2025 Cadillac CT5 350T Driven: If Speed Isn’t Your Priority, Then This Is Great

There’s an unwritten rule in the compact luxury sports sedan world, and that’s their necessity to all be fast and athletic. Spearheaded by BMW’s original 3 Series, the segment has evolved into a fierce battle of horsepower, handling, technology, and comfort. The Germans dominate this space with the Audi A4, BMW 3 Series, and Mercedes-Benz C-Class. But other non-German one-offs, like the Alfa Romeo Giulia, Genesis G70, Acura TLX, and Lexus IS have all shown their worth, challenging the status quo in the process.

Among that group, we could also include the Cadillac CT5. A replacement for the original CTS that dared to take on the Germans (and even beat them in some areas), the CT5 is the often-overlooked American luxury sports sedan. But it will take the fight to all versions of the Germanic trio, including the almighty M cars. We often associate the CT5 with the letter V or the Blackwing designation, so it’s easy to forget the average, entry-level CT5 still exists. Oh, it does. And it’s actually pretty good.

2025 Cadillac CT5 350T First Impressions: Elegant, Sporty And Distinctive

The 2025 model year brings a slew of updates to the entire CT5 lineup, including a slightly dressed-up front fascia. The bulk of the changes happened around the headlights. Now fully LED, they’ve shrunk in size, forcing Cadillac designers to reshape the car’s face. It all looks more modern, more menacing, and more coherent with the rest of the CT5’s shape. The iconic vertical LED daylight running lights still give the CT5 an assertive presence on the road. It also helped that my car was painted in the beautiful Wave Metallic blue paint. It contrasted beautifully with the car’s gorgeous 20-inch wheels.

The CT5 is a good-looking car. Its proportions are just right, and the car is well-stanced. Perhaps what I like the most about this car, is how it never tries to mimic what its rivals are doing. It’s clearly a Cadillac, and obviously American. And it executes this confidence through a truly attractive package. That all being said, I was personally never a fan of the kink in the car’s C pillar. I also wish Cadillac got rid of those fake exhaust tips.

2025 Cadillac CT5 Exterior Dimensions

2025 Cadillac CT5 350T: Differences Between The U.S. And Canadian Market

In the CT5’s case, both markets are synchronized to sell the same car and available specifications. The 350T signifies the smaller of the two available engines, while the 550T marks the addition of the more powerful twin-turbocharged V6 option. On both sides of the border, the CT5 350T can be had with rear or all-wheel-drive through the Sport and Premium Luxury trim levels. Each market offers a choice of nine available paint colors. Interesting fact: in Canada, you pay the same price for either a Premium Luxury or a Sport model, while in the U.S. there’s a $1,000 USD difference.

U.S. Versus Canada Lineup Breakdown And Starting MSRP (model tested in bold)

Driving Impressions And Performance: Not All That Quick, But Athletic, Sporty, And Willing

The 350T and the Blackwing sit on polar opposite sides of the CT5 spectrum. But the brilliant chassis and superior suspension tuning remain a common ground. The 350T may be the toddler of the CT5 family, but it never loses its focus on what it’s supposed to be. This is one fun sedan to flog around on a winding back road. If anything, the lighter weight of the four-cylinder engine yields even more play in the car’s front end, giving the 350T the sort of puppy dog engagement its more powerful V6 and V8 siblings simply can’t match.

The hardware is GM’s tried and proven LSY 2.0-liter, turbocharged inline four-cylinder, mated to the General’s well-documented ten-speed automatic transmission. Mounted longitudinally in the engine bay, it sends power to the rear wheels first, even when you tick off the all-wheel-drive option. Horsepower is rated at an honest 237 horsepower, while the available 258 lb-ft of torque kicks in hard, starting as low as 1,500 rpm.

The CT5 350T is no slouch as it’ll sprint to 60 MPH from a standstill in about 5.5 seconds when equipped with all-wheel-drive. But while potent enough to not get humiliated by a Golf GTI, the 350T’s acceleration doesn’t tell the full story. This car is a perfect example of when the engineers in charge of developing the car care, the result is much more than mere numbers on a spec sheet. There’s a sense of fluidity in the way the CT5 negotiates a corner. Suspension damping is also superb considering this model does without the V’s adaptive dampers.

