2010 Cadillac DTS

The 2010 Cadillac DTS is Cadillac's largest vehicle, one that's traditionally been the basis for Presidential limousines and all sorts of "black cars"-from airport transportation to, er, hearses. Nonetheless, it has some retail fans that appreciate its immense room, luxurious interior, and formal styling. With a base price of around $47,000, it's not a competitor for similar sedans from Germany or Japan at all. Instead, the few cross-shoppers who look elsewhere will probably study the Lincoln Town Car and the Chrysler 300.

In keeping with its conservative shape and its old-school seating, the 2010 DTS appeals to buyers who want a large, cushy sedan. It's "a traditional large America luxury sedan," Edmunds says. The look is formal, but it does wear some of the cues of more recent Cadillacs-like the enormous grille and wreath-and-crest badge, hints of "a subdued version of Cadillac's edgy new styling," according to Car and Driver. While Cars.com thinks the DTS "evokes Cadillac's STS sedan," Kelley Blue Book "ties it to the DeVilles of the past." The "light dose of new-wave Caddy styling" is pleasingly angular, says Motor Trend, but it's beginning to look a bit out of date. Automedia points out details like the "vertical headlights and taillamps, accompanied by an egg-crate-pattern grille" as adding up to a "more architectural, linear" style. LED taillamps are standard, they add, but a traditional stand-up wreath-and-crest hood ornament is an option.

The 4,000-pound DTS is front-wheel-driven and offers a choice of closely related V-8 engines.

There's a 275-horsepower, 4.6-liter V-8 or a 292-horsepower version of the same engine. Car and Driver says the engine's power is "adequate," though Kelley Blue Book describes it as having "utterly smooth response." MyRide notes that on paper the numbers may be different, but observes "negligible differences in power ratings." Both engines come with an outdated four-speed automatic that Motor Trend calls "effective, but somewhat old news in this world of five, six, and even seven-speeders." Edmunds reports it's "calibrated for quicker response in the Performance model." According to their tests, the DTS Performance accelerates to 60 mph "in 7 seconds flat." As TheCarConnection.com's editors see it, the 2010 DTS accelerates fairly well in a straight line, and responds quickly enough to requests for power, but the lumpy shift quality and the battle between power and weight tends to favor weight.

The 2010 DTS comes in standard or long-wheelbase editions-the DTS-L stretches eight inches-and both offer vast interior room and flat, unsupportive seating. It's retro comfort-plenty of space in all directions, with no urge to pocket passengers in for a fun ride.

According to Car and Driver, the DTS is "big and roomy," and Edmunds says "the sheer volume of room in the cabin makes the DTS a fantastic long-distance highway cruiser." The base version offers front bucket seats-"bucket" is loosely defined here, just like the seat itself-and a floor-mounted shifter. This 2010 DTS can seat five full-size adults comfortably, with plenty of head- and legroom to spare. A six-seater version gets a front bench seat and a column-mounted shifter. It's one of the few cars left that offers six-passenger seating. The seats have "as much legroom in back as they do in front," Automedia observes, and "tons of front-seat space lets occupants stretch out." In the rear, they note, "backseat space is no less bountiful, but a hard seatback is less inviting for the center occupant." In both versions, the DTS' wide, flat seats are slippery and unsupportive, just a little less so in the five-seat edition. ConsumerGuide proclaims the car's "standard bucket seats are all-day comfortable," but the reviewer majority doesn't care for "unsupportive, couch-like bucket seats," as Car and Driver perceives them.

The 2010 Cadillac DTS has plenty of standard safety gear and options, but crash tests are a little low.

The DTS earns slightly subpar four-star crash ratings from NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) for front and passenger-side impacts and for rollover, with a five-star rating for driver-side impacts. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) gives the DTS a "good" rating for its more stringent front-impact test, but only an "acceptable" rating for side impacts. The safety scores are somewhat lower than expected for a luxury full-size sedan.

For 2010, the DTS carries over largely unchanged except for two new colors, new heated mirrors, and an optional rear-seat DVD entertainment system. It's fitted with many standard features, as well as a long list of options.

Remote Start is standard on the 2010 DTS, as are an AM/FM/CD/XM audio, dual-zone automatic climate control, OnStar, and five-passenger seating with a floor-mounted shifter. "Leather seating," "bi-xenon headlamps," and "power front bucket seats," are also standard, Edmunds reports. The Performance edition picks up 18-inch wheels, Magnetic Ride Control, and the blind-spot alert system.