At present there are just petrol units to choose from: a 2.8 and a 3.6 litre V6 and in the CTS-V, a big lump of American V8 that’s been lifted from under the bonnet of the absurdly quick Corvette. The V6s are expected to account for the bulk of sales, particularly the larger of the two. It’ll hit 60 in a respectable seven seconds, but bear in mind that it’s only available with an automatic gearbox.

A manual six-speeder is offered to left-hand drive markets. Don’t fret, as it isn’t a lazy Yankee slushbox, it’s actually the same five-speed unit that BMW buys from Cadillac for their 3.0 litre versions of the X3 and X5 models. Floor the throttle and the engine is immediately dropped into its most energetic zone. Great for going quickly, but not so good for Grandma’s comfort…or fuel consumption.

Cadillac really want this car to please the driver. All their saloon cars are now rear-wheel-drive and the CTS has been given a sophisticated suspension set-up and an extremely stiff chassis. As a result it responds well to being driven briskly, but the trade off will be felt by your passengers as they hunt around for something to hold onto and you’ll be aware of Britain’s frequently poor road surfacing.

Although it’s an improvement over previous big American saloons, it still doesn’t give the same ride and handling quality of a BMW, Mercedes-Benz or Audi.