The Cadillac AtsV: A Sporty Luxury Car with a V6 Engine that Packs a Punch

I still remember when the AtsV first came out and all the journalists were raving about it, saying they absolutely loved it. But I was like "is it really that good?" A lot of handles are very good, it feels Nimble, and at the same time, some people are like "yeah but I don't like the way it sounds". The exhaust setup on this car is what makes or breaks it - I've heard some pretty bad exhaust on the AtsV and that's probably what kept me away. I was like no, I just no, I just don't want to drive it, no no, it sounds horrible.

Despite my reservations, I decided to give the AtsV a try and I was completely surprised by how much I loved it. The handling is top-notch, it's Nimble and feels great to drive. It has everything you'd want out of a sporty luxury car, and with almost 500 horsepower from a V6 engine, it's no slouch either. However, the CT5 Black Wing kind of overshadowed it because of its V8 - it's like the AtsV was overshadowed by its own sibling.

But the AtsV has its own unique features that set it apart. For example, you have a nice catalog interior, with all sorts of options and displays to keep you informed while driving. You also have rev matching, which is so cool - hearing that Cadillac logo sound and feeling the car respond to your inputs is just amazing. And if you want, you can even get it with a six-speed manual transmission, which I think is really cool.

The seats are actually kind of stiff, which makes sense given their purpose. They're meant to keep you in place, so you have to swag them a little bit to be comfortable. But that's not all - the car also has flat foot shifting, just like some newer models. This means you don't have to worry about destroying your clutch, it's all taken care of for you.

One of the most interesting things about the AtsV is how much power it makes from its V6 engine. With the right parts and support, it can make over 600 horsepower - that's a staggering amount of power for a car like this. The engine also has a really unique sound, which is both familiar and yet somehow German-like.

Shifting the AtsV is an experience in itself. The gearshift is smooth and precise, and the transmission responds quickly to your inputs. But if you don't flat foot it, you almost have to overcommit - it's like the car wants to hold onto the boost, rather than releasing it quickly. This can be a bit disorienting at first, but once you get used to it, it's actually kind of nice.

The AtsV is also incredibly quick, thanks to its powerful engine and slick transmission. When driving aggressively, the car responds eagerly to your inputs - it's like a hot hatch on steroids. And with rev matching, you can even feel the car responding to your speed and acceleration, which is just amazing.

So is the AtsV worth looking at compared to the CTS-V? The answer is definitely yes, especially if you're looking for a more affordable option with similar performance capabilities. With the right parts and support, this car can keep up with some of the best of its class - it's not slow, that's for sure.

In fact, I was surprised by how much I liked the AtsV once I got behind the wheel. It's a gutsy move by Cadillac to produce such a powerful engine in a V6 package, and thankfully, it paid off. The car has a great legacy to this day, and it's still widely regarded as one of the most interesting and capable cars in its class.

