- Nowadays, testosterone battles are few and far between.
Everything is going to EcoBoost this and hybrid that
and dual motor this, and there's no question anymore
on whether this displacement versus displacement,
which one is better,
and sometimes when you do get down to it,
they get pretty similar these days.
I'm Alex.
Alex.fi on Instagram.
On today's episode of Opposite Lanes,
we're gonna be comparing whether you should own
a Cadillac CTS-V or a Chevy Corvette Grand Sport.
(upbeat music)
(trap beat)
All right.
So first up, we've got good old RJ.
RJ in the old Grand Sport.
Now the Grand's, oh my goodness.
I forget how low, oh my, so oh gosh.
How do you?
Okay.
First off, before I even start...
- [Narrator] Six months later.
- Oh, that part's manual.
Okay.
So you can pick up a Grand Sport right now
for right around $30,000, which isn't too bad of a deal.
And for the sake of just being in here,
I'm just gonna hold on.
Let me just, for those that don't know,
the Grand Sport is pretty much the in between
for your typical Corvette
and of course the old big boy Z series Z01.
The biggest thing to remember with the Grand Sport
is that it still has, it's about a 100,
I want to say 130 horsepower less than the CTS-V.
You can pick one up for right around $30,000
and the biggest thing with the Grand Sport is the exterior.
The exterior is like the body lines
and all that sort of good stuff.
It's pretty much the reason that you buy it.
If you're gonna go to Corvette and you got $30,000,
you're gonna want to upgrade to the Grand Sport
'cause just the body,
I think is what makes it totally worth it.
Now, for those that don't know the history
of this car as a whole,
this car was actually pretty much built in a basement
back in the '50s when they were trying to outlaw,
well, manufacturers from creating race cars.
And so way back in the day
when they were trying to make the Z06,
they made the Z06 practically in a basement.
There's a long story about that.
But ultimately what ended up happening is a Z06 was created
and the only issue with it was inherently the weight.
And they needed to get the weight down
for it to participate in the Lamar as needed,
and of course, they went back to the drawing board.
They essentially had to launder money
through an agency company to get enough money
to even develop the Grand Sport,
and when they did, they shaved down about a 1,000 pounds
and that's where the Grand Sport essentially came to be.
And now that is a history lesson in about 45 seconds
and there's a lot more to it.
Nowadays, 'cause obviously,
the highest trim option is no longer the Grand Sport.
Now, this one has the Heads Up Display,
it's got the whole nine yards.
My favorite thing about this Corvette
is overall just the looks.
And when you're looking at $30,000,
it's still $10,000 cheaper than your, most of your CTS-Vs.
And the best thing about this car too
since it is the Grand Sport, is that it's hand-built
right next to the Z06 and the Z01.
It has some bits and pieces from both.
It's got the oil dry some system.
And overall it is a more refined Corvette
in pretty much every single way.
When you're driving your base model Corvette
compared to a Grand Sport, you can tell the difference.
Most of the differences
in the actual driving experience as a whole,
it just feels better.
The one biggest issue when you're looking at a Corvette
for daily drivability and just reliability
is the fact that there is the space
but there's not much usable space.
Like you can put a bag back there,
maybe a little luggage case to go somewhere,
but you're not gonna actually fit anything more than that.
The biggest con to the C6 Corvette
is the fact that the interior still feels a little rough.
It's still what we would call loosey goosey.
It just doesn't do it for pretty much anyone anymore,
and it's dated super hard because of that.
You can see it in just kind of the buttons.
They still got all the soft buttons here on the side.
(laughs)
Even the good old climate control systems
are a little dated, but I mean,
you're not really getting it for that,
but if you're looking at a car, you got $30,000
and you're like, I want the best of everything,
the one thing that the Corvettes still fall short on
in this generation is the interior quality.
It's still lots and lots and lots of plastic.
You kind of just have to be okay with that
and you have to understand
that when you're spending the 30K,
you're spending about 20,000 in the actual motor
about 7 1/2 K and old people wondering
why you own a Corvette and the other 2,500 in insurance
because you're under the age of 25 years old.
The best thing about this car
if you're looking to pick up a Corvette
is the fact that it's rear wheel drive.
You can get in the manual transmission.
Six Butte is fantastic.
You can floor it, you can pretty much give her hell,
and she does a great job
at just doing what you needed to do.
(car engine running)
It's loud, it's obnoxious.
It's in your face.
Sure, it's 430 horsepower.
It's 130 less than the CTS-V but it really doesn't matter
'cause you got a six butte trans,
you're gonna have fun with this car.
It looks sharp too.
And when you're looking at a reliable, fine sports car,
and you want the testosterone,
Corvette's definitely the way to go.
I was going 31 by the way that whole time.
You are in a dated car, the interior is dated,
it doesn't matter to me.
