The 2025 Cadillac CT5 Gets A Serious Upgrade In Design & Interior Technology

When it comes to American-made mid-size executive luxury sedans, the Cadillac CT5 is the last player in the segment, and for 2025 it gets a pretty thorough refresh. I'm here on the floor of the 2023 Detroit International Auto Show, and now that we're finally seeing the new CT5 in person, let's go ahead and take our first look. So as most of you know, the CT5 came out back in 2020, and this was a replacement for the Cadillac CTS, their mid-size executive luxury sedan. And honestly, the name and the look of the car was so similar that you can kind of think of this vehicle as the fourth generation of the CTS. But as you can see, for 2025, it gets a pretty thorough refresh, and it reminds me a lot of the CT6, their previous flagship luxury sedan. You can see you have a new corporate grille at the front. This model here that I'm showing you is the premium luxury trim, so it kind of has the bright satin chrome accents. If you guys prefer a blacked-out grille, you can also get a sport trim over. You can see I like the new texture in the grille. It's got the new Cadillac emblem. The camera there is nicely integrated below the emblem. And then you can see the headlights. The headlights have their latest design signature, and actually, I have the key fob here. When you unlock the vehicle, you can see it does a really interesting light signature dance that kind of shows you that you're approaching the vehicle, and it reminds you you have something special. Those animations that you're seeing in the headlights are standard. When you guys go for the upper headlights, you can see there's now a continuous light blade that kind of goes down the actual front end of the vehicle. It reminds you a lot of the new Cadillac Lyrik, for example, the new Escalade IQ. You have kind of like a stack design for the full LED headlights. There are some functional and non-functional vents. Cadillac also says there's some active grille shutters here. I also like the gloss black painted here at the lower front skirt of the vehicle. But let me know in the comment section below what you guys think of the refresh. I personally think it looks great in person. In photos, I wasn't too sure. You can see the hood also has the creases on it. In terms of underneath the hood, powertrains are going to be carried over. You have a standard 2-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder making 237 horsepower. This model here has the optional V6, which is a good engine. It's the company's 3-liter twin-turbo V6 making 335 horsepower, 400 pound-feet of torque, 10-speed auto, rear-wheel drive, or all-wheel drive. I had a chance to drive this car earlier this year before they refreshed it. It's one of my favorite powertrains in the segment. Now, looking at the rest of the side profile, you can see this is a big sedan. Although, when you see it in person, it doesn't look that large. Its wheelbase is around 116 inches long. Its overall length is just shy of 194 inches long. So this is going to be bigger than compact entries like the Audi A4, the BMW 3 Series. This is more of a 5 Series size, but it's priced like a 3 Series, at least the previous pre-refreshed model was. Now, looking at the wheels, you can see Cadillac is going to offer a choice of 18- or 19-inch wheels. These are the optional 19-inch wheels with kind of like a multi-spoke design with a machine-finished look with a gray inner pocket. The tire sizes are a 245x40 R19, which is actually front and rear. So it's a square-shaped tire. You can see the wheels themselves. They did get updated. Cadillac has a bunch of new wheels to kind of go with the refresh brake rotors measuring either 12.6 inches front and rear. You can also get an upgraded brake when you go for the V Series, but they haven't announced the V Series as of this filming. They're going to talk about that at a later date. Now, moving on to the profile, you can see it's got a traditional sedan look. This model here has the panoramic sunroof, which was an extra $1,500 in the pre-refreshed model. Cadillac doesn't have pricing available just yet. Moving around to the rear of the vehicle, you can see it kind of gives you almost like that swept-back coupe-like design. Although, remember, this is a traditional sedan. The back end of this car doesn't look all that different. In fact, most of the changes are going to be to the front of the vehicle, which is kind of a good thing. This is already a handsome-looking sedan. I would love to see one with a rear decklid spoiler on the back. You can see it has the Cadillac's new badging here with the 550T. That's supposed to be the torque in Newton meters, so don't think that it has like a 5.5 liter V8 at all. Instead, you can see the rear taillights. I'm going to see if it actually does a lighting dance here. I'll unlock it. It looks like they are full LED, but they don't have the light signature animation. They just kind of come on. And then down here, you can see you have a Cadillac logo that kind of lights up onto the ground. You have these nicely integrated dual exhaust outlets, which I really appreciate because a lot of manufacturers are removing the actual exhaust. There's an all-wheel drive badge here to let everybody know that you have an all-wheel drive model. And then in terms of the trunk capacity, you can see just under 13 cubic feet. This is one of the smaller trunks in the class, but the seats do fold down in a 60-40 manner. And you can the trunk is still pretty usable underneath here. You can see there is no spare tire. I believe this vehicle may have run-flat tires, but there is a little bit of storage underneath there. And if you guys want, I believe Cadillac does offer a power opening and closing trunk lid, although this model here, for some reason, doesn't have it. So the exterior changes on the 2025 CT5 are pretty minimal. However, Cadillac has made a serious upgrade in terms of the tech. And this is honestly where the CT5 needed the upgrade because as you guys remembered from my previous review of the pre-refresh model, which by the way, that door has a nice solid sounding thunk, the interior was the biggest link or biggest, the weakest link of the old CT5. And Cadillac has really addressed that here with this new infotainment display. This has the same kind of curved full LCD display. It's a 33-inch across display, which is going to be standard equipment across every CT5. Now this model here that we're showing you is the premium luxury trim with the platinum package. So this is the really, the most fully loaded version of the CT5. And you can see, I can't play with the