other strong points, it's sheer power that sets these cars apart. Although this is a

large car, weighing in at almost 3900 lbs. in STS trim, it can sprint to 60 mph in

less than seven seconds, and its response in tight passing situations is nothing short

of spectacular. In this sense, power can be viewed as a safety feature. In another

sense, power is the key element that distinguishes memorable luxury cars from the rest

of the here.

Either way, the Seville and Eldorado have lots of it, double in spades.

The only soft point in the power picture is torque steer--the tendency of the

powertrain to pull the car to one side or the other at full throttle. These are the

most powerful front-drive passenger cars on earth, and managing this kind of power in

a front-drive system is tricky. Cadillac has all but cured the problem, but there's

still a hint of torque steer when the driver punches the throttle wide open at low

speeds.

The balance between ride and handling, augmented by Cadillac's Road Sensing

Suspension system, leans toward firm in the STS, softer in the SLS, a distinction that

also applies to the basic Eldorado and the Eldo TC. The suspension adapts to various

road surfaces as well as more extreme handling maneuvers with infinitely variable

damping.

Like the original STS, our test car was surprisngly responsive in abrupt

maneuvers, particularly for a large front-drive automobile. However, Cadillac has

softened the ride a bit from the original, a change that most drivers will welcome on

rough roads.

Another positive change from the original is reduced interior noise, largely the

result of exhaust system revisions. Cadillac wants its owners to hear the powerful

sound of the Northstar V8 in action, but early owners have told Cadillac that there

was a little too much of this. Now there's less.

Another interesting technical feature is the Northstar's limp-home capacity. For

example, even if the engine loses all its coolant, the car can keep going by firing

only four of the eight cylinders in an alternating pattern--for up to 50 miles.