No, because I just don't think domestics
have really nailed down their interior
to be timeless just yet.
I think that even the CTS-V lacks
and suffers from typical GM internals
that just don't look that good.
And to be fair, most people seem to jump over to tuner cars
because they're more easily accessible,
maybe they're a little bit of a lower price point
than your typical domestic.
But Grand Sports, Corvettes, Camaros, Challengers, Chargers,
all of that stuff are getting more affordable
pretty much every single day, especially Corvettes.
And if you want a snack, something that's fun to drive,
that has the power to boot
where you don't actually have to throw that much money
at the motor itself to make powerful and keep it reliable,
domestics are the best way to go
because you don't have to worry about a tune.
You really don't have to worry
about changing out a turbocharger to get the same power.
With just a domestic NA, VA, you get a ton of power,
you get a ton of torque curve,
you get everything that you would want.
And if you want a chunk of power,
you just switch out some pieces of metal
that direct got gas that way and maybe an intake
and you're pretty much good to go.
It's not like a fake tune,
it's not like a crackle pop thing.
It's literally just, it's exactly what it needs to be.
Exactly what it needs to be at all the right times.
On top of the fact that you got a manual transmission,
you can take the top off, you can enjoy a summer day,
you can drive it, it feels good.
Everybody over the age of 40 is going to love you
if you're under the age of 30 because you own a Corvette.
You just gotta be used to the fact
that there's a lot of them,
you also gotta be used in the fact
that they don't have the same aftermarket
aesthetic potential as a Stancy Boy car,
which isn't terrible.
They still have quite a bit, but just not as,
maybe not as sleek, it's a little bit more brutish,
and of course cue the signaling jokes.
You gotta buy some new balances,
you gotta get yourself some jean shorts,
you got to tuck in the tee shirt,
you got to do all of that.
'Cause if you want to own one of these cars,
it's not just a car max.
It's a lifestyle, you know.
It's a lifestyle.
Let's go drive the upper class much nicer Cadillac CTS-V
because that's what you should spend $20,000 on more.
$15,000 more on.
Oh my gosh!
How typical?
First thing that's in the center, quarter mile times RJ.
RJ ran a, oh gosh, which one do I think he is?
I'll give him the benefit of it.
No, yeah.
11 five?
He either ran in 11 five, eight or 12.6 eight.
You guys can drop a comment below on what you think RJ ran.
All he does is go to the drag race, drag races.
Okay, let's go drive the Cadillac.
(upbeat music)
All right.
So now that we're here,
we have the Cadillac CTS-V, few years newer,
and about $10,000 more expensive.
So you are getting the refined Cadillac interior
when you jump in this car.
Now, the one thing that you're gonna remember,
have to note about the Cadillac CTS-V is first off,
when you first look at it, it's a little awkward
to actually, I hate to say it,
but it's actually kind of awkward to look at initially.
Where is the front?
Where am I going?
Here's why.
If you look at the car in its entirety,
it actually kind of looks a little bit like a napkin sketch
when you were like 10 years old at a Perkins Restaurant,
you were bored.
Because it is angular, it is sharp,
it is oddly composed, especially in the rear.
Once you notice how raked the rear fender is,
it's almost impossible to unsee.
At first, I loved it,
then over time, I didn't like it,
and then I loved it again.
And here's why.
Besides the fact that when you're driving a CTS-V,
you legitimately can not see a dang thing out of it.
I don't know what it is with domestics
in just refusing to have visibility
when it comes to looking behind you,
but maybe it's because they just think
that they're going so fast
that they don't need to look behind them.
Lamborghinis have the same problem.
Pretty much every, yeah, most of them have the same problem.
But once you get used to it, it's not too bad
and it looks super sharp.
These cars look so angry.
And you got a 6.2 liter supercharged VA.
You've got 130 more horsepower than the Corvette.
You have back seats.
You actually have back seats,
which is important if you're trying to look around
for a car that you can daily drive
and also have the function of a car.
Corvette doesn't have that.
You have a trunk, which is where you can put things,
which is very nice for traveling
although I don't know when you would go traveling
in a CTS-V, maybe a CTS-V wagon, that would be nice.
Now, this Cadillac is a auto (clears throat).
It's a (clears throat).
It's not a manual.
Which does bother some people.
But if you're looking for maybe just a daily driver
an automatic may not be have bad.
Automatics are a lot more common at a much better price
than the manual variants of the Cadillac.
I am missing a flappy paddle on the side.
It feels like, yep, definitely missing one.
I have the bottom one but I don't have the top one.
So why would you pick a CTS-V over a Corvette?
Well, one, space.
It's, just more space.
You get a bigger motor to the 6.2 liter supercharged VA
is definitely a bang on of a motor.
You have the trunk and you have something
that I would argue, looks a little bit more unique
that people may notice more of.
