2025 Cadillac CT5

Flawed but fun to drive, the 2025 Cadillac CT5 is one of the last American luxury cars you can buy. Made in Lansing, Michigan, and built on a vehicle platform originally engineered to take on the best sport sedans from Germany, the CT5 offers a midsize interior, a small trunk, and plenty of available power and performance. This year, it gets a face-lift and technology upgrades to help stave off death, even as some of its rivals idle into that great automotive graveyard in the sky. We're glad this car still exists, but it is likely living on borrowed time.

This year's CT5 styling changes are just obvious enough to catch your attention, including a new grille, front fascia, headlights and running lights. Inside the car, the difference is more dramatic because the CT5 gets a new 33-inch panoramic driver display and a Google-based touchscreen infotainment system. Cadillac also expanded the CT5's collection of safety features and dropped the affordable base trim level while adding more standard equipment. Those changes have dramatically increased the car's entry-level price.

Cadillac has simplified the CT5 lineup, but the car's competitive set depends on your chosen version. The Premium Luxury and Sport count the Acura TLX, Genesis G80 and Lexus ES as rivals. Meanwhile, the sportier CT5-V is a red, white and blue alternative to the Audi A6, BMW 5 Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class. The CT5 falls short in standard power, particularly the Sport trim, which comes only with an underwhelming four-cylinder engine. Interior quality isn't up to snuff either. For those reasons, the Cadillac costs less than most of its competitors.