Cadillac has made no secret of the fact that their objective with the 2009 Cadillac CTS and CTS-V was to make a sedan ready for a fair fight with the BMW M5. In their race to compete, they have pulled every trick in the book and, fortunately for them, the resulting car is a master class in engineering and design.

The first thing any new driver will notice about the CTS is its power. Cadillac hasn’t taken their foot off the peddle for a moment during this cars construction and it shows in the abundant 3.6 litre direct injection V6, which pushes out a screaming 304 hp.

The Cadillac is somewhat heavier than its BMW rival though, and the lower end engine option; 2.8 that produces 208 bhp, just can’t accelerate the 1775kg bulk of the vehicle at a speed which satisfies. Though performance gets better at higher speeds, the 304 hp option is certainly preferable if you want performance to match the looks.

The 2009 Cadillac CTS is roughly beautiful. By that I mean, it’ll take some getting used to, but once you do its different enough to stand out on the road, but also features enough classical lines to catch the eye of bystanders. Interior finish is excellent, and there are a host of entertainment features, capped off by stunning 300W BOSE 5.1 surround sound system.