Now, this is just a matte black, tuned,
cutout exhaust CTS-V.
So probably right around 550 to the wheels,
which is just enough
to pretty much have fun anywhere you go.
You have the automatic,
so you can drive around and say, sure.
Is it fantastic?
Is it perfect?
No, it is not.
One of the weirdest things that the CTS-V
especially in the automatic transmissions
is just getting it to do what you want.
Once you can figure it out, it behaves lovely.
But getting it to be figured out,
that is what takes a little bit of a nickel of time.
Once you get through the fact
that there's nothing behind you that you can see,
there's nothing to the sides that you can see,
you can't take the top off,
but Cadillac does have something that's very, very nice.
And it is an interior that just feels good.
When you're looking at which one you can modify more,
you can modify both of them.
You can modify them both the kingdom gum.
They have a 6.2 liter supercharged VA,
or you have the dry sump LS, three that's in the Corvette,
both of which have millions of people
that constantly tried to break them.
I mean, this is a drag car.
The Corvette is a drag car.
This beat the eight-minute barrier at the Nurburgring
when it was introduced on street tires.
The car can perform.
This car can go to the track and go to the drag,
it can go anywhere you could possibly want
and on top of all of that, you also get a trunk.
You'll also get an interior that besides this flappy paddle,
doesn't break off.
Like it's nice.
It sounds good.
Nothing is too much in your face,
nothing is too loud, nothing is too crazy.
To me, this is a car where is it worth the extra $10,000?
I would say yes if it was your only car.
If this was your only car that you were looking to drive
and literally take everywhere and you lived in a place
where winter just isn't that much of a thing,
I would recommend a CTS-V over a Corvette.
If you have two cars,
I would recommend probably just getting the Corvette
and letting that second car be a, I don't know,
like a Jeep or a truck or something like that,
that you can do all that other stuff in
because unfortunately when you start
getting up the price range of CTS-Vs
and you start getting into the manual,
you're paying a good chunk of change.
The wagons still are like $50,000,
and that's an automatic wagon, and I love wagons.
Wagons are my favorite car in the world.
I just don't know if it's worth $50,000 for a wagon,
but that is just me.
The best part about either of these cars
when you're really looking
at the best part of either of them
which is there's quite a few pros,
the cons are pretty minimal because it's still a VA,
it's still tried and true, it's still reliable,
it's still all of that stuff.
Cadillac's gonna have a couple more issues
just because it's a Cadillac.
It seems like that's just something that happens.
The biggest thing that it comes down to
is just overall confidence in the car.
When you have a car like this that comes below,
that comes big, you really don't have to worry
about it breaking down on you.
You just don't have to.
'Cause it came from the factory with it,
and the car wasn't built
to just be a straight power monster.
It was meant to be around the track.
The Corvette, same thing.
Years over years over years,
they've gotten better at developing it
for road use and track use together.
The street use and track use together, it's so important.
I think the CTS-V nails that combo better
than the Chevy Corvette.
But the Chevy Corvette hits a part in your soul
that the Cadillac doesn't.
And I think what that feeling that the Corvette gives you,
the feeling that the Corvette gives you
where the CTS-V just doesn't
is just that overall feeling of a sports car.
This feels much more like a sport sedan
that only has two doors.
This doesn't feel as viciously connected to the ground
like the Corvette does.
The longer wheel base
or what it feels like a longer wheelbase,
the long nose of the Corvette, this just doesn't have that.
This thing is more of an executive car
whereas the Corvette is just like
a little bit more of a teenager car in all of us, you know.
And sometimes I want to be a child
and sometimes I want to be an adult,
but I still don't think I'll ever find the day
where you can have both in one car.
Whether you're choosing a CTS-V or a Corvette,
it really comes down to, I'm not gonna say it,
which one you like more, but it actually comes down to,
are you looking for more of a tuner car?
Are you looking for more of a car that's in your face?
A little bit more just different,
more aggressive, more everything, more loud.
In my case, although people may disagree,
the Corvette does that better.
It's got the long nose, it's got the wider arches.
It just has that feeling, it's lower to the ground.
The CTS-V you can't see a dang thing out of,
but it is more of an executive car.
It's a car that you can do pretty much anything in
on top of what the Corvette can also do,
whereas the Corvette can't do everything that the CTS-V can.
For the extra $10,000, is it worth it?
I don't know.
It kind of comes down to, would you rather have one car
or a car and a motorcycle?
I guess it really depend.
In my eyes, I just love, I love that and how it looks,
and I love that and how it feels inside.
If we could just bring them together,
that would be the best solution,
which is technically, probably an AMG.
If you think about Mercedes Benz has the high horsepower,
usually the V8 displacement with the supercharger,
but it does have this really weird thing called depreciation
where you just lose your (beep) out of everything.