2016 Cadillac ATS-V vs. 2016 Mercedes-AMG C63 S
The BMW M3 has long reigned as the king of the sports sedan segment. However
Transcript
00:00 Hi there, this is the BMW M3.
00:04 (car engine revving)
00:07 And it is the champ of the sports sedan segment.
00:11 In fact, more than any other car I can think of,
00:13 this thing costs a lot of dudes in their mid-20s
00:16 who make like $40,000 a year to file Chapter 11
00:20 just for the chance to drive it for a few months.
00:23 It's got some kind of special sauce.
00:25 But the thing about the M3 is,
00:27 the longer you're on top of the mountain,
00:30 the more people rise up and try and knock you off the peak.
00:33 And here are two such cars.
00:35 We have the highly anticipated Cadillac ATS-V,
00:39 as well as the all new Mercedes-Benz C63 S AMG.
00:44 But just like boxing,
00:47 you don't show up and get to fight the champ.
00:49 No, first, you have to become a contender.
00:52 And which one of these two has the moves
00:55 to take the belt away from the BMW?
00:58 There's only one way to find out.
01:00 (upbeat music)
01:02 (engine revving)
01:09 Woo-hoo!
01:11 (engine revving)
01:13 (laughing)
01:16 This is the manliest thing I've ever done in my life.
01:19 (explosion)
01:21 (dramatic music)
01:26 (upbeat music)
01:28 The mighty AMG, with its 503 horsepower V8,
01:33 hits 60 miles an hour in four seconds flat.
01:37 We simply weren't prepared for how athletic the Cadillac is.
01:41 The ATS-V hits 60 miles an hour in 3.7 seconds.
01:45 The C63 rips through the quarter mile in 12.2 seconds
01:50 at 119.5 miles per hour.
01:53 In the quarter mile, the ATS-V beats the AMG,
01:57 doing so in 12.1 seconds at 116.2 miles per hour.
02:02 With carbon ceramic rotors up front,
02:05 the AMG is able to stop from 60 miles an hour in 101 feet.
02:09 With only steel rotors at all four corners,
02:14 the Cadillac stops from 60 in 99 feet.
02:17 Check this out.
02:19 Around our figure eight course,
02:21 the C63 needs only 24.1 seconds.
02:24 And just to give you a little bit of perspective,
02:26 a Porsche 911 Carrera S needs 23.9 seconds.
02:31 That's right, a big four-door Mercedes
02:35 is only two-tenths of a second off of a 911
02:39 around a handling course.
02:40 And the ATS-V simply flies around the figure eight.
02:45 23.7 seconds.
02:48 Again, to give you a little bit of perspective,
02:50 a Ferrari 458 Italia does so in 23.6 seconds.
02:55 Yes, friends, we live in a world where a four-door Cadillac
03:00 is only one-tenth of a second
03:02 behind a mid-engine Italian supercar.
03:05 (car engine roaring)
03:08 (upbeat music)
03:17 (upbeat music)
03:20 This is the Cadillac ATS-V.
03:27 In some ways, the successor to the CTS-V,
03:30 although there is a new, larger CTS-V coming.
03:33 In broad strokes, what do we have here?
03:38 We've got a four-door sports sedan
03:40 with a 3.6 liter twin turbo V6
03:43 that makes 465 horsepower.
03:46 Remember, the M3 is only rated at 425 horsepower.
03:50 And this particular one has an eight-speed
03:52 automatic transmission, though, of course,
03:54 if you want it, they'll sell you a six-speed manual.
03:57 You can also get a two-door coupe.
03:58 Starting on the outside,
04:02 this car has some mega uber-whole prestige.
04:05 And remember, that's that German term
04:07 which means like passing prowess or passing priority.
04:12 Basically, in English, when this sucker
04:14 is all up in your rear view mirror, it is intimidating.
04:18 I think it's a very good looking car from the front.
04:20 From the side, not too bad.
04:21 From the rear, I love that little kicked up duckbill spoiler.
04:24 I like the quad pipes that are kind of inboard.
04:27 Wheels and tires look good.
04:29 It's a nice looking, aggressive sports sedan.
04:31 Move on to the interior.
04:36 It's kind of a different story.
04:37 And sadly, it's sort of becoming
04:38 the same old Cadillac story.
04:41 The seats are actually very good.
04:43 ATS-V comes with these Recaro buckets.
04:46 They got slots for your racing harness.
04:48 Really good seats, really hold you in place.
04:51 And then, of course, there's Q.
04:53 And more than Q, there's the fact that there's no knobs.
