2008 Cadillac CTS: Nice View Through the Roof

That is a big sunroof!

Please take this car by the dealer to be de-squeaked. I'm sure any Caddy dealer would be more than happy to do it under warranty.

"squeaks... two years... miles"

Uh... since when are cars suppose to squeak at 27k miles? You must be used to driving terrible things. I can't begin to imagine.

altimadude writes: "not to mention save a grand or two"

I gotta go along with that. I love my sunroof, but it was $280. There's no way I'd pay $1K-$2K for a window up top.

I never had any idea your car had this option.

I, too, would never pay for such an option...or, in fact, for any sunroof at all. I might be tempted to pay up to $1000 for a sunroof DELETE option if a car ever had one. They really are pointless, aren't they?

I think sunroofs are nice in pure luxury cars, but in any type of sports car i think it is totally wrong for the reasons mentioned by altimadude

Perhaps some squeaks would be ok on a ford or a honda, but on a caddy? My BMW has 96k on it and is rock solid, same for my wifes Acura.

I like sunroofs to keep connected to the outside world on a cold day. The option to keep the rear of it cracked open keeps the air flowing and the sound coming.
Makes sleepy morning commutes safer with the sound and connection it makes to the outside.

I do not like the headroom robbing.

i love sunroofs. all three of my cars have had them and after the first having it after riding in cars without one, it's a nice change. let's in a lot of air, can be opened on the cooler days and not get cold, and nice breeze for when you want nothing more than that. sure it adds weight but it's worth it unless you're getting a purely track car.

I like these panoramic type sunroofs - they really open up the car, even if you don't actually open the glass. I sort of wish my MINI had the sunroof option, but then again its pretty expensive.

I definitely like sunroofs, however I am noticing that most of them begin farther back from the front passengers now. When I'm driving, I'd like to look up and see through. I don't to have to look up and back. Its great that the rear passengers now have a sunroof right over their heads but if I'm driving the car (and buying it), I want that as well.

Who is worried about the center of gravity on a 4000 lbs luxury sedan? Give me a break people. If you are that concerned about handling, go buy a Caymen for $50k, not the CTS. As for me, I'll never have a car without a sunroof- luv them.

Yes, what chavis10 said. As for squeaks, I wouldn't expect a luxury car to have squeaks so soon. My 328i had 157K miles on it and was squeak free to its unfortunate death.

I'll definitely admit to being one of those people who don't care about a sunroof. It's nice sometimes, but I often forget it's there altogether.

It adds alot of weight and the highest point to the car, adds a new thing to squeak or break (the sunroof seals in my civic SI squeak at times when the internal sunroof cover is opened). It lowers the roof. It lessens structual rigidity (though I'm not sure by how much).

I'd rather have an option to add a front and rear strut bar and underbody bracing, for the cost and weight

Adding a few dozen pounds of extra weight the roof of a car over say 3500-3800lbs will not be noticed. That's like saying you refuse to carry your laptop case or overnight luggage bag because it's adding too much mass and will therefore ruin the dynamics of the car. While you're at it, you may as well rip out the head curtain airbags as well.

M3 coupe has a carbon fiber roof while the sedan does not but I haven't seen any reports stating that the Sedan's experience was ruined because of the heavier steel roof (or sunroof option).

A sunroof is not really high on my priorities for a car. I've had car with them and cars without. I've mostly owned Hondas and the sunroof is always grouped into the trim level. In my current commuter car, a Honda Civc SI sedan, it was part of the package. I bought it for the 6-spd, 2.0L twin cam, and LSD - the sunroof was just part of the deal. I do like the vent, but since my car pretty much has a bike rack permanently attached to the roof, I don't open it often due to the wind noise. Beside, if I want wind in my hair, I just drop the conv. top on my other Honda and listen to the twin Magnaflows.

Ultimately, I like my sunroof, but I wouldn't pay extra for it.

+ I agree with Joe-

If I had a choice between sunroof or more performance parts, then I would prefer Honda go for the latter in my SI. Like a stiffer clutch, a gear shifter closer to the steering wheel (not all short shifters are created equal), seam welding from the Civic Type-R...

