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It doesn`t always take new sheet metal to improve a car dramatically.

The 1988 Cadillac Eldorado and Seville are prime examples of how a little can go a long way in Detroit.

For the new model year, Cadillac has replaced the 4.1-liter V-8 engine with a new, more powerful 4.5-liter V-8, a modified version of the 4.1.

Make no mistake. The 4.5 doesn`t mean you`ll be slapped back in your seat the instant the foot hits the accelerator. What it does mean is that when pulling from a light or merging onto the expressway or climbing a hill, the cars have more muscle than they did a year ago.

We test-drove the Eldorado and Seville here, both with the new engine.

There are two immediate impressions: One is how quickly you move from zero to 30 miles an hour; the other is how quiet the engine is once you`re up to cruising. There`s some noise at initial acceleration, but not as much as with the 4.1.

The 4.1 has been a puzzle since Cadillac decided to put the engine in its downsized DeVille and Fleetwood in 1985 and its downsized Eldorado and Seville in 1986.

Cadillac had a choice-use the Buick-designed 3.8-liter V-6 in its downsized cars or go with the only slightly larger 4.1-liter V-8 for the sake of having a V-8. The 4.1 really didn`t feel any more powerful than the 3.8. It was quieter, but that was about it.

A noticeable improvement with the 4.5 is in tackling a hill. With the 4.1, some owners griped that hills became mountains and the transmission kept downshifting to third from fourth, fighting to make it up the incline.

Outside Detroit we took on a few fairly steep grades. We simply pressed slightly on the accelerator and without any downshifting or hesitation the Eldorado made it up smoothly and effortlessly.

The 4.5 develops 155 horsepower in contrast to the 4.1`s 130. Cadillac says the 4.5`s zero-to-60 m.p.h. time in Eldorado and Seville is 9.9 seconds instead of 12.5 seconds with the 4.1. More importantly, the zero-to-30 m.p.h. get-the-car-going time is 3.7 seconds with the 4.5, versus 4.3 seconds with the 4.1.

Quicker response certainly was noticeable.

For `88, Eldorado and Seville have been restyled.

Eldorado sports a new look front to rear, to reduce the lookalike charge with the cousin Oldsmobile Toronado and Buick Riviera. Only doors and roof retain the `87 sheet metal. Seville got minor surgery from the windshield forward with new hood, front end, bumper guards and grille.

Both offer four-wheel antilock brakes as a $925 option to prevent skids in a panic stop, even on wet pavement.

With Eldorado, Cadillac stylists came up with subtle touches to make the car look bigger and at the same time reminiscent of the `80-`85 models noted for their long hood and short deck, which made them look 90 feet long.

The aero look has given way to sharper lines. The grille is larger, the hood has a slight , so-called “power dome“ look, front bumper guards are larger and fenders are squared off, rather than rounded. Perhaps the most effective touch, the rear fender line is carried through into the rear roof or C-pillar, which dramatically appears to add length.

Grettenberger said the styling changes in `88 are only the first step in redoing the car to make it far more distinctive as a Cadillac and less common in heritage with Toronado or Riviera.

However, he said, though Buick has decided to stretch the Riviera by about 9.5 inches in 1989 and Olds the Toronado by the same in 1990, Cadillac won`t do the same to the Eldorado until perhaps 1991. A stretched Eldorado was believed earmarked for `89.

“The Eldorado has a dramatic change for 1988 and it doesn`t need another next year,“ he said. “You`ll see changes in Seville and DeVille in `89, but not Eldorado.“

The styling of the 1988 separates the Eldorado from any sister GM cars, but the fa t remains that it is much smaller than the model it replaced in 1986.

The Seville we drove had the same pep as the Eldorado, but sounded a bit louder at initial acceleration. At cruising speed the engine is quiet.

Seville dimensions are the same as in 1987, but one trick was used to provide the illusion of more interior room-seats carry horizontal stitching to make them appear wider and therefore bigger. And the leather seats are so soft you sink down in them, which adds to head room.

Eldorado starts at $24,891, Seville $27,627. The Seville we drove had antilock brakes, the Eldorado didn`t. The extra $925 for antilock brakes is a wise investment to prevent wheel lockup. In four to five years all Cadillacs will offer antilock brakes as standard, sources here said.