software right now, but this Cadillac says that this model here is still a very early pre-production model, but it does have features like wireless Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, Amazon Alexa built-in. This has the Google Assistance built-in and it very much looks impressive. It reminds me a lot, of course, of what you find in like the Cadillac Lyric, the Cadillac Escalade, for example. The rest of this interior, you can see the seats on this car. These are the premium Napa Sienna Brown interior, which by the way, the seats don't look all that different, but I will say that the leather feels a lot softer and more upscale. The seats themselves feel comfortable. They're heated and ventilated, and they also have a massaging function. I love the brown color as well that you get. It goes well with this red exterior. In terms of the rest of the materials here, you can see it's got a soft touch injection molded plastic. There's some genuine carbon fiber trim. Window controls also, they have some chrome accents along them. You have memory seats along with 14-way power adjustable seats. The steering wheel you can see hasn't really changed. It has the Cadillac logo, the new logo there with some leather stitching along the airbag cover. You can see here, this model here also has the company's Super Cruise, which is their latest version of Super Cruise. I believe that is still optional. Cadillac did say that most of the upper trims, like the premium luxury and up, will come with heated seats and massaging seats as standard equipment, and then the ventilated seats as well if you guys go for the upper trims. Dashboard materials here you can see have some nice soft touch injection molded materials here with the contrasting stitching, more carbon fiber. You have the digital camera rear view mirror, which is also available. And then I also love the panoramic roof. Now, I don't particularly love how there's this kind of bar here that kind of cuts in between. I would prefer it to just be one continuous glass piece, but this is typically an extra charge. It's nice to see that feature, especially on a traditional sedan. But overall, you can see the center console here still pretty much looks the same. This is the shifter that controls the 10-speed auto. Your drive mode selector is here. A lot of buttons over here that look a little bit low rent for me, but the rest of the interior has been nicely upgraded. Wireless phone charging pad, cup holders over here, which seem a little bit on the shallow end. But again, I also like the way this is designed. You have another storage compartment here. Nice padded center console. Open this up, you can see there's a USB-A and a USB-C. It's a little bit shallow in terms of the depth, but it's nice that Cadillac does give you some good storage options. But overall, the interior still feels a little bit cozy, but it gives you more of a sense that you're driving something more upscale versus the old model to me felt a little bit too much like a This is definitely starting to feel like basically an interior that you'll find in something like the Escalade. But let's go ahead and hop into the back seat. I want to show you guys the space back here. Now, this is a midsize sedan, and in terms of the legroom, it should be the same as the 2024 model, which at just under 38 inches. Now, those are my estimations based on the previous pre-refresh model. This is a pretty good size backseat, especially if you guys are coming from something like a 3-series size vehicle. The materials here are also soft-touch injection molded plastic, more carbon fiber. You have the upgraded AKG audio system with a metal speaker cover. Again, this is a 14-speaker, I believe, upgraded system, one of the best in the industry. And then you can see you have rear seat air vents back here. You have one USB-C charging port, a 12-volt power outlet. I'm surprised to see no heated rear seats back here, especially considering this is the platinum grade. But I do love, again, the upgraded brown or sienna brown leather here, which feels really upscale. And then you can see, fold this down, there's an armrest with two cupholders. In terms of the headroom space, the sunroof does take up a little bit of room. But for somebody my height at five foot seven, I can very much get back here and be pretty comfortable on longer drives. So even though consumers continue to be obsessed with buying sport utility vehicles, it's very refreshing to see a revised version of a midsize executive luxury sedan. And as you guys saw, Cadillac made some key improvements to the CT5, the main one being the interior. That new 33-inch curved display is one of the largest in its segment. It definitely gives this interior a more of a Cadillac feel as opposed to a Chevy feel that you felt with the pre-refresh model. The powertrains are still one of the best in the industry. Very much looking forward to driving this model again with that three liter twin turbo V6. If you guys are also looking for more power, Cadillac says stay tuned because the V series and the V Blackwing are also going to get the same upgrades. Powertrain should also stay pretty much the same. In terms of sales, this has actually been a very successful car for Cadillac. Surprisingly, the company managed to move a little over 16,000 units last year, making this vehicle, again, one of their better selling vehicles and sales also continue to ramp up every year. So, all the changes here are only going to improve the sales numbers for the CT5. Now, if you guys are looking to get your hands on the 2025 model, this vehicle here, production Cadillac says will start in the spring of 2024. So, you're going to have to wait a little bit longer. I'm estimating Cadillac hasn't said anything yet, but you'll probably be able to get your hands on this in late spring, maybe early summer. And pricing, while it hasn't been announced yet, keep in mind the current generation CT5, the pre-refresh starts at just over $38,000. It's definitely one of the more affordable options. I think I drove one earlier this year that was just under 60 grand with the twin turbo V6. I'm going to estimate this model here with the platinum package should probably come in the mid $60,000 range, which I know it's expensive. However, when you're comparing this car to a lot of its European rivals, the Cadillac easily undercuts them by about $10,000 to $15,000 to even $20,000. And finally, with the new tech interface, it has all the tech and luxury that it needs to go head to head against those European offerings. For Redline Reviews here at the 2023 Detroit International Auto Show, I'm Sokhion Bain.