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In Northern NJ there are quite a few open roads..(real open) I mean....REALLY open...where play time just seems to "happen".
I guess if I was that mindfull of gas mileage I'd would have gone and bought a Toyota.......:)
To begin with, I must come clean; on an earlier post I mentioned how I ordered my car without the navigation and sunroof options. I discussed how I agreed with others who have posted to this forum how awful the translucent "cheesecloth" sunroof cover was, and that was the reason I was not getting a sunroof. Ok, you all know what is coming. My dealer called a month ago and said that the car I ordered did not have a build date because GM ran out of the polished chrome wheels (which I ordered) and would not set a build date until all parts were available. Ok, this was understandable. He then went on to say the I could get the exact car I wanted, albeit with the navigation and sunroof options as this car was in fact being built. A standard dealer tactic? Maybe; however, I asked for his best price on this vehicle and found it to be a better deal percentage-wise than my original order (of course more actual dollars but luckily I had the funds to do it) and I said what the heck and bought it (very unlike me I can assure you). I took possession of the car about a week and a half later. So, my first impressions after a couple of weeks living with the 2009 CTS are as follows:
1. I love the sunroof. I live in Dallas, TX and we have been in triple digits this summer. The car does NOT get hotter with the cheesecloth cover - it works great. I also thought I would mind the little bit of extra light coming in the interior - I do not mind it; actually I believe it compliments the light grey interior on my vehicle to be a little brighter inside (again, the cheesecloth cover does not let a whole lot of light in - it is very subtle). I also LOVE how large the actual glass area is on the sunroof.
2. Originally I thought the navigation option an expensive extravagance...and it is. Having said that, consider if you will (and assuming you have the funds), in my opinion, the option is a nice one to have. At first I did not think I needed it because my iPhone has Google maps on it, which works GREAT. I have used my phone on lots of business trips in lots of rental cars and it worked, and continues to work, like a charm. However, like anything else that is a luxury option, the built-in navigation is NICE. I can keep my eyes on the road, I do not have to even guess at which exit or lane to be in on a multiple lane exit, etc. as the navigation system talks you through it. I do not use it everyday true, but I am surprised on how much I do use it. You start getting very used to all the POI (points of interest) icons which show you gas stations, restaurants, etc near you. Helpful when traveling around parts of the D/FW Metroplex I am not familiar with. Also, with the 8” screen, more information and options show up with the audio system, setting preferences is easier, etc. An extravagance? Maybe; but like my ventilated seats (an absolute necessity in Dallas), a darn good one.
3. I like the way the light titanium (grey) interior has black carpeting so stains do not easily show. I think the light color of the seats, ceiling and trim - looks very sophisticated. Do be advised that scuffmarks do show up easily on the door kick panels. I clean these weekly (yes I am THAT type). :>
4. Time to insert some rants. I agree somewhat with the posters RE. the location (and angle in my opinion) for the dead pedal (footrest). I am 5’-11” and I find it sometimes to be too far for me, sometimes actually ok. This can vary some days depending upon how I feel when driving. Some days fine, while others I notice it, but not terribly. I have yet to take a long trip in the vehicle, so I might have more of an opinion after spending several hours in the car. One item that I have noticed; (as I shift around a lot – no matter how comfortable I am) when I bring my left leg up closer to the seat to get it in a more vertical position I can never really get it in a comfortable position as the seat is close to the floor making the floor pan seem very high. For comparison I never had this issue in my 2002 New Beetle Turbo S.
5. The seats are of average comfort when not compared to anything else they are fine but my friends 2007 Infiniti M35 has MUCH better front seats, (in terms of plush-ness and road holding grip-the-body comfort) as does the Lexus GS 350 I test drove (in terms of plush-ness). The CTS headrest is not as cushy/comfy feeling as on the M. (The headrest comfort on the CTS is about the same as on the Lexus).
6. The center stack is wide and hard, so leaning your leg against it is not entirely comfortable to me. This one I knew before purchasing the vehicle as I discovered this on the test drive. Obviously not a deal breaker for me.
7. The interior is extremely good looking; however, I still find the brushed (aluminum-look) plastic cheap looking and may replace it at a later date with real brushed aluminum trim. The plastic chrome trim on the clock looks exactly like, well, plastic chrome! To nearly the same extent, so does the plastic chrome trim rings around the gage nacelle clusters. The wood inserts are as good as in cars in this class – actually a little better than most. I admit that I find the more matte finished wood on the Infiniti M35 better looking. I find the rear seat headrests a little small and not as elegant as the competition in its’ class, or even as nice as in a late model Toyota Camry. The sill below the side window is high and narrow – not good for leaning your elbow on when the window is closed even when the window is open, the sills are high. I notice the high sills most often when pulling up to a mailbox, ATM, etc. I would suggest reviewing how this works for you when test driving the car.
