2024 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing Pros and Cons: The Honest Sports Sedan

When someone utters the words “sports sedan,” what’s the first vehicle that immediately snaps into your mind’s eye? I’ll tell you where my head goes, and I don’t think I’m alone: BMW M3. Far be it from me to speak for our friends at General Motors, but I think they’d take some umbrage at that. And now that I’ve driven the 2024 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing, I can soundly say they have every right to.

The CT4-V is the baby Blackwing compared only to the CT5-V Blackwing, with its supercharged 6.2-liter V8. But like its big brother, it offers an available manual and lots of motivation: 472 horsepower and 445 lb-ft of torque by way of a 3.6-liter twin-turbo V6. I reckon if you distilled the sports sedan down to its purest form—centrifugally extracted contrast stitching, LEDs, and other frivolous things that mean nothing to the driving experience—you’d get this. And you’d be damn pleased with it.

Here’s what I liked about the CT5-V Blackwing: Almost everything. Because one of my old colleagues drove the six-speed version of this sedan some time ago, I opted for the 10-speed auto. And although I’m sure I’d have enjoyed the stick more, the slushbox is totally competent and a fine choice. It allows you to tap into the CT4-V’s more comfortable, livable side, which is also a very nice place to be thanks to its MagneRide suspension. I’ve never had the privilege of sampling MagneRide before, but now I want it on everything, like really good hot sauce. Its ability to transform the Blackwing from cloud cruiser to primed and poised is almost magical.

In fact, the CT4-V can be deceptively cushy, keeping its real character under the surface until you switch into Sport or Track mode, or press the “V” button on the steering wheel. The twin-turbo V6 isn't the shoutiest or the most memorable power plant in the world, but in terms of capability and smoothness, it leaves nothing to be desired. With power and torque both in the mid-400s, there’s enough hustle here to have fun without wasting output you’ll never use.

GM’s Alpha platform lends the CT4-V Blackwing an athletic soul, with turn-in response only dampened by the Michelin X-Ice winter tires my tester was riding on. But that brings