2020 Cadillac CT4 Pricing Revealed; Base Sticker Undercuts Old ATS

Steph Willems
by Steph Willems

For its last model year, the Cadillac ATS boasted rear-wheel drive, a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder, and an MSRP of $35,495 plus destination. Two years later, the newest and smallest addition to the Cadillac range keeps the recipe more or less the same, only the starting price of the 2020 CT4 rings in a couple grand lower.

Less power, less price, but perhaps more buyers?

That’s what Cadillac would like to see, though the saga of the old ATS and CTS was not an especially happy one. Despite ballsy V-badged models boasting Dodge-worthy horsepower figures, the brand’s lesser sedans faced an uphill battle. Declining passenger car sales, poor residual values, and the ever-present menace of the Germans made for a bumpy ride.

It hasn’t exactly been smooth sailing for the just-revealed CT4 and CT5, either. Comments about questionable styling choices and less-than-fearsome engine offerings greeted Cadillac’s new crop of four-doors, but that’s Cadillac’s problem. Other performance shoes could drop.

For bottom-rung CT4 Luxury buyers, expect a 2.0L turbo four generating 237 hp and 258 lb-ft and an MSRP of $33,990 after destination. Your only transmission choice is an eight-speed automatic. This places the entry-level RWD Caddy well below the $35k barrier, making it more than $7,000 less expensive than the cheapest BMW 3 Series or Mercedes-Benz C-Class. Adding all-wheel drive to the base CT4 pushes the model’s price to $36,590.

Opting for the Premium Luxury trim adds cost, as well as a four-cylinder most closely associated with a large truck. General Motors’ new-for-2019 2.7-liter turbo four (GM press materials avoid listing the cylinder count) makes 309 hp and 348 lb-ft, inflating the CT4’s starting price to $38,490. Swap RWD for all-wheel motivation, and you’re looking at a price tag of $41,690. The only tranny offered with the 2.7-liter is a 10-speed automatic.

While the Sport model doesn’t add any ponies, it does don an appearance package and Brembo brakes, pushing the price a tick higher ($39,590 with RWD, $41,190 with AWD). Note that ticking the AWD box nets buyers a cold weather package featuring heated front seats (ventilated on Premium Luxury) and a heated steering wheel.

If memories of the defunct ATS-V linger, buyers enamored with moar powah can opt for the CT4-V, a sedan that retains the 2.7-liter but bumps things up a bit. That variant makes 325 hp and 380 lb-ft, still significantly less than Cadillac’s former hot compact. Starting price for the CT4-V is $45,490; for this tab you’ll find Brembo brakes with four-piston front calipers, a limited-slip differential, and 18-inch wheels shod in summer rubber. Adding AWD to the mix takes things to $46,590.

If any of this appeals to you, you’ll get a crack at the CT4 when it arrives early next year.

[Images: Cadillac]

Steph Willems
Steph Willems

More by Steph Willems

Comments
Join the conversation
4 of 63 comments
  • Monkeydelmagico Monkeydelmagico on Oct 10, 2019

    As long as the dealership experience is sufficiently luxury the ct4 should do ok. While I would still probably buy a loaded Accord this new caddy might get a few takers who would otherwise be driving a Camry.

  • Ponchoman49 Ponchoman49 on Oct 10, 2019

    So what we have here is basically a re-run of the previous model complete with comical rear seat legroom, a glove box sized trunk, uglier rear styling combined with considerably less power than last year's model, no V6 and another dumb letter name. What could go wrong? Well at least they sort of corrected the instrument cluster and lowered the price so that is something I guess.

    • Mjz Mjz on Oct 11, 2019

      That's a perfect summation of the situation.

  • Jeff JMII--If I did not get my Maverick my next choice was a Santa Cruz. They are different but then they are both compact pickups the only real compact pickups on the market. I am glad to hear that the Santa Cruz will have knobs and buttons on it for 2025 it would be good if they offered a hybrid as well. When I looked at both trucks it was less about brand loyalty and more about price, size, and features. I have owned 2 gm made trucks in the past and liked both but gm does not make a true compact truck and neither does Ram, Toyota, or Nissan. The Maverick was the only Ford product that I wanted. If I wanted a larger truck I would have kept either my 99 S-10 extended cab with a 2.2 I-4 5 speed or my 08 Isuzu I-370 4 x 4 with the 3.7 I-5, tow package, heated leather seats, and other niceties and it road like a luxury vehicle. I believe the demand is there for other manufacturers to make compact pickups. The proposed hybrid Toyota Stout would be a great truck. Subaru has experience making small trucks and they could make a very competitive compact truck and Subaru has a great all wheel drive system. Chevy has a great compact pickup offered in South America called the Montana which gm could be made in North America and offered in the US and Canada. Ram has a great little compact truck offered in South America as well.
  • Groza George I don’t care about GM’s anything. They have not had anything of interest or of reasonable quality in a generation and now solely stay on business to provide UAW retirement while they slowly move production to Mexico.
  • Arthur Dailey We have a lease coming due in October and no intention of buying the vehicle when the lease is up.Trying to decide on a replacement vehicle our preferences are the Maverick, Subaru Forester and Mazda CX-5 or CX-30.Unfortunately both the Maverick and Subaru are thin on the ground. Would prefer a Maverick with the hybrid, but the wife has 2 'must haves' those being heated seats and blind spot monitoring. That requires a factory order on the Maverick bringing Canadian price in the mid $40k range, and a delivery time of TBD. For the Subaru it looks like we would have to go up 2 trim levels to get those and that also puts it into the mid $40k range.Therefore are contemplating take another 2 or 3 year lease. Hoping that vehicle supply and prices stabilize and purchasing a hybrid or electric when that lease expires. By then we will both be retired, so that vehicle could be a 'forever car'. And an increased 'carbon tax' just kicked in this week in most of Canada. Prices are currently $1.72 per litre. Which according to my rough calculations is approximately $5.00 per gallon in US currency.Any recommendations would be welcomed.
  • Eric Wait! They're moving? Mexico??!!
  • GrumpyOldMan All modern road vehicles have tachometers in RPM X 1000. I've often wondered if that is a nanny-state regulation to prevent drivers from confusing it with the speedometer. If so, the Ford retro gauges would appear to be illegal.
Next