The Ultimate Shootout? BMW M3 vs. Audi RS4 vs. Cadillac CTS-V vs. Lexus IS-F vs. Mercedes C63 AMG

The results:
5) C63
4) IS-F
3) RS4
2) M3
1) CTS-V

Audi has the RS4 out? Wow I didn't think they made that car for over a year.

the CTS-V came in over the BMW M3 thats suprising the M3 rocks this category like every time

The author suggests that he would have no problem switching the M3 and CTS-V. Though, that in no way disvalues Cadillacs brilliant achievement here. Once Caddy gets reliability in check, the days when a Cadillac is a car to be proud of (once again) are coming.

You obviously don't read much auto news...

What on earth are the BMW 7-Series press releases doing here?

you're in Europe, right? Does MB use a different suspension for the U.S. than they do there? Admittedly I have not driven the C63, but have driven the M3 quite a bit, so all I can base this on is what all the reviews have said, but they've been pretty universal in saying the C63 was waaaaaaaay too stiff and it was bone jarring on rough roads, while the M3 with the technology package and adjustable dampers was great because it could be, well, adjusted to fit the needs of the moment. Did you drive both? What were your impressions?

European-spec Mercedes-Benzes have a stiffer suspension to cope with our more "twisty" roads while American-spec Mercedes' tend to get "softened up" suspensions and vaguer steering to appeal to their target markets. Not sure what the situation is with AMGs.

Also, US-spec Mercedes' get slightly different final drive ratios that are biased towards acceleration at the expense of fuel economy. In Europe it is the other way around. This explains why US-spec MBs tend to be faster but less fuel efficient than their European counterparts.

Well, two points here...

first of all.. "GM".. it's too late... where were you in the past few years?... how long will it take you to recover ? ... I got a 2006 Cadillac STS V8.. interior is a piece of junk.. There are pros and cons, but his kind of improvement happened with the new CTS should've been done 7 years ago, when the first sigma car was released...

second... how can I buy such car if I still can't trust the reliability ? ... Mine has now 77,000 km... It went to the dealer almost 15 times.. I got throttle body replaced twice, read differential oil leak, coolant leak, transmission reprogramming, and "Check engine" light is on most of the time... and yeah, it's on now... I don't know what's wrong that made it turn on, but thanks god the car is still under warranty... I will take it soon to the dealer for the 80,000 km service, fix the washer water leakage, fix a horrible sound coming from the front axle, plus some cosmetic things..

however, I still love the car.. but my next car will not be a cadillac for sure...

If the interior was a piece of junk why did you buy it, posts like never make any sense you spend thousands on a car you dont want??? uhm yeah right, regardless it isnt to late for GM the CTS-V proves they can create a car tha can beat its rivals, and without compromise in interior quality, not to mention Cadillac's have came a long way in regards to reliability (yet you fail to mention the miserable reliability of Mercedes new or old, or Audi's), with so many choices of cars, good cars out there I find it seriously hard to believe that you purchased a Cadillac that you dont like and in between 06 and 09 havent tried to get rid of it if thats bad.

Sadly I have an STS too and is having almost the same problems but also overheating, and at this point I do not want to receive recommendations of anybody, I put a new heavy duty radiator, new fans, I remove the thermostat, flush the houses etc. No problem with gaskets but still overheting. Last thing to do is to put a new waterpump. I feel that I am a good customer but if that do not fix the issue, this will be the last Caddy., even if the new Caddys are the best, I won´t give them another chance...

The interior in the Cadillac is a joke !! And for the money they want for one, I'd take any of the other models first. AS the article mentioned, I would choose the IS-F because it is a car you can drive long distance and at the track on the weekend. It's not the best at one or the other, it's the best combination of the two...

"the Japanese luxury brand’s first F is the fastest AND most comfortable sports sedan money can buy"

"The Lexus IS-F lacks a manual transmission, looks odd and offers less badge appeal than a Trans Am." - The Truth About Cars

My quote is from the article as well. Which do you consider more important when choosing the car?

lol but the ISF is clearly not the fastest nor the most comfortable(which is highly subjective in the first place) sports sedan money can buy, from the CTS-V, to the M3, to the E63 and others it is clearly not the fastest, and I having driven what looks like a bad 17 year olds street racer custom job its not that comfortable

11. Septic Service Truck

Your car made it to #6, must be that new state of the art soft-serve ice cream dispenser you installed.

