The $56,000 Cadillac CT5-V can't replace the epic CTS-V — but it could give some BMW sport sedans a run for their money

The Cadillac CT5-V looks great in Velocity Red.Matthew DeBord/Insider

• I drove a $56,305 Cadillac CT5-V from the 2020 model year, a revved-up version of CT5 sedan.
• The CT5-V has a 360-horsepower V6 engine — that may not sound like a ton on paper, but it's punchy.
• The CT5-V is adequately sporty and at times comes off as downright German in its driving dynamics. But what really sets it apart is the overall package, from design to technology.

I'm not going to shake anybody's tree if I point out that the 2020 Cadillac CT5-V is in no way, shape, or form a proper replacement for the CTS-V. I drove the latter several years back and was flummoxed by its versatile brilliance. A four-door Corvette, you say? Why, yes, I'll take at least one!

In lieu of the CTS-V's supercharged V8, the CT5-V has a twin-turbocharged V6. And a near six-figure price tag has been replaced by one that's solid in the mid-fives. So, what we're really dealing with here isn't a V but what Cadillac used to call a VSport — and could just as easily have called the JV version.

I was recently disappointed by the CT5-V's little brother, the CT4-V, but I was prepared to give the CT5-V the benefit of the doubt. Still, I knew what I was getting into: less power, less power, less power.

And yes, you notice the lack of oomph from the CT5-V almost immediately. Depression, accordingly, sets in. But in a few minutes, you're driving the peppy four-door, at which point, your mood lifts. This car sneaks up on you! And while it isn't a Caddy V like those of old — a rude, angry, luxury beast — it is the closest thing to a BMW-grade sport sedan Cadillac has yet built.