As for luxury trim, I would also rather have leather seating surfaces rather than the sunroof as well.

Chavis - I've driven cars with and without a sunroof, with no other optional differences. I believe the weight difference was 40 pounds. I can't feel the difference in accelerating or braking (or at least, I didn't), but I did notice the difference in sharp transitions. This wasn't a hard-core sports car on a track either.

By no means will it ruin the experience, much like swapping from a stripper BMW 328 to a fully loaded BMW 335 (about ~200 pounds difference) will ruin the experience, but it makes a difference for people who like to occasionally take their vehicle to the limits in sharp transitions.

LukeMC - I drive a 2006 Civic SI, so the coupe version of what you own. I just wish I didn't have a self-adjusting clutch....I have no idea how much life is left in it.

Someone explain to me the pricing justification.

As I indicated, my sunroof was $280 (factory installed) nine years ago. It recedes into the roof. It seals as well as it did when I bought the car. It still works flawlessly.

Why does the same thing cost $1K today?

The problem with this kind of sunroof is the cover. Typically it is mesh instead of solid, like with a regular size sunroof. A mesh cover will still let in a huge amount of light and heat if you live in very hot climate. It may be acceptable in Southern California but not in Florida or Louisiana. Examples of cars with very large sunroofs that have a mesh cover are Mini Cooper, Saturn Astra, Mercedes C-klasse, Audi A3. What kind of cover does CTS have?

CTS has a mesh cover. I would guess the reason for the mesh cover is so that it can compress into a tight storage space when retracted. If the material were 100% opaque, it would likely be denser and therefore would not be able to stow properly. If you want the huge roof then you'll likely have to settle for some light leakage when the glass is closed.

I love the ultraview moonroof, and I will definitely order it when I buy a CTS-V (hopefully this fall). And if the car squeeks, then I'll bring it back to the dealer to have it fixed under warranty. Simple as that. My Infiniti G35 coupe had a rattle the instant I drove it off the dealer's lot, brand new, and it developed many more rattles after that in only 23k miles. Back to the dealer it went for each one - they fixed most of them. I wish it didn't rattle of course, but I still liked the car in spite of the rattles.

I suspect I will enjoy the CTS-V even if it squeeks, but I don't think it will, since I haven't heard of CTS' squeeking outside of Edmund's LT car.

As for the moonroof and it's cost, well, I tend to keep my cars for a long time (5-10 years), and I know I will continue to enjoy the moonroof 10 years from now. To me, that's money well spent on an option.

"it has its shares of small squeaks, but nothing that I wouldn't expect from a car with two years worth of miles on it."

Man! i can tell this dude is use to driving domestic clunkers. my 02 4runner has quadruple that mileage plus two 12" MTX thunder woofers thumping all these years and i can guarantee it doesn't squeek like that. what a lame comment to make. GM apologist?

toyota4life, why do you have to make this a domestic vs import issue? If you take the time to read comments, there are plenty of examples (pro and con) on both sides.

"Man! i can tell this dude is use to driving domestic clunkers."

Toyota4life, youre anti-GM posts are getting old. Like ALL other manufacturers, Toyota and Toyota products are far from perfect.

For the record my former 1996 Lexus ES300 as well as my grandmothers MINT 1995 Camry V6 XLE both had/have an annoying windshied creak. Sure its slight but its noticable upon certain road irregularities. However, my wifes former 2000 Lexus GS400 was a bank vault.

My 03 Acura CL-S 6MT had a sunroof rattle upon delivery and was fixed by the dealer using 2 sided tape. Common issue with CL owners so Ive read. Our 05 Odyssey Touring rattled after 15K or so, but now all but 1 have dissappeared. The last rattle only makes its presence known when its really cold.

My old 1995 Civic EX sedan has never rattled even with the Teins on their stiffest setting and our 2002 S2000 makes no odd noises despite being a convertible.

chavis10, yeah, that's what I thought. I would not buy a car with a mesh sunroof cover.

My BMW wagon has a panoramic sunroof like that and a solid cover that matches the rest of the roof fabric.

Living in the Gulf South I would be concerned about how well the AC could cool and interior with all that glass. I've never seen a GM product with weak AC but this has got to be a challenge even for them.