2008 Cadillac CTS: Floppy Top

That's one big advantage with the CTS - you can get it WITHOUT the sunroof. Not possible with ANY BMW. grrrr

I hate sunroofs. I just want a convertible is that so much to ask?

I test drove an A3 a couple years back that had a perforated shade for the sunroof. On a 100+ day even with the AC cranked I could feel the sun pounding down through it and the salesperson said the same thing as the GM salesperson that was mentioned above.

I'm with you Donna. A glass sunroof should have a solid sunshade to eliminate solar gain.

Same complaint by many owner's, with the "mesh" shade screen. Many like how it does let some light in even when closed, but there's also issues with it flapping in the breeze or coming apart with use and/or the windows open with it closed.

Not the best design for a panoramic roof, really, versus some others as mentioned.

I liked the sun shade in my old Audi S4. It was solid but had a vent across the front edge that allowed for air circulation with the sun roof tilted up and the sun shade fully closed.

My present BMW pushs the sun shade back a few inches when you opt to tilt the sun roof with the sun shade closed which allows the sun to shine in my eyes.

Being a tall guy I do wish that sun roofs were an option and not standard on some cars.

The Mini Cooper also has that perforated sun shade which is a good reason not to order the sun roof. Plus who needs the extra weight of the sun roof on the Mini.

Does anyone remember canvas sun roofs?

I wish my 08 Malibu had that type of sunshade drhorrible. The 04 *did*. At least the 08's is still a solid shade. This is an intersting blog post of the type it's good to see getting posted- one of the things a potential owner would likely miss in a test drive.

texases, if I remember correctly, one can special order a BMW from the factory without a sunroof/moonroof if one is willing to wait for it. :o)

I'm glad my BMW has a solid shade.

My sunroof is tinted heavily enough that I can leave the sunshade open all the time and not have an issue with glare from the sun. I thought all sunroofs were heavily tinted like that?

"texases, if I remember correctly, one can special order a BMW from the factory without a sunroof/moonroof if one is willing to wait for it. :o)"

There is no moonroof delete option on U.S. BMWs, but it's still a regular or package option on a few cars, such as the M3 coupe and sedan. On the coupe, the carbon fiber roof is standard, or at no cost you can get a regular steel roof with a moonroof instead.

No mention that this CTS has the UltraView moonroof, which is HUGE. There's no room to install a rigid sun shade when it is retracted behind the moonroof.

I wonder if the standard moonroof has a more rigid sunshade? Probably does.

"Does anyone remember canvas sun roofs?"

Jeep does. You can get one on the Liberty.

Also, these panoramic sunroofs require the soft shade since there's no place to store a solid unit when it is pushed back. The problem with the Cadi is how much light it lets in and how floppy it is. Our Enclave also had thin sun shades, but they were of a black material and I don't remember them having as much give to them. The VW CC also has a roll-type tan sunshade for its quasi-panoramic sunroof, but the material is thicker than the Cadillac and its sunroof has darker tint.

However, I'm in agreement with all those who said they could live without sunroofs altogether.

BTW, an extra large moonroof like the CTS' UltraView is not available on BMW. Edmunds never mentions that.

I happen to like the large moonroof, and I'm glad it's available on the CTS - a somewhat floppy sunshade is more than a reasonable trade-off.

Since nobody can design a sunvisor that actually covers the entire side window of the car, I am not surprised that they can't design an effective shade for the 'panoramic' moonroofs.

The Audi A4 Avant also has a similar sunshade that covers what appears to be a similar-sized sunroof as our CTS. It seems to let in an equal amount of light, but it's not as loose/floppy. Perhaps over time it will, though.

Solid sunshades also reduce road noise. I'd never get a car that had a mesh sunshade.

stingray, actually the BMW X3 comes exclusively with a full length moonroof that is easily twice the size of the CTS's. The sunshade that extends is solid plastic and fits tight as a drum. My buddy has an '07 X3 and I've been in it with the windows down at 80mph and you do not hear any rattling from the sunshade.

Having said that, I am sure GM has a reason for using the setup that they have. The mesh really wouldn't bother me that much because I always leave my sunshade open anyway, but the stretching out over time would.

"BTW, an extra large moonroof like the CTS' UltraView is not available on BMW. Edmunds never mentions that."

Edmunds' own BMW X5 comes with a huge panoramic moonroof, which Donna comments on in her post: "By contrast, the shade in our BMW X5 is so drum tight you could bounce a coin off of it." The X5's shade is fully power-operated and also solid like X3's.

The 3-Series sedan does not have a panoramic moonroof option but both the 328i wagon and the 535i wagon have it standard, actually.

mercedesfan and bimmerjay - The X3 and X5 are both crossovers/SUV's. The CTS is a sedan. In case you didn't notice, the X3 and X5 have much more roof space to work with than a sedan. Try again.

Okay than I will. The C-Class has a full-length moonroof, far larger than the CTS's (and in a smaller pacakge), and it also makes use of a solid plastic sunshade rather than some piece of cheap cloth. It doesn't rattle around with the windows open and doesn't droop over time. Likewise, my S550 has a full-length panoramic moonroof larger than the C's and it has cloth-covered plastic panels that feel as tight as a drum.

GM made a poor decision, it's that simple. It doesn't mean the CTS is cheap by any means or that GM is a failure, simply that they tried something that didn't work out. I would presume it would be remedied with the mid-cycle refresh.

I'm confused - when I read this I thought Donna was talking about the optional sunshade that some cars have in the REAR windows that automatically go up and down on arms. A sunshade over the sunroof seems a little lame. I'd rather have the heavy opaque panel that has been on all of my cars equipped with sunroofs...

The C-Class has a full-length moonroof, far larger than the CTS's (and in a smaller pacakge), and it also makes use of a solid plastic sunshade rather than some piece of cheap cloth.

It is NOT a full-length single moonroof. The optional Panoramic moonroof on the C-class is actually 2 separate moonroofs, with a 6 inch wide roof section separating the rear from the front moonroofs.

http://www.mbusa.com/mercedes/MBHome.html#/byoOptions/?vmf=C300W&yr=2009&vc=C

Same with your S-Class.

While the CTS' Ultraview is 2 separate glass panels, they are directly next to each other as one moonroof opening. That's a big distinction.

I too have experienced the windows-down crosswind ripple in the CTS' sunshade. It reminded me of the headliner collapse incident that plagued my 78 GMC dually. Not a happy memory.

I'm not a sunroof fan to begin with, and I never ever open the sunshade in cars that have a glass moonroof like the CTS--except at night (they're called sunshades and moonroofs for a reason.)

The new trend toward farbic, light-permeable sunshades like this one is simply awful on a whole range of levels: Noise, radiant heat (a.k.a. sunload), crosswind flapping and just plain looking cheesy. They probably don't last as long in high-sun places like Arizona, either--this windows-down crosswind flapping certainly can't be good for durability.

Cadillac isn't the only one doing this--I've seen 'em on German and Japanese cars, too. Some clever salesman must be making the rounds: "They're cheaper, so you can make more profit. And the roof section doesn't have to be as thick, so you can get more headroom" or some such.