2020 Cadillac CT4: It’s like the hip grandpa of the car world

2020 Cadillac CT4 Premium Luxury Sports Sedan: A tiny bit of fun from Cadillac.

Price: $49,665 as tested. Driver Assistance Package, $1,200; Driver Awareness Plus package, $800; Technology Package, $1,150; much more noted throughout.

Conventional wisdom: Car and Driver likes the “sharp styling, playful driving dynamics, optional engine is strong and efficient,” but not the “tight cabin, unexceptional interior materials, sometimes clumsy 10-speed automatic.”

Marketer’s pitch: “The dynamic CT4.”

Reality: Bulky on the outside, cramped on the inside, but fun on the pavement.

What’s new: The CT4 replaces the old ATS as the smallest of the Cadillac lineup and aims to up the fun quotient.

Up to speed: The 2.7-liter turbo four ($2,500) creates 309 horsepower and gets to 60 mph in 4.7 seconds, according to a Car and Driver test of the CT4-V with the 2.7.

It feels rowdy and has plenty of oomph for passing and really anything you throw at it.

The base engine is a 2.0-liter turbo with 237 horsepower coupled with an 8-speed automatic.

Back down again: Braking from the standard Brembo brakes can be a little disappointing. I let things go until the last minute once or twice, and it was more last-minute than I expected.

Shifty: The 10-speed automatic accompanies the turbo well. Shifting is available via the stick shift, and it works nicely. The automatic mode also functions admirably.

The nine fast, firm shifts make the CT4 sound like a cross between a Camaro and a Mack truck from a standing start.

On the road: The all-wheel-drive version of the CT4 ($2,000) handles smoothly. The CT4 really competes with the best of Europe and Asia on the fun roads.

Highway driving is also enjoyable and smooth, with a feel like a much larger vehicle. In fact, I always expected more trouble in parking lots than the CT4 actually gave me, just because the car felt so large.

The CT4 also showed bravery during the height of Isaias, handling rain-covered roads with ease. It’s not quite up to CT6-level of calm through puddles and saturated surfaces, but it holds its own.

Driver’s Seat: I found the cockpit to be roomy and kind of attractive, though the Lovely Mrs. Passenger Seat disputed the seat’s comfort level.

The gauges are easy to set up and follow and controls well placed. Unfortunately, the central pod — which alternates among trip odometer and all kinds of functions — blanked out on one startup for about 45 seconds.

Friends and stuff: Beware the CT4 back seat. The sedan may look like a Grandfather Car outside — I had two people call it that to my face, and I’m too old and broken down to fight back — but it’s tight back there. Sturgis Kid 4.0 insisted on taking the Hyundai Venue we had that same week instead, which is by no means roomy. But it has better headroom, that’s for sure.

In reality, the corners are not too bad for headroom and foot room, although the legroom is not designed for stretching out. The middle occupant will be sad, though; the console and hump eat up tons of space.

Cargo space is a measly 10.7 cubic feet.

Play some tunes: The Bose Premium 14-speaker Surround Sound system ($1,700) adds navigation as well.

Cadillac has wisely given up on swipes and swishes for control; dials control volume and tuning, and the touchscreen is fairly simple to operate.

Sound from the system is pretty good, about a B+.

Keeping warm and cool: The Climate Package ($1,200) heats and ventilates the seats, plus heats the steering wheel and adds four-way power lumbar front seats.

Controls involve a long row of chrome buttons along the bottom of the infotainment and are fairly easy to use and see at a glance.

Fuel economy: I averaged about 22 mpg in round of testing that included a couple highway trips to King of Prussia.

Where it’s built: Lansing, Michigan.

How it’s built: Consumer Reports predicts the CT4 reliability to be a 2 out of 5.

In the end: Definitely ready to compete with the smaller premium sedans from abroad. But can Cadillac owners get past the snarky comments?