AutoGuide Pits 2016 Cadillac ATS-V Coupe Versus 2015 Lexus RC F

By adpock - July 13, 2015

2015-Lexus-RC-F

AutoGuide recently comparison-tested the 2016 Cadillac ATS-V Coupe against the 2015 Lexus RC F, and it seems like they really liked both cars. They just liked the Caddy a little bit more.

Though model years and piston counts may differ significantly, the starting prices are quite comparable: $63,660 for the Caddy and $63,325 for the Lexus. And both the “as-tested” prices were in the same ballpark too: $76,965 for the ATS-V, $73,760 for the RC-F.

And the review starts out sensibly enough, comparing the Cadillac’s 464-horsepower, 445 lb-ft producing 3.6-liter twin-turbo V6 engine to the Lexus’s 5.0-liter V8 that pumps out 467-hp and 389 lb-ft. of torque; the Caddy’s high 10.2-to-1 compression ratio to the Lexus’s “stratospheric” 12.3-to-1; and the 8-speed auto gearboxes both test cars were fitted with, neither of which really impressed our guides.

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But that’s where the review starts to go a bit south for Lexus. Because while neither car has the advantage in the 8-speed, AutoGuide is downright enamored with not just the fact that the ATS-V offers a manual, but that they offer the 6-speed Tremec TR-6060, which is also found in the Dodge Viper and Shelby GT500.

At this point, the review nearly gets borderline fanboy, as AutoGuide seems to be quite smitten with the ATS-V, comparing it to an “Olympic athlete, pure and simple,” saying it “accelerates like hurricane-force winds whipping in from the Atlantic,” and even calling it “a masterpiece of automotive engineering.”

Well, such praise isn’t exactly doled upon the RC F, definitely not when it comes to the “busy design.” But AutoGuide found plenty to like, including the Nürburgring-tuned chassis, the overall drive, and the “wailing V8, which provides phenomenal internal-combustion music.”

We’ll take a little more music to our ears next time, but all in all, not a bad review.