2013 Cadillac ATS consumer reviews

Overall, I do like the car. However, would I buy it again? Probably not. I ordered my ATS back in August, delivered in November, so I've had a five months to get to know the ATS at the time of this review. I ordered the ATS 2.0 Turbo Premium AWD with the Cold Weather package with the Thunder Gray Chromaflare paint option. I came from a 6.0L V8 prior to the ATS, and I have to say, the ATS gets maybe 1MPG better, averaging on a good week maybe 20MPG, but typically more in the range of 18-19. My first tank of gas from the dealer average was 12.5MPG! This is my first 4Cyl engine I've ever owned, definitely not what I expected. I even spent an entire tank of gas on the highway averaging about 65-70, and the best I could pull was about 24-25MPG. I wouldn't be as concerned normally, but lets not forget this thing only has a 16 gallon tank. Back on a positive note, I think the interior is very nice on the car. Most of the controls you use regularly (ie volume and radio channels) are on the steering wheel. You can control just about everything else with voice too (and there is a button for that on the steering wheel). The sound system and audio options are outstanding. I love that the heated seats kick on with remote start! This car warms up much faster than I'm used to. My only gripe about the interior has to be the phone integration. As quiet as the car may be, every phone caller I speak with thinks I have all 4 windows open going 100MPH. Yes, I've tried multiple phones. The system is also supposed to read my text messages and let me reply hands free. Well, that worked one time. It was awesome. But hasn't worked since. It just chimes to let me know I have a text message On to the exterior, I love the styling of this car. The exterior lighting features are nice! The only issues I've had are that the headlights auto-level whenever you turn the car on. Well, sometimes one gets stuck. One of the lights is pointed up, and one normal, so you get stuck looking at two lines across your path of vision. It doesn't happen every time, so I am guessing this is one of those things that won't act up when I take it to the dealer, so I will have to deal with it. Also, all of the doors and locks are touch enabled, and they all have a second or two+ delay. Its annoying when you are trying to open the trunk or lock the door with the push button. As a side note: don't order Thunder Gray Chromaflare without seeing it in person. I went solely off the swatch in the brochure since they didn't have any on lots when I ordered it. The car looks green at some angles. Its weird. On to Power/Performance/Drive! The 2.0L does ok transitioning from my 6.0L V8. It drives much like a V6. The Turbo is not overly noticeable from a lag perspective. It's not overly thrilling, but it moves when you want it to.You just have to operate within its parameters (ie. don't put the pedal to the metal, you won't get much love back). As for drive, this can be considered a pro or con, depending who you are: this car drives like a sports car. The suspension is tight, no matter what drive mode you're in. You feel every bump and dip in the road. I am not sure what the different drive modes do....you must need a track to notice, they don't seem to have much purpose for the real world. For me, it is fun to drive most of the time, but on some roads its a little uncomfortable. AWD - The AWD is nice to have, but don't forget this car is really light, so you still tend to have to be a little more careful than normal navigating slippery roads. Noise - I see this in car magazine reviews, and they are right to a degree, the engine noise is a bit excessive from this car from what you'd expect from a Cadillac. They claim to have noise cancellation on all the time too, where? This car has about the equivalent road noise to any standard fleet car (I drive a lot of rentals too). All in all, if I haven't mentioned it in this review, it is probably average, and therefore didn't really leave an impact on me. I think this would be a great car for half the price. The only reasons I wouldn'r recommend this to a friend is for the cost/feature and some of the mis-represented MPG and other interior features that don't live up to advertised, It is a nice car, but I am sure the person who buys this after me for sub 20k will be much more thrilled.

I am a former CTS owner, went to a different GM make and wanted to come back to Cadillac, I really wanted either another CTS or the Small Truck. Well the salesman urged me to drive the new ATS. What a great car, best value in the Cadillac line and it handles, like any of the more expensive models with the added zip of a performance car. The ride is smooth, so smooth, I bought my car in January in Michigan, so I cannot wait until Spring, when I can really drive it the way I want to. You have a winner here.

PROBLEMS 1.ATS COMPUTER SAYS IM GETTING 13.5 MPG NEW LOANER CTS IS GETTING 18.1MPG AUTOMOTIVE NEWS EDITOR CLAIMS HE HAD POOR GAS MILEAGE ALSO TV REPORT YESTERDAY SAYS CONSUMER REPORTS SAYS 4 CYL TURBOS ARE NOT PERFORMING WELL ON MPG YOU CANT TRUST THE RATINGS DEALER SAYS GM RESPONSE IS THE LONGER I HAVE THE CAR MPG SHOULD GET BETTER LOL MY LAST CTS GOT 18 MPG ON IST TANK WHY IS ATS DIFFERENT AND SOO BAD ON MPG? 2.DEFROST BUTTON ON DRIVERS SIDE DOES NOT DEACTIVATE THE DEFROST ON DRIVERS SIDE TODAY IN CHGO I HAD A/C BLOWING ON PASSENGER SIDE AND HOT air on drivers side DEALER TOOK CAR BACK IN TO FIX IT AGAIN 3. RADIO IS ALL STATIC AND LOSES STATIONS THEY SAID THEY FIXED IT BUT ITS NOT FIXED GM IS SENT NEW RADIO PICKED UP TODAY STILL NOT FIXED WITH NEW RADIO ATS TOUCH PAD CONTROL SYSTEM IS A JOKE ITS A DRIVING HAZZARD DOES NOT WORK WHEN YOU HIT SCREEN AND YOU HAVE TO TAKE YOUR EYES OFF THE ROAD PLS GIVE US KNOBS BACK VS SILLY COMPUTER SCREEN FOR RADIO AND HEAT DONT BUY OR LEASE THIS CAR IT HAS MAJOR PROBLEMS AND THE DEALERS CANT FIX THEM THEY ARE AS CONFUSED AS I AM CAR IS SHOP 4 TIMES IN ONE MONTH REALLY HOPED GM HAD A WINNER BUT SO FAR THIS CAR ISNT

Compared to the 328i and the A4, the ATS is very competitive in every aspect if not better. I was pleasantly surprised with the handling and the smooth trans. I test drove the ATS Premium just to see how well this American Sport Sedan compared, and I purchased it a week letter. I am still thrilled and confident in my decision.

The ATS is a good car, how it will stack up miles down the road remains to be seen. One thing Caddy designers thought was cool but I think was dumb is a touch screen in the middle of the dash. Looks spiffy, but in the real world you have to take your eyes off the road to see what you are doing. It really means you should pull over and then you will have the time to really see what you are doing instead of fumbling around while trying to drive. It?s an accident prone thing to have in a car. The Screen also gets full of finger prints. To be honest, having had a few BMW?s the I Drive knob which works like a mouse just makes more sense. Once you become accustomed to it, your eyes only glance towards the screen for just a moment. It becomes intuitive. The gas rating with the 4 cylinder turbo is not true to world conditions. You will really get about 24 miles per gallon not 34 as they state. For the price though and considering depreciation I think the Caddy is probably a better deal than a similar equipped BMW. When it comes time for resale you?ll probably get just as much for the Caddy as the Bimmer, but you will have paid more for the Bimmer at the onset so the winner will be the Caddy ATS. If you are thinking of getting this car, do what you?ve always been told, don?t buy the first year. There are still some kinks to get worked out. If you lease it, then you?re fine as you will probably return the car after the lease is up, but I would not buy it, not just yet. Speedy Gonzales