Doublebase

I was looking at buying a CTS (I know it's not the same car) before I bought my LS. Well my brother in law was a service writer for Caddy and he told me flat out that I would find out first hand what it means to own an American luxury car and that he had warned me and that I couldn't come running to him complaining about the poor choice I had made.

He said the 3.6L eats timing chains...the oil gets a little low...the chain stretches a little bit...you get a misfire code and BOOM! You're in for a $2,500 job to replace that chain. And he said it will happen, that it wasn't a matter of if.

And he said that all those nice little features and things I loved about the car will not be working in two years. The heated steering wheel? It will break. The nice leather? It will look like crap. The nice lights on the dash? They will be out. The ***** and switches? They will break...then they will break again...then you will just learn to live with everything on your car not working. Needless to say that after a little research, I took his advice.

Wandl

that is solid advice - to get the opinion of the service writers who know these cars literally in and out....like the XTS I drove had 27k miles but it really wore down quicker than expected (some members with over 100k miles on their LS still feels no rattles, has smooth and quiet rides, which I'd imagine is not the case with most Caddy's or Buick's)

charlesatl

My wife and I test drove the caddys last spring. We found the ride to be terrible and nothing at all like the glassy smooth ride of the old caddys. In fact (due to my wife's back) we actually drove every other car out there including mercedes, audi, etc and the last car we drove (and I was figuring we would never get a good smooth ride) was the Lexus 460 and it was the best car ever. Long story short my wife can now again ride in a car and in the front seat no less, being on this forum has made me really appreciate what a great car we have.

Doublebase

I got to be honest, I almost bought a loaded 2013 Chrysler 300 before I decided on the LS. I liked the 300...it looked nice, it was quiet, it got great reviews, but a friend of mine said to me...do you know what that car will look like in three years? C'mon, you know what's going to happen, the wheel bearings will be shot, the interior lights won't work, the door hinges will be sagging, the dash will crack, you'll have transmission problems, etc. Buy the Lexus, it's a great car...so I did.

1BlinkGone

The XTS and LS460 are two completely different cars. And I'm a big Modern Cadillac fan. Their latest interiors are incredible. Build quality is very good as well. Sorry, but "just a GM car" doesn't ring true anymore.

Having said that, my guess is you are not looking at the XTS V Sport model (AWD), which means the XTS you are considering is likely to be FWD unless it is the XTS4...with the non-twin turbo engine.

The LS460 OTOH, is RWD. Therefore, two completely different animals. The XTS platform (Shared with the LaCrosse) is designed as a FWD car. The LS460 is designed (and equipped) as a RWD automobile.

Personally, I would consider only the VSport variant of the XTS...or the XTS4 if the performance satisfies you. If you don't care about FWD, then this is a nothingburger.

YMMV. You know about Lexus already... BUT I WOULD GET CPO and the extended warranty if you buy a used LEXUS.

longslim

Caddy doesn't make a comparable car to the LS460. The new CT6 maybe that car, big RWD and hopefully V8.

NormV

I purchased a used XTS VSport Platinum and on a highway trip I averaged 32.2 mpg with the Adaptive Cruise Control set 65 mph, over both directions of 300 miles each. I no longer wish for a 2.0T in this car and it's efficiency of about 40 mpg in my Verano Turbo on the same route.

The seats are nice with enough room to move around and adjust for 6.5 hours in it. Plenty of room to relax the left foot behind and to left the brake pedal which is missing on some front wheel drive cars today. The trunk is huge and very deep. So much so I might consider a divider to keep myself from crawling toward the back of it to fetch things. But the width is on the small side that my, smaller than a staff bag, full of golf clubs has be turned slightly to fit the driver.

I love CUE! The navigation allows all the tablet/smartphone finger movements also allowing just everything inside the car to be controlled by voice commands. Once you get CUE's haptic feedback timing down I don't even have to wait for the vibration and the command is taken. Plus it looks dazzling at nighttime as does the led interior lights. The lighted door handles and lighted ground under an opened door is the cherry to top the sundae. The adaptive cruise control works perfect and is seamless to passengers as is the lane departure warning when switched from audible beep to a vibration to the butt cheek of the side if the car that needs attention. The automatic braking, front or rear, can surprise but works well to stop the car. The rear climate control is great for when Fluffy wants it cooler than us in the front.

I like the semi-short wheel base length for missing the curb on tight turns and the window height when looking out the back and side is perfect compared with today's car designs of shorter height windows. The backup camera, with steering wheel guided lines, has me centered in the parking spot on the first try.

I really like the ride quality and steering. When I put it into a turn it holds the line with plenty of feedback. Blame it on the magnet shocks or traditional hydraulic steering(today's electric steering is void of any feedback) but it goes where you put the wheel. Maybe it is the height but avoiding things on the road at highway speeds is easy. Put it Sport mode and it really stiffens up where you can feel allot more bumps. Though I switched modes over slow speed bumps and only the front end changed. The rear end is riding on airbags. Nonetheless it performs well.

roadfrog

I have to disagree. The switchgear and much of the rest of the car feels like the Buick Lacrosse I rented and the Chev Impala I also drove. My partner bought a Caddy recently and it feels the same - just more glitz.

roadfrog

Indeed. Go to a dealership and look at a 5-10 year old Caddy. Then do the same with a Lexus, Acura or BMW, MB etc. The Caddy will look and feel much, much older.

Mrcoach

I had Cadillacs my whole life now I drive LS460L and not a problem. I love the styling of the Caddy but Lexus hands down is dependable as your going to get. If your only going to keep the car 2 years I guess it doesn't matter I like to keep cars 10 years. Lexus is built to last.

NormV

With Cadillac CUE there really isn't any switch gear remaining. So I'm not sure what you are referring too.

NormV

Probably not a fair comparison to compare one car with another that costs twice as much. The XST VSport Platinum AWD ends where Lexus starts based on MSRP. But it goes to show you how far Cadillac has come. Looking at cargurus and comparing advertised, discounted prices for both the LS and XTS I find the LS is two times the price.

SW17LS

The XTS is not comparable to the LS. The LS is a V8 RWD a large luxury car, the STS is a V6 FWD large car that shares a downmarket platform with the Chevy Impala that ranges from near luxury to mid luxury in terms of price, quality, refinement, etc. I like the XTS, but the LS is more car and feels like more car on the road.

I do wonder why you've joined a Lexus forum just to post about your Cadillac norm. There are Cadillac forums.

roadfrog

Turn signal stalk
window switches
windshield washer stalk
headlight switches
seat adjustments
gear shift

etc

Also trim pieces and that sort of thing.

SW17LS

I do agree with that, the GM switchgear I dislike, the font they use for displays is always the same old looking square block font. The script used on a $65,000 XTS or CTS shouldn't be the same as on a Chevy Cruze.