You need 500hp to be in with the big boys league these days!!!

No, you just need amazing handling. I'm sick of the HP wars. I want to enjoy my car on a level other than getting to each red light faster.

For everyones information, teknik, ubercool and staar are all the same person. The same lonely, irrational, naive person.

Some comments here are dipped in utter frustration! I wonder what did BMW do to them? Did their BMWs rape their girlfriends? Or did their BMWs raped them? haha!

nite: I still have an open invitation for teknik to meet me at English town in March...... I'd like to show him what my 4 Door poser mobile M5 will do to his vehicle in a safe racing forum.

The result will be why he hates BMW.

i like what he saids about these cars, i agree with 4/5, not need to explain, but i would change 1 with 2 and 3 with 5, that's just my opinion

What's the Lexus doin' in this list of cars?

Isn't there a Huyndai the IS-F can compete with? ;-)

Well..One thing is for sure and that's don't think for one more year Lexus is going to allow the IS-F to fall off the charts. It's all a challenge to them. Toyota knows it's a matter of time to find out who has built what and see who has harnessed all that power and how the competition will hold up. Look at the new Nissan GT-R, over 450 ponies and the tranny goes to the dogs. "WHO NEXT"? I'll tell ya who....The Caddy, then the Benz C63 and it won't matter after that because Lexus will patiently wait till all the smoke clears and by then the IS-F will get a shot in the arm then, The Lexus LF-A will trump all the aforementioned and go after the dogs way at the top. So, all you Toy/Lex fans out there set back and watch how it's done. You can't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. I'm telling you Toyota is getting ready to kick some serious but!

RS4: very good car but getting dated. still a safe car to get.
IS-F: good first try but no cigar. nothing crazy about it.
C63: hammer blowing madness. love it.
CTS-V: new dog in the streets.
M3: will always be an M3

Do you also disagree that the car whose rear end you are looking at beat you? M3's have always gotten beaten by CTS-V's, both generations pitted against each other.

How is the M3 going slower "outperforming" the V going faster, cornering better, and stopping quicker?

Every comparo of the new V has it beating the M cars. You call it disagreeing? I call that failure to see reality.

Open your eyes and test-drive a V...you might realize how non-superior your BMW is...well...I doubt YOU will, but a driver who can look beyond their favorite brand could.

Why did they even bother throwing in the c and is-f? Surely it had to be to make us laugh, since they stood no chance of coming in higher than mid-packed.

CTS has been tested here in europe too, by our standards... its the cheapest, but the cheapest too... if you know what I mean.

None of the cars are as appealing as the C63. I love the CTS, but I love my MB

I want my M3 in white, Full options, 19' rims and Dual Clutch transmission.

Wait till the IS-F coupe appears...Lexus' second attempt will surely satisfy any enthusiast!

The problem is with Cadillac is they rely on the sport engines that come from Corvette. "Oh we spanked the M3 and M5", why is it that? Cadillac can't come up with their own engine. That is the difference between BMW's and Caddy's. Every Asian and European manufactured cars have their own build developed engines. Hench the letter M from the BMW model. Ofcourse the CTS-V is going to out-run the M3, hell it has 100 more hp and more torque. What do you expect when you put in a ZR-1 engine from a sports-car like the Corvette. Far as interior, ha, that is a joke. I driven in many US cars and I notice the texture of leather throughout of the car is made cheap. It rips and tears way to easy just from the heat of the sun. I rather have real leather from a lamb/cow skin in an expensive car insteand of raw material because I know it will have better quality. You pay for what you get. And if they want to argue that the CTS-V is the fastest sedan in the market with its modified engine, hell, why don't they race a Mercedes Brabus CLK Rocket or the BMW M5 G-force Hurricane. Have GM get the car tuned up and then lets see who is talking when CTS-V gets burned on the track. Can't even compare! Oh wait, GM can't even afford that. That is why the car won't last. Lets see how long this car will be in the market, or will the future predict GM will shed Cadillac too, just like they did to Pontiac!!!