8. Back to the love: I love the thick-grip leather-wrapped steering wheel with the wood insert at the top. I love the wood insert on the shifter. I love the steering wheel controls, the way they are set up and the way that they function. I love all of the user-defined preferences that can be set by the individual, I love the feel of the radio controls and the steering wheel mounted stalks. I love the extending sun visors (to block sun from the side windows). The shifter has a great, short shift from park into drive – hard to explain, go and try it. It just feels great.
9. The Bluetooth works flawlessly with my iPhone, I love the voice-activated feature to use the phone (especially since the iPhone does not have a voice-activated feature on it’s own - don’t get me started on this omission). The iPod connection works quite well – (well there are some niggling problems, I will discuss the negative next), having all of the iPod choices (Artist, Songs, Album
10. The XM radio is cool, as I never had it before. I am hearing lots of new material rather than the same old clear channel crap on the local stations (yes, I do like to visit the world away from the iPod once in a while to stay caught up). It is nice to have more variety with talk radio as well.
11. The way the auto locking doors work is better than on most vehicles (that I know about anyway) as you just have to walk away from the car for it to lock; no touching the door handle, etc as with my wife’s Highlander, or my friend’s Infiniti M35. Just walk up to the locked trunk to open it (assuming the key is in your pocket, bag, or purse). No fumbling with key fobs. You can set how long after you exit the car for the doors to lock, as well as what audio and visual cues (if any) you want to confirm the doors lock (IE horn and lights, horn only, lights only, etc.). The auto start is great for starting the car and cooling it off, or warming it up (depends on the season of course) as all your HVAC comes on exactly as it was when you last turned the vehicle off. Even just running the car for 15 seconds before getting in takes the extreme temperature edge off (no sense running the car too long prior to driving with gas prices as they are).
12. I will not go into any detail, but the FE2 suspension (IE. All-Season tire performance package is great, as are the dark-blasting capability of the HID (type of headlight lamp) and adaptive headlights (IE. The headlights will turn as you turn the steering wheel).
13. One cool gimmick: When turning on the car, the needles on the gages all rotate at the same time to “redline” and then back to zero cool to watch I have not grown tired of this “pre-show” yet. FYI: The Infiniti M35 has this “feature” as well.
14. The driving experience: I am no expert, but the car to me feels very responsive when I want it too be, while maintaining an extremely comfortable ride when you just want to cruise and are taking it easy. Kind of like my Les Paul (electric) guitar a great biting attack when cranked and played hard, and smooth as jazzy Mark Knopfler silk when played gently for all you pickers out there).
15. I went ahead and paid the 18 bucks for the 130 minutes of phone talk time (1 year) in case of emergency, or if I just simply forget my phone. We’ll see if this is a good investment in time. I do like having the peace of mind with On Star for emergency (IE. Crash) situations, to call for help, or hopefully have help called for me if I am incapacitated.
That is it for now; I hope these opinions/comments were helpful in some way.
Yes, one can buy a less expensive after market GPS that has all of the same functions. Just consider it will have a smaller screen thus showing less map and or features at a time, and has to be put in and taken down constantly when leaving the vehicle, less it tempt thieves (I have had a previous car's side window smashed in to get at a radar detector). Again, built-in is a luxury nicety!
I forgot to mention how well the rear parking sensor system works. The system has the familiar audible beep sensors, with the added bonus of a three lamp lighting system mounted above the rear window that you see in the rear view mirror when backing up. The combination of visual and audible cues is very effective foe me when backing up. I actually like it much better than my wife's back up camera on her Highlander.
Another question - the Owner's manual says tinting the windows may decrease the sensitivity of the GPS. Of course I would not get a metallic tint, but I do not think that it particularly states metallic tint. Any tint I think. Thoughts / experience? :confuse:
I am driving to Vail on 8/23. I plan to keep it in the 77/78 range for that trip. Will report when I get back.
BTW thanks for your responses to my previous questions bingoman and jgaffney1.
I drove on it for about two hundred miles after a mishap coming home from Vegas, and I had no problems with handling, although I drove at only 55 mph because of a misunderstanding. I had the flashers on on the freeway and no one gave me any trouble. The left rear tire was destroyed by a large piece of road debris and I would have been up the proverbial creek if I had had the inflator kit.
I have never checked under the trunk cover....guess I should!
