BBBSS

Once a decent example of a new V can be had for 30 grand I will likely make the switch.

badm

Almost bought a 2010 v sedan gray stick-shift every options except recaro seats and it was 65 g's gm discount 62g's , ran into original owner CLS 55 030 package 11,000 mles in 2010 50g's . Always loved CLS design so bought it and the build quality between the two is night an day the benz feels like a tank compared to CTS-V no problems about 30,000 miles on CLS now and its modded Kleemann . Glad I didn't buy V sedan than but love that coupe and wagon,, The way the V is depreciating and my car holding its value relative to mileage , once they get closer in valve , I my trade my CLS or sell it and get the coupe with a 6sp. The only way to buy these car is used they make to many of them and they depreciate like HELL , I saw a 09 V 6spd at a dealer modded headers, intake , pullies for 43 g's best offer with 35,000 miles or so that's a pretty good deal ..

bleucamaro

A couple weeks ago I had the opportunity to attend one of Cadillac's V-series driving labs, (at firebird raceway, phoenix az). I was a bit underwhelmed by the driving experience of the CTS-Vs. The cars I drove were both auto's, and I felt the E55 trans in sport mode does a much better job than the caddy, both in the feel of shift as well as holding gears and being better when it down shifts, overall felt that the MB trans was 'smarter'. The CTS-V also felt heavier, even with that uber trick magnetic suspension (hopefully there's a easy software tweak to stiffen that up. The steering also felt light, like there was too much power assist, which led it to feel imprecise. I much prefer the heavier feel of my E55's steering.

Inside the CTS-V, the dash board had way too much going on, and looked like it was trying too hard to be the batmobile, very gimmicky.

The brakes on the CTS-V - Better than the E55 in both feel and performance, but maybe they had a set of extra grippy pads in there for track use.

Lastly, power. Didn't feel like it had 90 more hp's than my E55. It actually felt not as torquey, with a more peaky power band. This is all seat of my pants dyno, but that's the way it felt.

IMO, the biggest advantage of the CTS-V over a merc. is the aftermarket is way bigger and the cost to mod one is much more reasonable.

DVC

Bleu- that was the most accurate comparison I've seen posted.

badm

I drove a 6spd v and its better than auto and more fun to drive. I totally agreed with u the automatic is terrible compared to a MB trans. The power difference didn't feel that great to me either .. Interior materials for a 60 g plus car need improvement , moldings , carpet etc.. The only advantage V has is cheap to MODD and maintenance compared to MB.

badm

I drove a 6spd v and its better than auto and more fun to drive. I totally agreed with u the automatic is terrible compared to a MB trans. The power difference didn't feel that great to me either .. Interior materials for a 60 g plus car need improvement , moldings , carpet etc.. The only advantage V has is cheap to MODD and maintenance compared to MB.

PetroC63

I switched from a C63 to a 2012 V automatic a few months ago and the V has been rock solid so far. I can't compare to the E55 interior but the crappy plastic interior in the C63 is easily surpassed by the V's. What surprised me the most is how well the V handles for such a heavy car.

I took it to the track a couple of weeks ago and it ran 12.18 @ 119 stock on street tires.


Here is a pic of the interior. Pretty nice.

BBBSS

At the end of the day when you consider that they are 20-40 grand less it's very hard to argue with what each dollar is buying. Is it an AMG Benz? Nope. Does it cost notably less and perform right there alongside the AMG with maybe a lil cheaper interior and a much bigger and better aftermarket? Yep!

I still won't buy either one till they get cheaper though. lol Maybe a CTS-V then back to an E class when the Bi-Turbo's are cheap as well?

moosejaw

i think i will just keep modding my car for the time being
LT Headers and 82 mm tb on order for this year.

adianaty

Great minds think alike. My plan is to get into a v-wagon until the TT63's make sense financially.

alextaylor29

Great thread by the way, very informative. In the same boat with my E55 at 82K. My car has not been reliable (had to replace the gas tank, thankfully extended warranty cover it) and I've had to have her towed on 6 seperate occassions for fixes. I bought mine with only 23K miles but admittedly drive it quite a bit with 100 miiles daily in the AZ heat, but the time she's been in the shop has been excessive IMHO.

Still I do love AMG so am considering perhaps a cls55 2006, CL65, S65 (again 2006) all with extended warranties or the CTS-V.

While my repairs haven't been extensive thanks to being covered, it's just a pain basically to have to take it to the shop, get a loaner and deal with all of the accompanying opportunity cost of lost time.

Our Infinity Qx56 and my wife's 300C have been 100% reliable as a comparison point.

This is the only reason I'd move away from MB/AMG into a Caddy CTS-V. I hear the 2007+ MB/AMG's (E63) are way more reliable but the motors is NA so not much to mod there.

I have about 10K left on my warranty which expires in 93K miles so I still have a bit of time to decide.

Again thanks for starting this thread!

PS. And not to hijack but a used GT500 with 5.4L motors are now into the $35K range and with a few minor mods with stock blower, it can hit 700 HP. I've got a bit of mustang on the brain today as I'm travelling for business and upgraded to a brand new 2013 Mustang GT 5.0 which (420 HP) which was pretty fun. (This is not the GT500 for the record). Still a fun car and you can get a used 2013 Mustang GT for high 20's already.

Alex

ProjectCamaro

Excellent points, I never like it when people compare vehicles that have such a large price difference and expect the lower priced vehicle to be at the same level as the higher priced vehicle. We have to be fair.

PetroC63

For those that are into tracking their cars. The CTS-V is very mod friendly and much cheaper to mod.

Here is a 2012 V with the stock block, stock blower(1.9), stock trans and stock rear + 100 shot of nitrous running 9.76 at over 140.

HeissRod

That's pretty freakin' quick!