First Impressions

A near-instant sales success and our pick as MotorWeek’s Best of the Year for 2013, the Cadillac ATS earned our praise for its exacting balance of style, luxury, and performance. So with two less doors, does this 2015 ATS Coupe strike us the same?

A Quick Spin over the winding roads of eastern Connecticut led us to a quick answer: yes it does! The ATS Coupe retains all that worked so well before, with added enhancements throughout.

With only the hood shared with the sedan, the coupe’s styling is sleek and refined, highlighted by a new, more in your face Cadillac badge. Most dimensions are about the same, but both front and rear track are up for a more muscular stance.

Engine choices are simplified as the ATS Coupe moves by either the 272-horsepower 2.0 liter turbo I4, or the 321 horsepower 3.6 liter V6. But a boost in torque in the 2.0 turbo to 295 puts it ahead in pulling power.

The ATS Sedan was our MotorWeek best of the year in 2013, so I certainly didn’t expect to be disappointed by the 2015 ATS Coupe. And I’m not. The car delivers the same kind of compliant, Euro-spec ride, well balanced handling, and excellent braking…that we first found in the sedan, only now in a slicker, two door package. It’s a little conservative for my taste, but all-in-all it’s a very good second act for ATS.

On sale now, the 2015 Cadillac ATS Coupe starts around $39,000.