We have become less fond of the two-door coupe style as the years rolled by because the older we get the more doors we want—and need. That makes it easier for our grandchildren to access the rear seats as well. Climbing into a cramped back seat is simply no longer in the cards.
However, and somewhat to our amazement, we liked the new-for-2015 Cadillac ATS Coupe more than the ATS sedan. If we were forced to purchase a vehicle with just two doors, the compact Cadillac would be high on our list. What you lose with the ATS coupe in addition to the two extra doors are rear-seat passenger space and about an inch of head room because of the tapering roof line.
But it’s what you gain that drew us to the coupe. The ATS is hunkered down, a pleasing stance that’s visually lower (1 inch) and wider (1.4 inches) and with a wider track (0.8 inches) than the sedan. And the tapering roof line—that erases some headroom—and the bolder fender flares give the coupe a stylish head-turning athletic stance.
The ATS is up to date with bold lighting elements including LED headlamps, LED taillamps, and Adaptive Forward Lighting that lend a sense of luxury to the distinctive coupe styling.
Most important to us is the delightful way the ATS performs. The new coupe does not have the European feel of a BMW or Audi, but more an American kind of persona that serves it just as well with quick acceleration, point-and-shoot handling, responsive steering and stop-on-a-dime braking.
We took the coupe over our usual winding rural road “test track” and we were highly pleased at the way it stuck to the asphalt as it kept asking for more hotfooting during high-speed cornering. We’re sure the car’s nearly 50-50 weight distribution has something to do with its rock-solid performance as we pushed it hard into the twists and turns.
2015 Cadillac ATS Coupe: More than Good Looks
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2015 Cadillac ATS Coupe Courtesy of NetCarShow.com
By Jim Meachen
Updated:
The car had a wonderful balance between handling and power.
