Summary: I've had my ATS for 5 weeks now and I absolutely love it. I was deciding between the 328xi, X3 x28i, A4 and the ATS4. I was very disappointed with the trim level of the BMW and Audi. The BMW interior looked like it hadn't changed from the used '89 325ic I test-drove when I was in high school (back in '02)...lots of plastic, dated gauges and spartan back seat. The electric steering was uncomfortably laggy and start stop is jarring. I was more confident driving the Audi, but the A4 feels very much like a top-trim Passat, but $10k more expensive; and the faux full frame grill looks very cheap and plastic. The ATS delivered on everything I was looking for in a modern luxury sedan. I purchased the 2.0T AWD performance trim with every option except for the Driver Assist (wasn't interested in brake assist, adaptive cruise and I'm too tall for the heads-up display). Basically, GM did a wonderful job reproducing and improving on the E46 3 series. This is an extremely fun car to drive. Lots of power, and the magnetic suspension coupled with AWD and perfect weight distribution is a blast on the back roads (my previous car was a very squaty Mk4 GTI and I'm much more confident pushing the ATS). The suspension is also very smooth (contrary to the above review)...it does tighten up when in sport mode, but in touring mode the car is very smooth and extremely quiet on the very rough concrete midwest roads I'm stuck with. As for the luxuries, I am very pleased. The ATS interior has everything I felt I was missing in the entry BMW and Audi. Tons of leather, stylish stitching, Bose audio (that I'm seriously afraid to boost above 50% for fear of face melting), very clean infotainment setup (CUE has been very responsive and quick, voice recognition is easy and so far recognizes all of my commands, including weird nicknames on my contacts, and hands free is extremely clear on calls). Exterior, the car is gorgeous. It has a very aggressive look/stance with the thin slices of daytime LEDS, the squat rear and long hood looks very muscular, and every angle looks sharp. It's dorky, but I often find myself looking back as I walk away. I have the black diamond tricoat, which looks gorgeous when clean and slate gray when dirty (so not as bad as straight black), but it is very hard. 4 days after I had it, someone parked next to my car opened the door on it leaving a nickel sized dent and half inch chip. To match up the metal flake, the repair would cost $900 dollars, instead of simply sucking the dent out had there not been the ceramic clear coat. Lastly, I had to settle for the silver painted 17" wheels (my dealership didn't offer the 18"s as a dealer option and only the RWD models had been delivered with them). These wheels are very unattractive...the spokes are fairly rounded and the silver paint is soft. They don't match the sharp look of the rest of the car.
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2013 Cadillac ATS 