04:55 It's all touch control.
04:57 And just none of it works very well.
04:59 It just doesn't work well.
05:00 My advice, and I've said this in print,
05:02 and I've said this on video,
05:03 throw it in the garbage and start over.
05:06 People want knobs.
05:07 So they gotta start over.
05:08 And a little birdie tells me they are starting over.
05:11 The big takeaway is, if everything else on,
05:14 like let's say this and that Mercedes are even,
05:17 except for the infotainment system,
05:20 I'm gonna go with the Mercedes just because this is worse.
05:23 Now, the two cars are not even,
05:25 so there's a lot of other things to consider.
05:27 Like the way it drives.
05:29 Ooh, ATS-V drives very good.
05:34 (upbeat music)
05:36 (car engine revving)
05:39 We knew the ATS had a wonderful chassis.
05:48 We knew the ATS had communicative steering.
05:51 We were hoping that when they put the V badge on it,
05:54 it would just get better.
05:55 And it totally did.
05:57 Outstanding, world-class chassis.
06:01 Outstanding steering, outstanding handling,
06:04 outstanding grip.
06:06 This is one of the best handling cars in the world.
06:10 This might be the best handling sedan ever made.
06:12 Just A plus.
06:14 Not an A plus for the engine.
06:18 Now, it actually has plenty of power
06:20 and it has tons of mid-range torque, which I like.
06:23 V6s just don't sound good.
06:25 And this one's no exception,
06:27 especially with two turbochargers plumbed onto it.
06:29 And I think what it does is,
06:34 especially compared to the C63,
06:37 (car engine revving)
06:40 noise is part of what makes a car fun.
06:42 And since it's so muted,
06:44 you just don't feel like you're going as fast
06:46 as you actually are.
06:47 And you are going quite fast in this car.
06:49 (car engine revving)
06:51 One might say the solution is drop a V8 in here.
06:54 And I'm totally down with that.
06:56 A small block would absolutely fit.
06:59 Again, in terms of performance, it doesn't need it.
07:01 But in terms of sound and just kind of prestige,
07:05 it would be nice.
07:06 Also, the transmission, it's an eight-speed auto.
07:11 It's not a dual clutch.
07:12 It's pretty good.
07:14 This car with a dual clutch would just be tits on glass.
07:18 Be just excellent.
07:19 The brakes.
07:22 So this car, unlike everything else in the competitive set,
07:24 has 18-inch wheels.
07:26 And as a result, they can't put in
07:28 massive six-piston calipers like the C63 has.
07:31 Instead, it has four-piston calipers.
07:33 And it also doesn't have carbon ceramic brakes.
07:36 Do you need the brakes?
07:37 Actually, no.
07:38 The brakes on this car are incredible.
07:40 And I'm pretty sure we're gonna find this out of the track,
07:42 but they don't seem to fade, which is great.
07:45 (upbeat music)
07:47 So what Cadillac has done here,
07:50 what their V division has done here,
07:52 is they've built this incredibly competent,
07:54 wonderful to drive sport sedan
07:56 that I think has a really good chance
07:59 of taking the title away from the M3.
08:01 So let's see what AMG's come up with.
08:03 (upbeat music)
08:05 And now I'm rolling in the Mercedes-Benz C63 S AMG.
08:17 What does the S stand for?
08:19 Basically more power.
08:21 The standard C63 has 463 horsepower.
08:25 This sucker has 503.
08:27 (car engine roaring)
08:31 All that power comes from the brand new
08:33 four liter twin turbo V8.
08:36 That's right, it's got a V8.
08:38 Everyone else in the segment is down to a six.
08:40 This is a V8.
08:42 It's awesome.
08:43 It's just, I just love the fact that it's a V8.
08:46 (car engine roaring)
08:49 All that power goes through
08:52 a seven speed automatic transmission.
08:54 Yep, it's the old workhorse seven G-Tronic
08:57 or whatever they call it.
08:59 And they just keep making it better.
09:00 I mean, yeah, sure, I'd rather have a dual clutch,
09:02 but unlike the Cadillac, I'm not sitting here thinking,
09:04 God, I wish it had another transmission.
09:06 I mean, it works well.
09:07 It's programmed very smartly.
09:09 It's not overly aggressive.
09:11 It's just a nice transmission.
09:13 From the outside, not a good looking car.
09:17 It's okay.
09:19 I like the rear end.
09:20 I like that pinched look.
09:21 And you know, it looks just like the S-Class.
09:23 That's okay.
09:24 The front just, there's something about the headlights.