That being said, my wife and I rented a CTS from Avis last weekend while in the Boston area visiting family. Since many of her family members were spread out over south east Massachusetts, this gave my wife and I a lot more time with the car...about 300 driving miles versus the last two times I've rented the CTS (also in Boston but only for short two day business trips). This was also the first time my wife had gotten a chance to drive the vehicle. She really really liked it...enough to offer to trade our SRX for it.
Needless to say after three years of driving the SRX kidmobile (which we like), getting back behind the wheel of a true sports sedan is extremely inviting. Our SRX is based on the old CTS, which is good and bad. Good since it's a rear drive sporty vehicle at heart. Bad since it relies on the original CTS dashboard design, which has the distinction of being expensive and looking cheap all at once. The SRX has lots of room behind the second seat and hauls lots of gear (kids bikes, Costco, Home Depot). But it's rides high like other SUVs and just doesn't have the complete sporting spirit of the '03 CTS LuxSport it replaced.
We'll keep the SRX into '09 but now Cadillac will have two vehicles we could replace it with. The first is the '10 SRX due next summer to replace our car. The new SRX will copy the CTS interior again, but this time that's not a bad thing. It'll be smaller than our SRX so I doubt it'll haul as much stuff, but I'm hoping the interior packaging is better than our car. The new pictures that got released today are promising. But this car is a FWD/AWD car and will likely never have the sporting spirit of the outgoing model.
The CTS Sport Wagon on the other hand is something that I might be able to get behind. We could get our CTS and still be able to haul things. Gas mileage would likely be about the same as the sedan. It probably would weigh in the same class as the sedan. And all practical options for the wagon have been announced as being identical for the sedan...right down to mating a 304 HP DI engine with a 6-speed manual transmission if you choose (only available elsewhere at BMW and VW I think). AWD is available and 19" wheels are standard on this car. (!!!)
There have been some occasions where the best in class hauling capabilities of the current SRX comes in real handy, and either way we'd have to give it up for either vehicle. The '10 SRX is an easy fit but may not make us any happier (unless there's a hybrid coming...my wife wants that). The CTS Sport Wagon I think is the vehicle we might end up with since we sacrifice almost nothing from the base car outside of its profile and get a new profile that will be unique, especially since the Dodge Magnum is now dead.
Well, that phrase alone is why we (or at least I) enjoy having you pipe in from time to time.
Interesting comments -- having some hauling capacity has always been an objective of mine, and it eliminates all cars without fold-down rear seats. The European Avant/Sportwagon, which comprise ~50% of what's on the road over there hasn't caught on over here, but with the recent fuel price panic, it might.
As always, continue to keep us posted on your journey.
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/correct-gm-brings-back-employee-pricing/st- ory.aspx?guid=%7B12636C54%2D6191%2D408B%2DACD7%2D4A0D0DA6BFC2%7D&dist=hplatest
The fact that the 2009 CTS is included, I find VERY interesting.....
- Ray
Not surprised that most every 'left-over' 2008 is included.....
I knew that I can nock down $3k to $4k from the MSRP price, or pay from $0 to $500 above invoice and get the 2008 CTS, but I don’t know how to deal on the Employee Purchase plan.
A dealer has RWD CTS with all options on his website:
MSRP $48,420. After Employee Purchase Plan $42,812 - $2,000 Manufacturing rebate for 2008 model = $40,812. It’ll cost me $37,312 + tax and license when I take off the $3,500 GM MasterCard credit discount.
All dealers in California have similar price deal on their websites
I believe it’s a great price. My question is can I still make a deal with the dealer below the GM Employee Purchase Plan?
Does anyone on this board bought any GM car in the past with an Employee Purchase Plan below the Plan price.
Thanks
Read all the fine print on your GM Mastercard. I do not believe your credits can be used with the Employee Purchase Plan.
I also believe the Employee Purchase Plan is in lieu of all rebates.
In other words--the Employee Purchase Plan IS the rock bottom price.
If anyone knows differently, please cite your sources when you reply.
I bought a GM vehicle in 2005, the last time they offered a
"Employee Price To All" program".
The dealer a ( $49 over invoice ) fixed price dealer in NC took
an additional $300 off the employee price - that was approx $23K,
as I recall.
Good luck!
- Ray
Drove a 2009 CTS this week, loaded, still not sufficiently impressed,
even at Employee Price - of over $6K off.....
I don't believe it's possible to negotiate a price lower than this. It is possible to use rebate dollars from your GM Card to get additional $$ off, but....this is not the result of any negotiations you can do.
GM also offers low financing rates, and those can be combined with the lower purchase price to reduce your monthly payments (for those of us who purchase).
Does anyone else have an opinion on this?