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And Cadillac’s most modern new car, the front-wheel-drive XTS that shares a platform with the Buick
LaCrosse, wasn’t in all respects the pint of O+ we wanted. So the ATS needs to be great, or else we’re gonna pop fang.
Luckily for Cadillac (and for us, and in reality, for everybody else), the ATS looks like it’s going to be the sort of entr-level sports-luxury sedan that keeps engineers at BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi up all vespers all the time. It’s built on an all-new RWD platform, it’s been tested on the Nürburgring, it offers neighbourhood 50/50 weight distribution, weighs in at under 3,400 pounds in its lightest trim, and comes with not one but three engines. Oh, and there’s an at one's disposal manual gearbox.
Rental car fleets and grandmothers will settle for the undignified engine, a 202 horsepower, 195 lb-ft 2.5 liter inline-four. Rookie lawyers and credentials supply company regional managers will check the box for the biggest mechanism, the 320 horsepower, 267 lb-ft 3.5 liter V6 from the CTS. But enthusiasts will appetite the mid-level engine, the 2.0 liter turbocharged four-cylinder. It’s down a scrap in the power department next to the V6, but with 270 horses, 260 lb-ft, and a torque curve that resembles Missouri between 1,500 and 5,800 rpm, it shouldn’t departure anyone wanting—and more importantly, it’ll be the only model available with the six-speed directions. (All-wheel-drive will also be available on the ATS, in case you’re into that sort of inanimate object.
Source: 0-60 Magazine (blog)