Cadillac BLS Review.
The Cadillac BLS was introduced to the UK on 8th April 2006.
Founded in 1902, in the United States, Cadillac is a synonym for quality, in the same way that Rolls-Royce is in the UK. The name Cadillac comes from the founder of Detroit, a 17th century French explorer Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac, Detroit being home to the US motor industry and of course Cadillac.
The Cadillac BLS was introduced to the UK on 8th April 2006.
Founded in 1902, in the United States, Cadillac is a synonym for quality, in the same way that Rolls-Royce is in the UK. The name Cadillac comes from the founder of Detroit, a 17th century French explorer Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac, Detroit being home to the US motor industry and of course Cadillac.
Cadillac is now owned by General Motors - the owner of brands such as Vauxhall and Saab.
For Europe, Cadillac has down sized using their General Motor connections. In conjunction with Vauxhall and Saab, they have developed the BLS using the under pinning’s of the Saab 9-3, in fact they are very similar cars. The BLS has been designed for the European market and it is even manufactured at GM’s factory in Trollhattan, Sweden.
We drove the Cadillac BLS 1.9 D Luxury Edition which cost £25,073 on the road.
The Cadillac BLS is available with a choice of a 1.9 diesel and three petrol engines. The petrol engine comprises of two 2.0 litre, four cylinder petrol turbo’s (175 bhp and 210 bhp) and a 2.8 litre V6 petrol. The engine line up is pretty much the same as you would find in the Saab 9-3 line up on which the BLS is based.
We drove the 1.9 litre TiD 150 hp four cylinder diesel, the first time a diesel has been seen in a Cadillac, although some may call this sacrilege considering Cadillac’s heritage. The engine is already used in the Vauxhall Vectra, Alfa 159 and the Saab 9-3. Our test car was fitted with a 6-speed manual gearbox. Performance is best described as adequate with 0-62 mph being reached in 9.5 seconds and onto a top speed of 131 mph. We liked the flexibility of the 1.9 diesel engine, it offers plenty of low down torque and impressive fuel economy. We achieved around 44 mpg whist touring, which we consider pretty good going.
The 6-speed gearbox was flexible although if you are lazy with your changes, letting the revs drop off you can find yourself floundering. Oh and if you are lazy there is a 6-speed automatic transmission option for an extra £1,460.
The diesel engine can be a little intrusive when cold but you soon get used to it and it really does not bother you after a while.
Overall the handling is good with relatively well-weighted steering but the BLS is not up there with the class leaders. It feels softer than the Saab 9-3 it is based upon, also the ride feels rather fidgety on poor road surfaces and we think that the BLS is more suited to the smooth rather then the rough. Unlike its bigger brothers the BLS is front wheel drive, which means when pushed on it, will understeer.
Our car was fitted with the enhanced handling package with comprises of firmer sports suspension and 18” wheels with 225/45 R18 tyres which put the ride on the hard side. Normally you would expect to see 16” or 17” wheels depending on the specification and with higher profile tyres the ride would probably improve.
Front seat users should find the Cadillac BLS easy to get in and out of, especially with the standard leather bound seats. Front headroom and legroom were pretty good but the rear is a little short on legroom. The large glazed areas make all round vision fairly good and parking is easy, once you get you used to the overhang of the boot.
Our test car was fitted with the optional Visibility Package which included rear parking sensors, auto-dimming both interior and power fold exterior mirrors at the cost of £525.
We found the heating controls / dual climate control a little fiddly to use on the move but we soon got used to the layout. Watch out for the handbrake as on Saab you can and I did pinch my fingers when putting in on.
The boot can accommodate a useful 425 litres and the rear seats fold down on a 60:40 split - there are two levers to facilitate the folding down of the seats from the boot.The BLS has a range of Passive Safety features, including front, side and curtain airbags, activate head restraints for the front seats, pyrotechnic seat tensioners and force limiters on the front seats.
The Active Safety features include StabiliTrak electronic stability programme which monitors the steering angle, yaw rate, wheel spin and road speed, correcting understeer and oversteer by automatic application of the brakes, control of the throttle until the car goes back on course. There is also ABS (anti lock brakes), traction control, electronic brake assist with (CBC) cornering brake control.
The standard leather seats are quite comfortable and even after a 300 mile round trip we felt quite relaxed. The front seats are electrically adjustable in all eight directions and are heated.
Standard equipment includes: rain sensitive windscreen wipers but you pay an extra £525 for Bi-Xenon HID headlamps as fitted to our test car. Probably money well spent if you do a lot of night time driving, as they certainly make a difference as they especially help with eye fatigue.
We car was fitted with the optional (£650) RDS AM/FM stereo, 6-disc CD changer, Bose 9-speaker system with a MP3 / auxiliary inlet. With the a little bit of tweaking the system was appealing and well worth the money if you spend a lot time at the wheel.
You can opt for a Kenwood DVD powered Satellite Navigation for an additional £1550.Cadillac have carried across design cues from other models in their range, there is the unique wedge shape that tapes to front which have characterised the CTS, STS, SRX and XLR models. The vertical rear and head lights and the V-shaped chrome plated grille are all typically Cadillac.
Although I think Elvis would turn in his grave (where are excessive dimensions and tail fins) the exterior is quite attractive, if not distinguished and is aimed directly at the European buyer. If you squint you can see the Saab 9-3 that it is based upon, hiding under the skin, but overall Cadillac have given the BLS a distinctive edge.
Initially I thought the interior was a little disappointing, especially if you are expecting the Cadillac to be all American. Saying that it should appeal to European buyer’s and has more than a hint of Saab, bearing in mind the BLS’s roots.
The Cadillac clock in the centre of the dashboard would be a welcome touch if it were better quality unfortunately it is not up to the standards of Maserati. The steering wheel has been lifted directly from Saab, changing only the badge on the boss. Rarely do I like wood in cars but in the BLS the red walnut wood veneer and brushed aluminium worked well.