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      10-05-2012, 06:33 PM   #12
jtuds
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Canada
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Drives: 335rwd Dinan S2
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: London, ON

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So I drove the 3.6 for probably about 40 minutes.

As some of the video comparisons have said, the steering input is more responsive than in the 3-series and as far as I could tell, more than all the other cars I drove.

When you move the wheel you immediately feel the car react, it's a very connected feel but not off-putting, it's a welcomed reaction, not annoying. The Magnetic Ride Control just feels like good suspension to me. I can't tell what technology the car is using, I just kew that it didn't float and it dampened bumps nicely. But also not too stiff and not jarring at all. It was a very comfortable car to drive.

The car can go, that's for sure. It felt fast and you do get the sensation of getting pushed into the seat...and when you hammer it, it is LOUD. Like as soon as you start to push the pedal firmly, it roars. I jumped the first time because I didn't expect so much noise. I would say the noise doesn't match the jolt....they could even tone the noise down a bit. But I liked it, you feel like your in a sports car and forget it's a Cadillac.

Cruising is nice and quiet and smooth. When accelerating on the highway, if you held the pedal at certain places, the tachometer would stay at a certain point and you'd hear a drone. So if you wanted to cruise at like 82km/h it would be annoying. At 120km/h it was great.

Inside, at least in the front, it's very nice. The dashboard doesn't have the ever-present textured plastic/rubber finish and instead is a sort of a leather look with stitching, etc. Looks luxurious. This one also had aluminum trim with a kinda cool pattern on it. The steering wheel looks really cool and the console very modern looking. Seats are comfortable and supportive. Back seats, not so good....the butt part is too deep and too angled. In the back seat, sitting behind the driver with the seat where I had it, my head was just barely touching the roof. I'm 6'1.

CUE is cool but I don't love it. I'm not a big touch screen fan and it doesn't react as quickly as I'd like. It's neat that icons show up as your hand gets close and I guess it's cool that it vibrates when the input is recognized but that feature is not really necessary to me. It's a good infotainment system but it's just another infotainment system.

All in all it is a good car and I think it will take some sales away from the 3 series. It looks good on the exterior and it's a nice car to sit in and drive. It's too expensive though. With the options I'd want, it was $57,400. The 335i I'd have is $60,100. I'd pay an extra $2700 to not have parts in my car that are noticeably present in a Chevy Cruze or any Buick. Back at the dealership, I saw the Cadillac steering wheel, vent placements, and console shape were in other cars. I don't like that. It's not a direct transfer from one vehicle to the other but you can tell pretty easily.

I'll look at the Caddy again with my wife in tow but at this time I am leaning toward the 335i, though the Caddy is definitely in second place for me.
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