Of course, there are some downsides to the AtsV - its exhaust system can be a bit questionable, for example. But overall, I think this car is well worth checking out, especially if you're looking for something with a little more character than your average V8-powered luxury car.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enwhen I think of the Cadillac V brand I typically think of a screaming Supercharged V8 from the Cadillac CTS-V or the ct5v Blackwing but there was a very risky decision that Cadillac gave a try years ago and that was the atsv with a twin turbocharged V6 now I know what most people think uh why would you buy the twin turbo V6 compared to the v8 car well one that's more affordable but at the same time I completely slept on this V6 this thing is an absolute Powerhouse and with bolt-ons from ZZ performance this thing makes over 600 wheel horsepower through a six-speed manual transmission so a Cadillac with turbo sounds and a ton of power so was the etsv worthy of the v-name let's go for a drive and find out hello and welcome to a Cadillac ats-v I am super used to driving tts-vs I've also driven the ct5v Black Wing which was an absolute animal and also in comparison to this the ct4 Blackwing now the ct4 Black Wing uses a twin turbo V6 but so did the atsv now when the atsv came out I'm gonna be real with you I didn't quite know what to think of it because I was like wait is that really necessary I mean with gtsb that had a Supercharged V8 like why would somebody go by the twin turbo V6 instead like it just didn't make any sense well of course the atsv was a little bit more affordable than the CTSV so what we have here is a zzp full bolt-on ATS V now what does that mean well it's a whole bunch of goodies so there's this really incredible fuel system out in the back of the truck that's very sleeper-ish and that way you can run Flex Fuel you can put e98 back there you can do whatever you need to do any mix of ethanol you can make it happen with this platform with the zzp kit which is fantastic this has charge pipes downpipe zzp's Cat-Back exhaust what's really cool about their Cat-Back is that the valve modes that work with the ets-v work with their Cat-Back so all the factory buttons all work with the valves so if you're in tour mode or track mode or sport mode whatever mode you're in it's still going to work the same way it did from the factory it's also got a zzb tune and also zzp RND lowering springs they're working on the lowering springs which is really cool that I get to drive something like that got to get the sense of feel of what's to come with this car being full bolt-on with all the parts that I told you what kind of horsepower does this twin turbocharged V6 make it makes about 600 wheel horsepower in a Cadillac but the atsv I just remember when it first came out and all the journalists were raving about it like they absolutely loved it and I was like is it really that good a lot of handles very good it feels Nimble and at the same time some people are like yeah but I don't like the way it sounds not about a way to leave a red light I think the exhaust setup on this car is what makes or breaks it I've heard some pretty bad exhaust on the atsv and that's probably what kept me away I was like no I just no I just don't want to drive it no no it sounds horrible stop gt4v I'm gonna be completely honest with you completely surprised me loved how it handled I loved how Nimble it felt it had everything you'd want out of a sporty luxury car and it made almost 500 horsepower out of this V6 but the problem was is that the ct5 Black Wing kind of overshadowed it because of the V8 you also have a nice catalog interior you have a heads-up display telling you everything you need to know we also have rev matching if you want to have it Rev for you it's so weird seeing this logo the Cadillac logo and hearing a blow-off sound right another thing if you haven't noticed yet with the rev matching is that this has a six-speed manual transmission I think it's really cool that they gave the option for a manual and a car like this the seats are actually kind of stiff that makes sense like you can tell the ball string on the back is really firm I mean it's meant to keep you in place kind of have to swag it a little bit to be a little bit more comfortable this also has flat foot shifting just like the newer cars which I think is such a fantastic thing to have in modern cars with a manual transmission without having to use a standalone or anything along those lines to tell the car to do that I love how it's just from Factory and you don't have to stress about you know destroying your clutch all right okay I see you that is every bit of the 600 horsepower as advertised it's also in a toyo or Triple Eight so if it's spinning at all whatsoever that shows that this thing's making the 600 horsepower for sure the one thing about flat foot shifting is that you almost have to over commit because you're so used to not doing it you're a little aggressive it's almost good right to be able to be like okay it's okay keep your foot down keep your foot down also it keeps the car in boost so you don't have to worry about that okay I knew this thing was gonna be quick but I did not expect it to be like this this is really really interesting I've never felt a GM V6 like this at least with like bolt-ons and a downpipe it's weird when you have like a GM car and you're like yeah I have downpipes on it it's like no is that supposed to be like four cylinders and German cars and like it just really really bizarre wow what was shifting this thing is so gnarly when you drive a turbo car and you don't flat foot right you have that nice delay to get your body ready for the next motion right into the next gear this thing is like do you like boost kind sir we'll give you some more that was awesome so is the atsv worth looking at compared to the CTS-V 100 with the right parts the right aftermarket support like zzp you get that and it's not slow whatsoever my guy personally I definitely slept on this V6 by General Motors and Cadillac it's just a really interesting plot for you can definitely tell that the ct4v took a lot of lessons from the interior of the atsv the ct4b definitely feels like an upgraded version of this by just that much I think this car was a really gutsy move by Cadillac because they had already established that V8 brand with the v logo and they're like you know what let's see if we can make some more V cars and it could go really bad and thankfully it didn't the atsv's legacy to this day is still pretty good A lot of people go oh yeah you talk you're talking about like the Nimble one right a lot more people think the atsv and ct4v are more of the handling ones not that the ct5 Blackwing and the CTS-V never handled bad but these always gave me at least personal experience more confidence around a track but along with that thank you so much for watching this video make sure to hit that like button because it really helps