When I got the notification that
I was eligible for a #KloutPerks with Cadillac Canada I was ecstatic! Who wouldn't want to test drive a Cadillac CTS for 3 days? Sign me up! Even better was the fact that when I signed up, I was given my #CTSdrive over the Victoria Day
long-weekend, which meant I got the car for an extra day, 4 days total!
#Winning
Richard, from Cadillac Canada dropped
the Cadillac CTS off at my house on Friday evening. When he did so, he went
over all the features of the car and showed me a few tricks and ways to
personalize the car for my 4-day test drive. For example, we were able to
customize the gauge skins on the dashboard to my liking. I knew what I wanted
to see from all the options available, and he helped set that up for me. Richard
also helped me set up the Heads Up Display (HUD). This customized screen is viewed only from the driver’s seat and is presented on the windshield. You
can customize what you see, be it the navigation, your speed, the gauges, etc. This
helps keep your eyesight focused on the road avoiding having to glance down to
your dash.
One of the first things I noticed
in the Cadillac was the Cadillac User Experience (CUE). This intuitive screen
has a highly intelligent, clean, uncluttered design. With Natural Voice
Recognition and responsive touch-screen technology, CUE creates an experience
that’s as simple to use as it is advanced. CUE can even sense your presence,
which may or may not have freaked me out at first (spoiler: it did). It senses
your presence within proximity of the screen as your hand approaches. The
touch-screen also pulses when you tap on an icon, acknowledging the command and
allowing you to keep your eyes focused on the road. I was able to connect my iPhone for easy access to my music, as well as hands-free communication.
Once I turned the car on and
started driving, I was surprised by the Automatic Safety Belt. About 30 seconds
into driving, the belt automatically hugged my body and tightened appropriately.
This caught every passenger I had in the car off guard! I personally like this
safety feature, though some of my passengers did not. Another great safety
feature to the Cadillac CTS was the Safety Alert Seat Technology. There are
those pesky motorists who always love to hide in your blind spot. You know the
type! Well, with the Safety Alert Seat Technology, your seat will give a vibrating
pulse that lets you know both that a car is approaching in your blind spot, and
which side it is approaching from. Another aspect to this is when you sway into
another lane; your seat will vibrate as well. This is especially helpful when
you are driving late at night, and the highway isn't well lit.
Now, imagine you are out on the
road, and you need to run into a store quickly. You may not want to carry all
your electronic devices in with you, and Cadillac has come up with a great way
to help! Hidden storage! You simply wane your hand under, and the front will
lift up to reveal ample storage space. There is even a USB port here, so you
can keep your phone plugged in! Though, now that the secret is out…I’d be
reluctant to leave valuables there – but it is still handy to use.
There are a couple features I did
not personally use while experiencing my #CTSdrive. One is the Adaptive Cruise Control.
With this feature the CTS will automatically slow down or speed up depending on
the flow of traffic. Another feature I didn't get a chance to try was the Automatic
Parking Assist. With this feature, the CTS will locate a spot within the
vicinity and the car will parallel park itself. Richard showed me a video of
another client using this feature and my mind was blown away! I was too nervous
to do it on my own though. *blush*
Now, as for the features that I
REALLY cared about! LOL The trunk was massive and even had compartments to
store things in. You could flip down the back seats in case you needed to put
something longer in the trunk as well. There were at least 3 USB ports, and
even a 3-prong outlet. No shortage of ability to keep everyone’s phones fully
charged on a road trip! The cup holders in the front seats were perfectly positioned
for easy use while on the road. I didn't find the back seat cup holders until
the last day, right before the car got picked up. And, I didn't even find them;
they were pointed out to me. LOL Though, in my defense – I was never in the back
seat!
The CTS has a full sun-roof, which came in handy because the weather was beautiful over the Victoria Day long weekend!
I couldn't have been happier with
the Cadillac CTS for my #CTSDrive. I was lucky enough to take the car out on
the road and head to Montreal
for a brief mini-vacay. I have to admit - quite a few on-lookers looked more
than a little surprised to see me behind the wheel of the Cadillac CTS!
Especially when we would stop on the way to and from Montreal , and come back to the car to see
some people admiring the car – and then myself and my girlfriend got in!
Stay tuned for the post about all the shenanigans we got up to in Montreal!
