When I was a kid, Cadillacs were mean cars driven by special people. The old man had a few pals who really impressed me when they rocked up in them and my uncle was a Caddy freak too. I've always had a special place where Cadillacs of old sit in my mind.

I suppose that's because back then, Cadillac was king ? those people who drove their de Villes, Eldorados and Biarritz operated around the tip of the social pyramid and their Caddy was a sure sign of success.

The brand has slipped over the years and of late it's an Audi, a BMW or a Merc driven by today's people in that neck of the social woods. The Cadillac brand had ebbed from power and grace to more or less become a bit of an also-ran.

That however, is all set to change and if the all-new Cadillac CTS is anything to go by, those people ? the smart, style-conscious and successful set ? could once again well get behind the wheel of a Cadillac?

Edgy, attractive and unique, I reckon CTS is the car Batman would drive when he didn't need the Batmobile. Taking Cadillac's now-traditional styling cues to a new level through refined detailing, tight creases and precise lines, the new midrange Caddy is complimented by a shiny set of nine-spoke 18-inch alloy wheels.

CTS boasts what Caddy calls a class-leading 229kW 370Nm direct petrol injection 3.6-litre quad-cam V6 that's red-lined at 7000rpm and makes for a claimed 6.3 second 0-100 and a top speed of 241km/h with a combined fuel consumption of 11.1l/100km.

Rear-wheel driven through a six-speed Hydramatic automatic transmission with steering-mounted electronic controls, CTS offers the driver a choice of fully-automatic or paddle shift sequential manual gear selection. Suspension, brakes and steering are Nurburgring sharp and Caddy is quite chirpy about CTS' on the road prowess.

Most interesting though, is how Cadillac positioned CTS on its launch and this test is in direct reaction to those claims?

Priced to undercut a similarly placed entry-executive car, the Caddy, they say, is actually a middle executive itself. Which means that while this car is priced to beat a BMW 330i, Merc C350 or Audi A4 3.2, it actually competes in size, space, spec and the rest with 530i, A4 3.2 and E350?

So to cut to the chase we rustled up an Audi A6 3.2 and a BMW 330i for CTS to play with and set out to see how well the Caddy actually stacks up to its makers' claims.

Opinion divided

Look at these three cars and opinion will be divided straight off. It's important to note that both the A6 and the 3-Series are set for imminent facelifts and will also benefit from an improved spec all-round, but still, the basic cars are the same.

Getting back to looks, I think the Caddy is streets ahead ? bold, brave and interesting, it has the Audi covered in that department. Make no mistake, the Audi is still good looking despite its age ? the first car to carry that new Audi style across is still a pretty car.

Not so sure I can say as much about that 3-Series though. Indifferent looks and '90s Nissan styling traits will need more than the impending nip and tuck to sort its styling out. It's purposeful enough, but its sales success is more down to the BMW dynamics than its styling.