Car Buyer Labs

Car Buying Advice, Tips, and Reviews

A blue 2025 Cadillac CT5 is driving over a bridge.

The Four Versions of the 2025 Cadillac CT5: A Guide

If you need a midsize sedan for your professional life or daily driving, but you want luxury features and sophisticated styling, you should look for a Cadillac CT5 for sale. The CT5 embodies the VIP spirit you can always count on in a Cadillac. With an aesthetic that’s somehow both sleek and muscular, it’s a timeless ride ready for the most posh of environments. Whether you want to impress clients, turn heads at social events, or simply feel like you have arrived, the CT5 is your sedan.

For 2025, every CT5 has a slew of terrific driver assistance features, along with crisp touchscreens and upscale upholstery. You can expect a smooth ride and all of the luxury appointments you can imagine, like the heated and adjustable seats Cadillacs are known for. You already know how alluring the CT5 is; now you just need to decide which trim is right for you! In this guide, I’ll cover the personalities and highlights of the four versions of the 2025 CT5 to help guide you toward your own purchase of this luxury midsize sedan.

The CT5 Premium Luxury

Here’s some irony: The “Premium Luxury” trim is technically the starting trim, yet its name tells you that there’s nothing basic or “starting” about it, so its name seems kind of misleading! In this trim, you’ll get Cadillac’s all-new 33-inch advanced LED display (which you’ll find across the CT5 lineup). You’ll enjoy that large screen when you utilize the Google Built-In suite, which includes Google Maps, Google Play, and Google Assistant. With these, you can see directions and music info in huge, crisp graphics.

A 5G Wi-Fi hotspot gives you and your passengers internet access on the go without using your data to generate your own hotspots. When you want to rock out to tunes, listen to a podcast, or enjoy an audiobook, the AKG studio audio system will immerse you in a top-shelf listening experience. Meanwhile, front-seat riders enjoy heated, ventilated, and massaging seats that will melt the stress away in any weather condition. A heated steering wheel will keep your hands toasty on cold days, too.

The CT5 is loved for its Driver Mode Selector, found on all trims and variants. It has Tour Mode, which is your go-to everyday mode when you want smooth handling, good fuel economy, and a balanced feel; then there’s Sport Mode for times you’re feeling rowdy and want a boost in throttle, powerful acceleration, and firmer steering; Snow Mode gets you the traction you need on wet, icy roads; finally, My Mode lets you customize driving dynamics to fit your habits and environments.

All CT5s also get Super Cruise, Cadillac’s hands-free driving tool that takes over steering, braking, and accelerating on hundreds of thousands of miles of compatible highways. The driver attention alert will notify you if you take your eyes off the road when using the hands-free driving system. I mentioned the great driver assistance features, and these include perks like an HD Surround Vision camera, intersection automatic emergency braking, and blind zone steering assist. Feel confident and in command with these well-designed safety features!

A close up of the wheel and rim on a red 2025 Cadillac CT5 for sale.

The CT5 Sport

When you get to the 2025 CT5’s Sport trim, you’ll enjoy all the perks of the Premium Luxury, but this is where you can step up from the starting trim’s 2.0L turbocharged I-4 to the available 3.0L turbocharged V6. If you want to enjoy natural light, the Sport trim has a dual-pane sunroof that lets the sky in and lets you enjoy the sights better.

You’ll also find track-ready design features inside and out, like alloy pedals, leatherette seating surfaces, carbon fiber interior accents, black window moldings, black rocker extensions, and a black rear spoiler. I’d ultimately describe the Sport as the performance version of the classic CT5—however, if you want a version of this sedan that has even more aggressive performance, you’ll want to check out the CT5 V-Series.

The CT5 V-Series

If you want to treat yourself to a truly performance-forward luxury sedan that will take your breath away and help you tear up the streets, the CT5 V-Series is calling your name. The V-Series is an unapologetically muscular, powerful, and track-ready variant of the CT5 sedan.

Remember the 3.0L V6 that was available on the CT5 Sport? Well, that’s the standard engine for the CT5 V-Series, except it’s been tuned to provide greater power output. It’s paired with a ten-speed automatic transmission, giving you the opportunity to take tons of small steps as you zip around corners, and it has a power output of 360 hp. This model can reach top speeds of 156 mph on the track and is ready for some thrills. You will even enjoy the ability to go from 0 to 60 in 4.6 seconds!

The CT5 V-Series also has track-ready style details like a grille and front fascia that boast striking black moldings, as well as 19-inch aluminum alloy wheels with a Satin Graphite finish. As you peer around the back, you’ll see quad trapezoid bright exhaust tips that will make people do a double-take as you zoom by.

On the handling front, you’ll enjoy Brembo performance front brakes here. Launch control comes standard; this electronic system enables you to take advantage of those acceleration numbers while maintaining traction. Magnetic ride control comes standard, too, and uses electronic sensors to read the road and adjust damping response accordingly for the smoothest of rides (or stiffest, when you need it).

A light blue 2025 Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing driving on a track.

The CT5 V-Series Blackwing

At the apex is the track superstar, the CT5 V-Series Blackwing. This variant builds on the CT5 V-Series with more aggressive performance features and style perks. Let’s start with the incredible 6.2L supercharged V8, kicking out a power rating of 668 hp. It’s going to be paired with a 6-speed manual transmission (though you can opt for the 10-speed automatic). With this engine, you can go from 0 to 60 in 3.4 seconds!

It has the front Brembo performance brakes of the CT5 V-Series, but it also adds rear Brembo brakes for serious stopping power. It bumps you up from standard launch control to custom launch control with line lock; this allows your front brakes to lock independently of the rear brakes, enabling those rear wheel burnouts that heat up the tires before you hit the tracks.

On the style front, illuminating outside door handles and front sill plates with the V-Series logo will make onlookers want to snap a picture. You also get an awesome performance steering wheel with carbon fiber accents and VIN serialization, giving your model a unique and iconic feel.

Enjoy Style, Speed, and Sophistication in the CT5

Cadillac continues to impress with its updates to the CT5—and by offering the performance-oriented V-Series variants, Cadillac makes this stylish sedan accessible to track lovers who want to let loose during their free time while still enjoying a beautiful daily driver. Every CT5, starting with the base-level Premium Luxury trim, oozes with eye-catching style and features that create a distinctly VIP feel.

The truth is that there is no “basic” version of the CT5, and there isn’t meant to be; this vehicle is meant to come into your life in those treat-yourself moments. Hopefully, by now, you know which version of the CT5 will feel like the biggest treat for you!