09:27 They bug me.
09:27 Maybe it looks too much like the CLA.
09:29 I don't know.
09:30 I'm just not in love with the way this car,
09:31 or actually any of the C-Classes look.
09:33 Totally different story once you get inside the car.
09:36 Look at this interior.
09:38 I mean, they just took an S-Class and shrank it
09:41 and then added this beautiful wooden waterfall.
09:43 Also, I want to give them special props
09:45 for not having any nonsense carbon fiber trim pieces.
09:49 The car weighs 3,940 pounds.
09:53 You're not fooling anybody.
09:55 Doesn't need carbon fiber on the inside.
09:57 Wood, metal, leather.
09:58 Those are the components that make up a great interior.
10:01 And they're all here.
10:02 Little bit of plastic.
10:03 Sure, but again, this is a C-Class.
10:07 And then my favorite part is on the steering wheel
10:09 where you put your hands at nine and three, Alcantara.
10:12 That's the best material to hold onto.
10:15 And here it is.
10:15 (car engine roaring)
10:17 So, I was looking at the build sheet for this car
10:20 and I see carbon ceramic brakes, 5,400 bucks.
10:23 And I'm going like, wow.
10:25 Now look, yes, that's a ton of money.
10:27 But if you look at the M3,
10:29 the carbon ceramic brakes are $9,000.
10:31 And what BMW doesn't tell you is
10:33 you have to buy a $2,000 set of wheels to fit them.
10:36 This is only 5,400.
10:37 And then you look and only the front are carbon ceramic.
10:40 The rear is steel.
10:42 It's just cheese ball.
10:45 I'm going to tell you from driving,
10:46 you don't need them, but it just comes off kind of funny.
10:51 Anyways, I think I like the Cadillacs brakes
10:53 like much better, but these are really good too.
10:57 (car engine roaring)
11:00 Man, but seriously, like, oh my God, this is so good.
11:12 The up shifts, it sounds like someone's out behind the car
11:16 like snapping a two by four with their knee.
11:18 How does AMG, out of all the car makers in the world,
11:24 they can take an engine with turbos
11:26 and make it sound good.
11:27 No one else can do that.
11:28 They all sound like hair dryers.
11:30 And this just sounds like an angry, verbally V8.
11:33 Love it.
11:36 As far as AMGs go, you know,
11:39 the kind of the classic, almost lazy way to describe
11:42 what it's like to drive an AMG is that you have, you know,
11:44 iron fist and a velvet glove.
11:46 But I'm here to tell you that no,
11:48 this car is more an iron fist in an iron glove.
11:51 It's just brutal.
11:53 And yes, part of that is the fury of the V8,
11:56 but also a big part of that is just the way it handles.
11:59 It's a very aggressive car.
12:02 I love what they did with the steering.
12:03 If you look at the front wheels,
12:04 you got a lot of negative camber in them.
12:06 And that's because it's front heavy
12:07 and it'll roll over on its tires.
12:09 But because of that, it turns in well.
12:11 It doesn't push a lot for such a nose heavy car.
12:14 And then when you get on the power,
12:15 and again, there's tons of power,
12:17 it doesn't, you know, just fishtail around.
12:19 It can, you know, if you're just goofing around,
12:21 yes, you can absolutely do that.
12:23 But it's like the car wants to get around a corner,
12:26 wants to hit the apex and keep going.
12:27 And they've just done a great job
12:30 with the way this car handles.
12:31 And that hasn't been a strong suit for AMG.
12:34 They've always made great engines,
12:35 but they never really made great handling cars.
12:38 You can always say, oh, the M3 handles better.
12:41 You can't say that anymore.
12:43 But aside from the handling,
12:46 what most impresses me about the C63
12:50 is the confidence it inspires in the driver.
12:53 And I'll give you a quick example.
12:54 We're doing our editorial loop.
12:56 So before we start filming videos,
12:58 you know, a bunch of us editors drive all the cars
12:59 and kind of figure out what's what,
13:01 and then I get to talk about it on camera.
13:03 Anyways, we're doing that, and I'm in the M3,
13:05 and Scott Evans is behind me in the ATS-V,
13:08 and I just couldn't shake him.
13:09 He was just on me, like white on rice.
13:13 I got into this car, Scott jumped into the M3,
13:17 and I lost him three or four times.
13:19 Like, couldn't even see him in my rear view mirror
13:21 a half mile down the road.
13:23 I don't think this car's any faster,
13:24 and as we saw from the straight line stuff,
13:25 it's kind of not.