me in this algorithmic world on YouTube I I upload on Tuesdays Thursdays and Sundays and I will see you guys next time but take it easy have a wonderful day goodbyewhen I think of the Cadillac V brand I typically think of a screaming Supercharged V8 from the Cadillac CTS-V or the ct5v Blackwing but there was a very risky decision that Cadillac gave a try years ago and that was the atsv with a twin turbocharged V6 now I know what most people think uh why would you buy the twin turbo V6 compared to the v8 car well one that's more affordable but at the same time I completely slept on this V6 this thing is an absolute Powerhouse and with bolt-ons from ZZ performance this thing makes over 600 wheel horsepower through a six-speed manual transmission so a Cadillac with turbo sounds and a ton of power so was the etsv worthy of the v-name let's go for a drive and find out hello and welcome to a Cadillac ats-v I am super used to driving tts-vs I've also driven the ct5v Black Wing which was an absolute animal and also in comparison to this the ct4 Blackwing now the ct4 Black Wing uses a twin turbo V6 but so did the atsv now when the atsv came out I'm gonna be real with you I didn't quite know what to think of it because I was like wait is that really necessary I mean with gtsb that had a Supercharged V8 like why would somebody go by the twin turbo V6 instead like it just didn't make any sense well of course the atsv was a little bit more affordable than the CTSV so what we have here is a zzp full bolt-on ATS V now what does that mean well it's a whole bunch of goodies so there's this really incredible fuel system out in the back of the truck that's very sleeper-ish and that way you can run Flex Fuel you can put e98 back there you can do whatever you need to do any mix of ethanol you can make it happen with this platform with the zzp kit which is fantastic this has charge pipes downpipe zzp's Cat-Back exhaust what's really cool about their Cat-Back is that the valve modes that work with the ets-v work with their Cat-Back so all the factory buttons all work with the valves so if you're in tour mode or track mode or sport mode whatever mode you're in it's still going to work the same way it did from the factory it's also got a zzb tune and also zzp RND lowering springs they're working on the lowering springs which is really cool that I get to drive something like that got to get the sense of feel of what's to come with this car being full bolt-on with all the parts that I told you what kind of horsepower does this twin turbocharged V6 make it makes about 600 wheel horsepower in a Cadillac but the atsv I just remember when it first came out and all the journalists were raving about it like they absolutely loved it and I was like is it really that good a lot of handles very good it feels Nimble and at the same time some people are like yeah but I don't like the way it sounds not about a way to leave a red light I think the exhaust setup on this car is what makes or breaks it I've heard some pretty bad exhaust on the atsv and that's probably what kept me away I was like no I just no I just don't want to drive it no no it sounds horrible stop gt4v I'm gonna be completely honest with you completely surprised me loved how it handled I loved how Nimble it felt it had everything you'd want out of a sporty luxury car and it made almost 500 horsepower out of this V6 but the problem was is that the ct5 Black Wing kind of overshadowed it because of the V8 you also have a nice catalog interior you have a heads-up display telling you everything you need to know we also have rev matching if you want to have it Rev for you it's so weird seeing this logo the Cadillac logo and hearing a blow-off sound right another thing if you haven't noticed yet with the rev matching is that this has a six-speed manual transmission I think it's really cool that they gave the option for a manual and a car like this the seats are actually kind of stiff that makes sense like you can tell the ball string on the back is really firm I mean it's meant to keep you in place kind of have to swag it a little bit to be a little bit more comfortable this also has flat foot shifting just like the newer cars which I think is such a fantastic thing to have in modern cars with a manual transmission without having to use a standalone or anything along those lines to tell the car to do that I love how it's just from Factory and you don't have to stress about you know destroying your clutch all right okay I see you that is every bit of the 600 horsepower as advertised it's also in a toyo or Triple Eight so if it's spinning at all whatsoever that shows that this thing's making the 600 horsepower for sure the one thing about flat foot shifting is that you almost have to over commit because you're so used to not doing it you're a little aggressive it's almost good right to be able to be like okay it's okay keep your foot down keep your foot down also it keeps the car in boost so you don't have to worry about that okay I knew this thing was gonna be quick but I did not expect it to be like this this is really really interesting I've never felt a GM V6 like this at least with like bolt-ons and a downpipe it's weird when you have like a GM car and you're like yeah I have downpipes on it it's like no is that supposed to be like four cylinders and German cars and like it just really really bizarre wow what was shifting this thing is so gnarly when you drive a turbo car and you don't flat foot right you have that nice delay to get your body ready for the next motion right into the next gear this thing is like do you like boost kind sir we'll give you some more that was awesome so is the atsv worth looking at compared to the CTS-V 100 with the right parts the right aftermarket support like zzp you get that and it's not slow whatsoever my guy personally I definitely slept on this V6 by General Motors and Cadillac it's just a really interesting plot for you can definitely tell that the ct4v took a lot of lessons from the interior of the atsv the ct4b definitely feels like an upgraded version of this by just that much I think this car was a really gutsy move by Cadillac because they had already established that V8 brand with the v logo and they're like you know what let's see if we can make some more V cars and it could go really bad and thankfully it didn't the atsv's legacy to this day is still pretty good A lot of people go oh yeah you talk you're talking about like the Nimble one right a lot more people think the atsv and ct4v are more of the handling ones not that the ct5 Blackwing and the CTS-V never handled bad but these always gave me at least personal experience more confidence around a track but along with that thank you so much for watching this video make sure to hit that like button because it really helps me in this algorithmic world on YouTube I I upload on Tuesdays Thursdays and Sundays and I will see you guys next time but take it easy have a wonderful day goodbye\n"