I certainly do. Without doubt this midsize saloon is as bold as a blow to the head and if making a statement with your style floats your boat, the CTS will have you sailing happily into the sunset. But, I have a strong background not only in new car testing, but also in modifying and restyling cars, so whenever I look at a new model for the first time I think forward to how the car could look, with the addition of say, a larger set of wheels, a lower suspension stance and a more vivid paint job. I also relish the chance to stand out and the new Caddy would certainly ensure that I could never stay anonymous, especially after the aforementioned trip to ‘Pimp My Ride!’

Hyper-sharp body lines, huge ‘boxy’ chrome-trimmed grille, vertically stacked headlights and taillights, the wide stance with flared wheel arches, all wrapped-up in a very coupe-esque, athletic silhouette - you could easily imagine this car cruising The Strip in downtown Las Vegas, bright neon lights reflecting off that sculptured body, with the 18-inch, 9-spoke alloy wheels in that mirror-like ‘high-polish’ finish spinning to a reflective blur. If you look at a car the way I do and its shape and style evokes strong feelings, then I think we can agreed that that’s a good thing and that the CTS designers have done their job. The only downside to ultra-bold styling is that there is a very thin line between love and hate, and for a car to make its styling statement so strongly firmly sits it on that thin line. Just one look at the CTS will probably make your mind up for you, even before you test drive it. If you love the looks, the test drive is a must, and if you don’t like the looks very much at all, you should still take a drive… because this ‘Yank tank’ is certainly no slouch.

This AutoMiddleEast.com test car came packing the 3.6-litre V6 VVT (Variable Valve Timing) engine, which produces 278hp at 6400 rpm and 360Nm of torque at 3100 rpm. Now, 278hp isn’t a huge amount of power, but coupled to the accurate 6-speed automatic gearbox, it was definitely a very useable amount of power and I really felt a decent shove in my back when my foot was floored, as the CTS jumped eagerly into its stride. The sprint time and top speed are confirmed to be easily as exciting as the feeling of getting there, with a shade under 7-seconds to 100kph away from the traffic signal and a shade over 200kph at maximum velocity.

The soundtrack is all there too with the big-capacity V6’s voice sitting somewhere between the sting and fizz of a smaller V6 and the thump and pump of a really big V8 engine. I wouldn’t call the sound a roar, but it’s definitely the right sort of growl to get your pulse racing. There’s also a noticeable step-up in power as the tacho needle sweeps effortlessly (in the lower gears at least) towards the redline – a power-boosting bonus of that Variable Valve Timing and direct injection; modern day engine technologies that save you fuel and serve you up extra helpings of performance.

All that juicy power and performance is delivered to the Tarmac with respectable control and composure, too, with a well-planted nose to the car and good levels of grip. This CTS does not, however, have a limited-slip differential (LSD) even though it is a fairly high performance car, so when things do get a little edgy out the back, the run-off-the-mill differential just makes a mess of things even further. For most drivers an LSD is of little or no importance, but when you are pitching your car (as Cadillac are) as a RWD sporty saloon, then an LSD would make all the difference to the keener drivers out there. With the driver aids engaged the car remains fairly tight and tidy as you push it through the bends and turns, but switching the driver aids off doesn’t really bring any more fun to the party because when the rear end does start to loose grip, the basic differential, as I said, just gets more and more confused. Overall though, the handling dynamics are fun enough for a car that is very comfortable, relaxed and quiet to drive. Some would say the steering is a little heavy, but I liked the extra feel it gave me.

The CTS interior is more gentle cruiser than street-racing bruiser, though, so when you are hustling the car around town, you almost feel a little guilty, as if you are abusing this mild-mannered gentleman of the road. I guess I would describe the presentation of the interior as, well, rather plush, really… and I’m sure Cadillac will be happy with that. It’s as fully loaded as Emirates First Class, too. The wide and deep leather seats are certainly comfortable, and once you’ve worked all the buttons, sliders and motors to ease them into position, everything else in the cabin falls easily to hand and you feel more than ready to get going. The seats are very sofa-like, offering supreme comfort when cruising or sitting in the dreaded Dubai traffic, but a high G-Force bend will see you sliding around a bit, so a vice-like grip on the steering wheel is a must.

The Bose stereo is just excellent, with plenty of bass and definition, especially once you’ve adjusted it all to your liking via the large, easy to read and use, touch-sensitive screen in the centre of the dash. You’ll find everything you need here, and if you want to go ‘widescreen’ just touch the button and the full screen rises up before your eyes, offering you a detailed view of the latest sat-nav, MP3 and onboard hard drive technology. If you are a music-lover you’re going to love the CTS. You can hook-up your i-Pod and download tracks to the 40GB hard drive, or simply pop in a CD – it all sounds great out of that Bose system. The best factory-fitted in-car entertainment I’ve heard yet.

The rest of the interior is nice enough with lots of mood-lighting coming on at night making the inner space feel cozy and quality, and touch-friendly surfaces pretty much wherever your hand wanders. The only slight snags I found were a fiddly approach to find the power window buttons, nestled as they are, under the armrest, and some restriction to rear visibility thanks to the chunky C-pillar. But with more use over time and employing the parking sensors, I’m sure that these hitches won’t amount to much at all.

As I said, this car is fully loaded inside, nicely ‘wild-styled’ on the outside and packs a decent enough punch from under the hood. Add-in GM’s 100,000km, ‘bumper-to-bumper’ servicing, and priced at around AED150, 000, I really think we’re looking at a bit of a bargain here. It’s cheaper than its European rivals and sets itself miles apart in terms of styling - it just remains to be seen if the general car-buying public, here in the UAE, are ready to walk on the wild side with the CTS, just yet.

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