Like the exhaust noise, STS ride quality also withstood a fair amount of criticism from owners. Although most liked the car's aggressive handling, many disliked the harshness of the ride that went with it.For '95, the Seville and Eldorado engineering team went to work on this, and the result is a subtle softening of the car's response to sharp bumps and choppy pavement. It's still firm, still impressively athletic, still distinctly sporty. But it's a bit more civilized. One of the keys to the improvement in the balance of the Seville's ride vs. handling is the ongoing development of Cadillac's Road-Sensing Suspension system. This system automatically adjusts individual shock absorber damping to compensate for cornering loads on each wheel. Like other self-adjusting suspension systems, the upgrades in the Cadillac setup are largely attributable to increased computer sophistication, along with corollary advances in shock-absorber technology. The Cadillac system processes inputs from the suspension sensors 1000 times per second, or about once per inch at 60 mph. Still another addition to this car's inventory of electronic wizardry is Cadillac's Integrated Chassis Control System, which optimizes performance of the ABS and traction control system, particularly in cornering. Cadillac isn't unique in offering all this gee-whiz hardware - and software. Other luxury manufacturers offer computerized suspension/anti-lock/traction-control systems, and the pace of progress in this area of development is relentless. But certainly the sophisticated equipment wrapped up in the '95 Seville is at least as good as anything out there, and better than a lot of it. Our only reservation about the Seville's driver-assist functions has to do with the traction control. Unlike the systems on most competing cars, this one can't be switched off. All things considered, the net result is a big sedan that we found to be fun to drive. We also found our STS to be quick on its feet, completely predictable and smoother than the previous model. It won't quite match some of its rear-drive competitors - the BMW 740i, for example - in absolute handling. But it's more agile than front-drive rivals such as the new Lincoln Continental. And if it still falls short of the Lexus LS 400 on the interior noise index, that's by design. Many drivers - our own test crew included - like the muted rumble of that superb V8.
|