the bling of other Cadillacs but expressive in its own right. The car’s dash plays up the CT6’s width and its big presence on the road. It’s functional and pretty, in an understated way that we wish Cadillac would explore further with the cars it plans on building past the CT6’s final year.
Performance
The CT6 is built to chew through miles and a fire-breathing V-8 is a tempting look at what could have been.
Pared down to two powertrains for its final year on sale, the Cadillac CT6 is a comfortable cruiser with an ace up its sleeve.
Starting from an average score, the CT6 gets a 7 out of 10 for performance—one for its ride and another from its V-6 engine that’s at home on nearly every road. An optional, and rare, V-8 is available and would rate much higher if we scored it alone. But more on that later.
Most CT6 sedans will be equipped with a 3.6-liter V-6 that makes 335 hp that powers all four wheels via a 10-speed automatic. It’s not especially quick, but it is confident and enough power to rip off mountain passes along Interstate 80 when called upon. There’s a mildly pleasant exhaust rumble from inside the cabin, and it’s hard to fault it when it returns more than 20 mpg combined, according to the EPA.
Most CT6 sedans ride on a four-wheel independent suspension, although Premium Luxury and Platinum cars use adaptive dampers that make its ride smoother or sharper, depending on the setting.
Comfort & Quality
We wouldn’t complain about a road trip in the 2020 CT6. We’d just ask to sit in the back seat.
With all the luxury appointments we’d expect from a full-size luxury sedan, the 2020 CT6 rides out on a high note.
Starting from an average score of 5, the CT6 gets points above average for impressive interior materials, good rear-seat space, and a big trunk. It’s an 8 for comfort.
The front seats are comfortable and power-adjustable, but they're also firm and flat. There’s enough leg room for NBA centers to drive, but we’ve found it tricky to position the seat in a natural driving position for everyone else under the bell curve.
The trunk holds 15.3 cubic feet of cargo, which is spacious, and the rear seat folds down for more room.
Safety
The 2020 CT6 lacks official crash-test data.
The Cadillac CT6 hasn’t been fully crash-tested and considering it’s on the way out, that’s unlikely to change. We’ll withhold our rating here.
Absent official data, the CT6 is equipped with standard automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitors, active lane control, and rear cross-traffic alert. CT6 Premium Luxury and Platinum trims include Cadillac Super Cruise, which can drive long distances on selected highways without driver input. The system uses driver-facing cameras to ensure that a driver is watching the road ahead, and it can make long hauls in the CT6 a cakewalk. It’s one of the most advanced systems available today.
Features
Every CT6 is well-equipped but top models are world-beaters.
In its final year of availability, the 2020 Cadillac CT6 is available in three well-equipped trim levels and costs at least $59,990, including destination.
The CT6 is available in Luxury, Premium Luxury, and Platinum trim levels, all with all-wheel drive and creature comforts that we’d expect from luxury sedans.
The base CT6 Luxury gets 19-inch wheels, LED headlights, power-adjustable heated front seats, leather upholstery, two USB ports, a wireless phone charger, active safety features (covered above), a 10.2-inch touchscreen for infotainment with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility, keyless ignition, an 8.0-inch digital driver information cluster, keyless ignition, dual-zone climate control, a panoramic sunroof, and parking sensors.
That good base equipment and its touchscreen net it two points above average. It’s a 7 for features.
We’d go all-in on a CT6 Platinum that costs nearly six figures but is bound to be an instant classic among full-size domestic sedans. The headliner is a hugely powered V-8 engine that makes 550 hp, a 12.0-inch digital driver information cluster, dual 10.0-inch touchscreens in the rear seats, Cadillac’s Super Cruise driver-assistance package, 20-inch wheels, adaptive suspension, rear-wheel steering, 34-speaker Bose audio, heated and cooled front seats, heated rear seats, a heated steering wheel, aniline leather upholstery, head-up display, a surround-view camera system, four-zone climate control, and night vision camera. At $98,790 before options, it’s rich, but so is the noise that V-8 makes.
Fuel Economy
The 2020 CT6 sedan is relatively fuel-efficient.
Most 2020 Cadillac CT6 sedans are relatively fuel-efficient, compared to other full-size all-wheel-drive sedans.
The EPA rates the Cadillac CT6 with a V-6 and all-wheel drive at 18 mpg city, 27 highway, 21 combined. That’s a 4 on our fuel-economy scale.
Rare V-8-powered models manage 14/25/17 mpg, according to the EPA. Non-hybrid full-sizers from Mercedes and Audi are roughly similar, although some with plug-in powertrains do much better.
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