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DETROIT – I had to go to the product lineup on Cadillac’s media site to find information on the 2010 Cadillac CTS Sedan. It wasn’t an oversight; there was just so much information on the front page about new derivatives of the CTS sedan.
 There was the starting price of the new CTS coupe ($38,990) and there was news that the 556 horsepower 6.2-liter V8 that powers the Cadillac CTS V (sedan) would be available in the new CTS V Coupe and the new CTS V Sport Wagon. I’m sure it’s not the case but it was as if the sedan had been shoved to the background.
But that’s doubtful, Cadillac’s future rest on the wheels of the CTS Sedan. It is now the platform for at least five derivatives and as big sport utilities continue to fall out of favor, the CTS is in position to replace the Escalade as Cadillac’s flagship.
For 2010, Cadillac has done a little tinkering with the CTS sedan but not much. It has a new 3.0 direct fuel injection V6 that makes 270 horsepower. However, I had the 3.6-liter direct fuel injection V6 that made 304 horsepower.
 The car is available with both six speed manual and six speed automatic transmissions. I had a six speed automatic gearbox with driver shift controls that featured paddles on the steering wheel.
There was just enough output from the 3.6-liter V6 to make my test vehicle qualify as sporty. Gear shifts were pretty smooth and the entire powertrain was quiet. Given that my test vehicle was equipped with a sport tuned suspension, the ride was firm.
But the trade-off of most sport suspensions is rifle shot accuracy when it comes to handling. That certainly was the case with the Cadillac CTS Sedan. It was an effortless drive. The car remained flat in the corners, stayed dead center on straight-aways and it powered through curves with road hugging authority.
 I found the Recaro sport seats, first introduced on the Cadillac CTS V, particularly comfortable. They provided plenty of support, had suede-like inserts that acted like Velcro and that kept me planted in one spot during aggressive driving. They were also heated and cooled.
Cadillac still has to turn it up a bit to match the Europeans (read Germans and Infiniti) in terms of interior ambience. But just by a notch. My test vehicle’s Sapele wood trim package was nice but Cadillac relies too much on silver satin. The sooner they get rid of it the better off they’re going to be. But that’s just me.
Still, my test vehicle was very comfortable and there was plenty of head and legroom in the back seat. That’s a downfall of some of the sedans in this luxury segment; no rear seat space.
 My test vehicle had the 19-inch summer tire performance package which was a lot more than it sounded like. In addition to, what else, 19-inch summer performance tires wrapped around aluminum alloy wheels, there was the sport suspension system, steering wheel mounted shift controls, a performance cooling system and performance disc brakes.
I was surprised that my CTS did not have a rearview camera or a sunroof. But its features included satellite radio, a premium audio system, adaptive headlights, keyless entry, the turn-by-turn navigation feature of OnStar, there was even a under hood appearance package installed by the dealer for 110 bucks.
My test vehicle had about $10,000 worth of options that pushed the final sticker to $52,390. But the base price of my car was $41,565. It seems to me there was enough wiggle room that would work the car into a few pocket books.
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