13:27 But I'm so confident that I just,
13:29 just, whew, just gone.
13:31 I just fly in this thing.
13:32 But the ATS-V, and you know, the M3,
13:35 it's just, it's not like that.
13:37 And so, up here in the canyons, out on a winding road,
13:42 I'm gonna say it's the combination of the sound of the V8,
13:45 the extra power from the V8,
13:49 and the confidence that this car just inspires in me.
13:53 I prefer the C63 here to the ATS-V.
13:57 But let's see what Randy Pope's has to say about that.
14:01 (engine revving)
14:04 (upbeat music)
14:07 - I got my Cadillac ATS-V in the track mode.
14:16 I've got the traction control
14:18 and stability control turned off.
14:20 And I got a V6 twin turbo under the hood.
14:22 (engine revving)
14:25 You know what, I'm getting really good feedback
14:29 from this chassis.
14:30 See that, just a little light oversteer.
14:34 No fear.
14:35 Good torque.
14:39 It's an automatic, shifting well.
14:41 Brake pedal's a little long.
14:43 It's not the most amazing brakes I've ever felt.
14:45 They're adequate.
14:46 The Cadillac is well controlled over that jump we just did.
14:51 Some cars go nuts there.
14:53 Into the high speed turn eight.
14:55 It's a very rough corner.
14:56 Believe it or not, this car has a good ride through here.
15:00 That's a lot less bouncing around
15:02 than we normally feel this part of the track
15:04 at Willow Springs.
15:05 Down into nine.
15:07 Ooh, boy, just points.
15:09 Oh yeah.
15:10 Wow, good steering response.
15:13 A little numb in terms of the feel.
15:15 Still, you can't get around that GM personality.
15:18 But real good turn in.
15:20 Let's try it here in one.
15:22 Kick it down to the apex.
15:23 Floor it.
15:24 Look at that balance.
15:26 Nicely balanced chassis.
15:28 Well damped.
15:31 Around the carousel.
15:35 I don't know if you can see the way the tail
15:37 is just right with me.
15:39 We're so nicely balanced.
15:41 You know I'm a sucker for a well-balanced car on the track.
15:45 Into the tight stuff.
15:46 Two-wheel drive, it puts the power down.
15:50 Really well.
15:51 You know what, people?
15:53 These Cadillacs put the power down
15:54 better than the Corvettes do.
15:56 I think they need to start talking
15:58 to each other a little bit more.
15:59 Flat over the jump.
16:12 The Cadillac is well-behaved on the racetrack.
16:17 Gotta say, enjoyable ride.
16:20 Moderate understeer when I want stability.
16:23 Just a little bit of oversteer
16:25 when I'm aiming for the apex
16:27 or accelerating off the corner.
16:29 There it is, see that tail moving?
16:31 Nice, nice!
16:34 Drift, you see there's not,
16:35 I'm not putting much wheel in the car.
16:37 And it just comes right around the corner.
16:40 Beautifully balanced.
16:42 Not much of a sense of roll.
16:43 That's part of what I mean by the good damping.
16:46 Look, we turn in, can hardly feel it.
16:49 Weight transfers, but there's not a lot of body motion.
16:54 Really an impressive chassis.
16:56 I'm a soft brake pedal, I'm not a big fan of that.
17:02 That's one thing I want more of in the ATS-V.
17:05 I want more braking power.
17:07 But I like the balance.
17:08 Sounds like a V6, you can tell it's not a V8,
17:13 but it has the strong torque
17:15 and wide power band of a V8.
17:16 Very impressive car on track.
17:21 I'd like a little bit more braking,
17:23 but I'm really impressed with the balance of the chassis.
17:26 The lack of feel of roll, body roll is minimal.
17:30 Really like that.
17:31 And I like this torquey, smooth V6.
17:35 Doesn't have the same kind of brutal, animal feel
17:38 of the old CTS-V V8.
17:40 But it goes good.
17:43 As we cross the start/finish line at 132 miles an hour.
17:47 Not bad, Cadillac.
17:49 Leaving pit lane in the Mercedes-Benz AMG C63 S.
18:01 Feels firm already.
18:04 The cracks in the pavement, thump, thump,
18:07 they're hitting hard, but we're in race mode.
18:09 And I have the traction and stability control turned off.
18:12 Do not try this at home.
18:13 I like the sound right off the bat.
18:31 Yeah, meaty.
18:36 Got a little V8 rumble.
18:37 That's the AMG tradition.
18:39 Still alive.
18:42 Oh, there's a nice kick on the shift.
