It’s fair to say that when you think of a large luxury sedan, clean green energy and ecological responsibility come to mind. These land yachts normally come with big honking engines to match their physical heft, and the class leading German stalwarts from Mercedes and BMW seem to thumb their nose at the environment as they hurtle down the Autobahn at triple digit speeds. These days, however, even the jet-set and business class who favor theses big sedans are looking to save a few gallons of gas. We first tested Cadillac’s new entry into this category last year, with the base 2.0-liter turbo and then got to sample the 3.0-liter twin-turbo flagship engine. Now we get our chance with the CT6 plug-in hybrid.
Slotting right between the 4 and 6 cylinder turbo’s power outlet, the hybrid makes use of the same 4-banger coupled with a complex planetary gear driven electric drive system. With a combined output of 335hp and 432lb-ft of torque, there’s plenty of motivation to go around. Our test car suffered from some problems with the hybrid drive that restricted us from getting full throttle, possibly brought about by a particularly brutal Chicago cold snap. It serves to highlight how much better this is suited to warmer climates... But then again, so am I! Still, the complex drive system is relatively seamless, shifting between eleven modes without a hint of awkwardness. The specs show that at full performance, the hybrid powertrain takes 5.2 seconds to 60mph; just two-tenths of a second shy of the flagship 3.0tt. The difference is in the sound, as the hybrid trades off between whisper smooth electric motor and buzzy four cylinder while the big engine has an exciting tone...
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