Everything in a CT5 operates the way it should. The power delivery is smooth and linear. The steering is direct, precise, and well-weighted. Brakes bite hard, and the ten-speed gearbox shuffles through gears so quickly that you won’t be able to count how many cogs it skips. But ten is also too many. The CT5 exhibits annoying delays when punching the throttle, even in Sport mode, because it’s always hunting for gears. Dropping a few of them manually will help shorten these delays, but there are so many gears to choose from that it’s hard to figure out which one is ideal. I suggest letting the autobox do everything for you and deal with the lag.

2025 Cadillac CT5 350T Technical Specifications

2025 Cadillac CT5 350T Fuel Consumption

The obvious benefit of opting for the four-cylinder engine versus the V6 will be better fuel economy. For reference, the EPA rates the CT5 350T AWD at 25 MPG combined, a clear improvement over the V6’s 21 MPG. Opt for a rear-wheel-drive car, and the 2.0-liter turbo will be at its thriftiest at 26 combined MPG. Since I was driving the car during a very cold week in January, the best I could muster from the 350T was 22 MPG.

EPA And As Tested Fuel Consumption

Interior Design And Comfort: Well Put Together And Comfortable, But A Little Tight

The other unwritten rule of the compact sports sedan realm is to never really offer that much passenger space inside. It seems every player in this segment has a problem with that, and the CT5 is no exception. While generally comfortable and impeccably well put together, the CT5’s interior always feels cramped, especially on the lateral side of things for larger frames like yours truly. For some reason, the front passenger seat cannot be lowered as low as the driver’s seat, something I awkwardly realized when lifting a 6-foot-plus friend. And while rear legroom in a CT5 is considerably better than in, say, a BMW 3 Series, the way the car’s roof was designed will force tall people to slouch.

But the CT5’s interior also does many things right. For starters, my tester’s Sedona Sauvage leather interior looked and felt like something straight out of a high-end furniture store. The entire dashboard is covered in a neat and attractive soft-touch rubberized material, while the subtle carbon fiber accents add a pleasing touch to it all. The elegant AKG speaker grilles act as the extra icing on the cake.

The CT5’s dashboard was also overhauled in 2025 for a more digital experience (more on that later), but the new displays have not hindered this sedan’s excellent ergonomics. If touch controls aren’t your thing, you can still manipulate the system using a rotary knob dial on the center console, like in a BMW. That’s also where a physical volume knob can be found. HVAC controls are also straightforward and easy to grasp thanks to physical buttons.

2025 Cadillac CT5 Interior Dimensions

Technology And Ease Of Use: More Screens, Better Tech, Still All Easy To Use

It’s a common trend in today’s auto industry to introduce new technology and ruin the car’s user experience in the process. But in the CT5’s case, the new 33-inch curved display housing both the infotainment system and digital readouts improves the car’s already excellent ergonomics. The system itself looks great, responds fast, and gets you where you need to go with ease, while the digital gauge display shows you all you need. My only real gripe with this system is that Android Auto (in my case) doesn’t utilize the main screen’s full real estate.

Cargo And Storage Space:

A sedan is never going to be all that practical, and the CT5 is no exception. Sadly, it’s behind most of its sports sedan contenders, offering way less default trunk space than the BMW 3 Series (16.9 cu-ft), and even the Acura TLX (13.5 cu-ft). Only the Lexus IS offers a bit less (10.8 cu-ft).

2025 Cadillac CT5 Cargo Space

The Most Underrated American Sports Sedan

The 2025 Cadillac CT5 350T turned out to be a refreshing offering in a segment dominated by foreign automakers. If I felt like this was a dying nameplate before booking the press unit, I ended up pleasantly surprised by the base CT5’s overall execution, wonderful execution of performance, and genuinely premium experience. If I were in the market for a compact luxury car that’s not German, I’d skip the Japanese, South Korean, and even Italian alternatives in favor of a CT5. Heck, I’d probably choose this Cadillac over an Audi A4. It’s that good.