To the members of a certain generation, who grew up when all the competent road cars were imported, a pukka sports sedan from Cadillac is just about unthinkable. Well, my brothers and sisters, think harder. If the Berlin Wall can crumble, and the Soviet Union behind it; and if you can hold more computing power in the palm of your hand than went to the moon with Neil Armstrong, then maybe Cadillac might offer an authentic road car.
The Catera deserves a chance.
This new-generation Cadillac certainly packs the right credentials. Designed and developed in Europe (the Holy Land of Sports Sedans) Catera has a powerful six-cylinder motor, rear-wheel drive, and a taut independent suspension, just like a BMW 3 Series or a Mercedes-Benz C-Class. The Catera is balanced and predictable when navigating a snaky set of curves, but energetic at high speed for long stretches on a freeway.
Catera also has the plush interior features of an American luxury car along with a lot of sophisticated safety hardware. In many ways, it can be considered a unique car.
Just one model is available. For $31,305 the Catera comes with a 3.0-liter V6 and all the standard equipment expected of a luxury sedan.
A $995 Luxury Package adds a power passenger seat, upgraded alarm system and a garage-door opener. A $2510 Sport Package includes all that plus heated seats, a matte silver grille, high-intensity discharge (HID) headlamps, rear spoiler, and a heavy-duty suspension riding on ultra-aggressive 235/45HR17 all-season tires and aluminum wheels.
If your mind's eye still recalls the bland and homogenized Catera that debuted in late 1996, then we need to remind you that the littlest Cadillac was completely restyled last year, and now shows a much harder edge to the world. The revamped Catera looks stronger. It's a concise package of muscular flanks and crisp tailored curves uniting taut surfaces. The taillights and center brake light are composed of light-emitting diodes (LED) that flash brighter than incandescent bulbs, and light up twice as quickly. Flush headlamps have been revised again for 2001.
Catera hunkers in a low posture underscored by the aerodynamic fascia and shapely moldings set below the door panels. The Sport package attaches a spoiler to the rear decklid. The neat new form moves Catera more closely in style to other German touring sedans.
Core ingredients of Catera come from Opel, a European brand of General Motors that produces the world-respected Omega MV6 sedan. Catera uses a reinforced version of the Omega's chassis, which is assembled at a GM plant in Germany; and it contains a twin-cam V6 engine built by GM in England and a four-speed electronic automatic transmission out of another GM plant in France. To this international slate of components, Cadillac contributed unique styling and noise-reduction measures, some Cadillac-designed safety equipment, and a more luxurious interior.
Catera Sport models have brushed silver accents around the instruments, shifter and doors. White-on-black analog instruments include a speedometer and tachometer in the center surrounded by gauges for coolant temperature, oil pressure, voltage and fuel. Available options include a Bose sound system, and a power sunroof.
The trim panel on the driver's door integrates the door handle with repositioned power window toggles and two low-mounted latch-lid storage bins. Window switches provide one-touch express up and down movement for all four side windows, with pinch-guard protection that senses any resistance to closure (like small fingers), then reverses the path traveled by the glass.
Leather-covered seats with eight-way power are now installed in all Cateras, the unique Sport Package seats having been discontinued in mid-2000. (The Sport Package does still add heaters to the standard seats.) The rear bench seat splits and folds in sections. Trunk access for longer items is available through a panel behind the center armrest.