18:46 Pow, those shifts are like that.
18:49 Whoa, flooring it down the front straightaway.
18:56 The rear tires are just scrabbling for grip.
18:58 This is a torquey machine.
19:00 The AMG's making some good power.
19:03 Putting the power down reasonably well.
19:04 Again, not much body roll.
19:06 Another nicely balanced machine.
19:11 The dive and the roll are nicely controlled.
19:14 Looks like we can knock the tail loose
19:18 a little bit with power.
19:19 It's got a little bit more of a tendency to oversteer.
19:23 Oh, I like the brakes a lot better in the AMG.
19:28 Pedals firm, response is quick.
19:31 I'm much more confident in the braking of the AMG
19:34 than I was in the Cadillac.
19:35 Stable through the high-speed turn eight.
19:39 That's 120 volts.
19:41 Down into nine, pointed at the apex.
19:44 There's that little bit of oversteer that the AMG has
19:48 that the ATS does not.
19:50 Cadillac's a little more balanced in terms of its weight
19:54 and it's a little more balanced
19:55 in terms of its cornering behavior.
19:57 But this is still a great car and it works on track.
20:00 Steering has a more precise feel
20:04 with more feedback than the Cadillac does.
20:06 We're a little bit more loose here.
20:08 See the corrections through this long carousel sweeper.
20:12 Fun though.
20:14 Love this car.
20:16 Point it right down at that apex, gas it.
20:18 There's that little bit of oversteer.
20:22 That torque just launches us up the hill.
20:24 Yeah, driving back to back here, real clear.
20:30 Cadillac puts the power down better than the AMG C63 does.
20:35 Look at that, right there.
20:36 But you know what?
20:37 It's still fun.
20:38 I'm enjoying that little bit of power oversteer
20:40 because it's predictable, it's usable.
20:42 This car is hauling the mail.
20:46 Both cars rocket down the straightaway.
20:50 Both cars, tremendous fun on the racetrack.
20:52 Love the sounds and the feel of torque and power in the AMG.
20:58 It's a more meaty, more racy, more brutal kind of feel.
21:05 The Cadillac, a little more refined, a little more friendly.
21:10 The AMG's a little more mean.
21:13 If you've had an AMG before, you know that's the way they are
21:15 and that personality's still there.
21:18 It rumbles, it's powerful, it's macho.
21:20 The Cadillac's very effective,
21:23 but it does it in kind of a smoother, quieter,
21:26 gentler, better balanced way.
21:29 And it's gonna take the hot laps
21:31 to tell me which one's the faster car.
21:34 Let's go find out right now who wins it on the watch.
21:37 (car engine roaring)
21:40 (car engine roaring)
21:43 (car engine roaring)
21:46 (car engine roaring)
21:50 (car engine roaring)
21:53 (car engine roaring)
21:56 (car engine roaring)
22:02 (car engine roaring)
22:10 (car engine roaring)
22:22 (car engine roaring)
22:25 (car engine roaring)
22:38 (car engine roaring)
22:41 (car engine roaring)
23:05 (car engine roaring)
23:08 (bell ringing)
23:20 And so, if all you care about is performance,
23:23 the sports sedan for you is the surprising Cadillac ATS-V.
23:28 Not only does it outperform the AMG in every single metric,
23:33 but the C63 is the S model, and therefore costs much more.
23:38 However, I'm of the opinion
23:40 that cars are about much more than numbers.
23:43 When you boil it all down,
23:44 cars are about how they make you feel.
23:47 I love the sounds and the feel of torque and power.
23:51 Besides, if you're the type of person thrilled
23:54 by tenths of a second advantages,
23:56 shouldn't you be looking at spec racers
23:58 instead of leather-wrapped performance sedans?
24:00 The point is, I liked nearly everything about the AMG
24:05 more than I liked the Cadillac.
24:07 And that's why the winner of this head-to-head
24:10 is the Mercedes-AMG C63 S.
24:14 But hey, either way you go,
24:17 they're both better than the BMW M3.
24:21 So what Cadillac has done here
24:25 is they've built this incredibly competent,
24:29 excuse me, love it, Lexus RX 350.
24:34 Hate it.
24:37 Oh, I'm so slow, look at me.
24:39 That's the color of that GTR, by the way.
24:41 Boca Raton Brown, like the Lawrence Welk package on my GTR.
24:45 There were just a few times when I was in a corner,
24:49 and especially if I applied power aggressively,
24:53 I got a downshift and it power oversteered
24:55 more than I wanted.
24:56 Nailed it.