[Veritable]

As some of you might know, after 10+ years of owning BMW 3-series's (2x E46 330i's, E90 335i, 2x E90 M3s), earlier this year I made the switch and stepped into a 2013 Cadillac CTS-V Sedan 6MT. As some of you also know, every year I do a few of these driving trips across the southern part of our beautiful Province of British Columbia here in Western Canada.

The car may be different this time, but the roads and the scenery are as great as ever. Besides, despite being a not-BMW, this car might be the most-BMW of them all!

Day 1, Google Maps: http://goo.gl/maps/ZbwIa

Britton Creek Rest Area alongside the Coquihalla Highway, BC Highway 5, where it was the time and place for the GoPro to come out:




From there, I drove for a bit further on the Coquihalla, before turning off onto Coldwater Road for the "fun" way into Merritt:

(Coldwater Road starts at 15:46)

Here is Merritt, BC, a hub of no less than SEVEN numbered Highways, and here I am getting into town using none of them






Westside Road, so-named for being on the west side of Okanagan Lake. I personally found this road to be spectacular due to the undulating sections that also have what seemed like 100ft drops right off the cliff side, with nothing but those light-reflecting posts to break your fall (which won't help at all all):

In between, I stopped at Fintry for a few pictures:







Fueled up in Vernon, which also happened to be my overnight stop. However, before calling it a night, I had a date with the Monashee Road, the start of BC Highway 6, which cuts across the Monashee Mountains. I personally rank this road as the #1 drive in the entire Province, for not just the twistiness and scenery, but also for the wonderful pavement, the beautiful engineering, and lack of traffic:

Highway 6 continues on at the Needles Cable Ferry, which is a diesel-powered barge pulling itself across Lower Arrow Lake on 3 cables. As part of the highway system, just like a bridge, it is free of charge:






Some more great roads lay across the lake, but unfortunately the night is falling and I only had 2 days. So, back onto the Monashee Road for a run in the dead of night:

(believe it or not, it's not the spookiest drive I've ever done... but it's right up there)

Overnight in Vernon:




Day 2, Google Maps:

http://goo.gl/maps/ezlwF

Day 2 started with a run down the Kettle Valley Highway, BC Highway 33. This road shares its name with the (in)famous Kettle Valley Railway, which was one of the most expensive railways ever built in terms of costs per mile. It is also another one of the top-10 drives in the Province, as evidenced by the motorcycle group also enjoying themselves in the first part of this video:

Despite the stratospheric costs to build, the railway was abandoned after only 46 years in use. Now, the tracks are recycled and the route and bridges used as a world-famous hiking trail. So, I stopped for some pictures:







The next video has me joining up with the Crowsnest Highway, BC Highway 3. This stretch of road is known for the longest continuous descent of any numbered highway in Canada (which starts at the 32min mark in this video), but more importantly for myself the entire video was shot with the car screaming LOW RANGE at me. With no cell service, and no decent gas station nearby, I had to make use of every feet of the epic elevation drop just to make it into town:

Turned out there was no Chevron in Osoyoos, so I limped along for another
20km to Oliver. Ended up putting in an incredible 66.24L into the 68L tank:



From Oliver, I moved off the beaten path and started chaining together some well-regarded side roads that nonetheless took me in the (general) direction of home. First up was White Lake Road, through the White Lake Protection Grasslands:

...which took me to the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory:







Eastside Road is next, which runs along the eastern shore of Skaha Lake between Okanagan Falls and Penticton. The urban sprawl along the road is inevitable, so enjoy the lake view on this slow cruise while you can:

Finally, Green Mountain Road from Penticton to the BC Highway 3A junction. The quintessential "mountain drive," and in my opinion the best of its kind in the Province:

Mileage from the 1st fill-up to the last fill-up at the same station: 1337km (no, I'm not making that up, lol)
Fuel Used: 211.23L costing $308.10 CAD

So, is it worthy of the name of being the "most-BMW of the not-BMWs"? Well, it's got 4 doors; seats 4 VERY comfortably / 5 in not-so-much-of-a-pinch; has a large trunk and thus is immensely practical; engine in front-midship with 6MT in the middle powering the rear wheels through a mechanical LSD; decent weight distribution (both the battery and the fuse box are relegated to the trunk); has suspension that attacks corners and yet coddles you when you're making time on the expressway; handles like a sportscar when the going gets twisty and yet eats up the miles on the long straights; let's you leave the baby seat in the back while you're on the track for HPDE.

I'd say yes, it does deserve the title of "honourary BMW"

[swanson]

Nice pics and nicer V. Love the black diamond paint.

[py0413]

Another epic post! Thanks for sharing again. I am on my way to that same area tomorrow and I am really hoping the weather will cooperate well. Next year, it will be the Canadian Rockies.

[Sedoy]

Love your plates - "I'M STIG" - hahahaha

[MediaArtist]

Love post like this.

[Vervain]

Beautiful pics and beautiful paint colour. What camera did you use?

[gtron]

how do you like the cts-v now that you've had it for awhile?

i was so on the fence when i got the 550 that i even filled out the paperwork before pulling out at the last min. the final three cars were c63, cts-v, and 550i M-sport. had the hardest time with that one.

i really have a secret love affair with it every time i see one. esp the sedan like yours. i wish you would tint the windows though.

[P1]

My friend's wife has a CTS-V in that same colour, but the two door. Interesting little car.

[Veritable]

Originally Posted by Anodite10

Beautiful pics and beautiful paint colour. What camera did you use?

Thanks for the compliments. I use a Canon EOS 50D with a Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM + 77mm B+W Circular Polarizer. Which is why the colour balance seems to be a bit off... but at least the blue sky really pops and the contrast is great

Originally Posted by gtron

how do you like the cts-v now that you've had it for awhile?

My most direct comparison is coming from 4 years of E90 M3 ownership, and for this kind of driving, I cannot feel the difference between the 2. Maybe if I hit the road courses back-to-back I would notice the extra weight or the extra length, but honestly I prefer these kind of drives more

Except, of course, the ride is 5x better all around, and the suspension just soaks up the small bumps while keeping the body in control. I'm now a firm believer of these Magnetic Ride Control shocks:

Interior build quality is not as good as even the 3-series, and I don't like some of the design choices in the controls (like navi / entertainment or even how you operate the wipers). However, the drivetrain is bullet-proof (and thus I have more faith in the warranty and also more faith in owning the car out-of-warranty) and performs great, brakes are awesome and so are the seats. So, it's everything I was going to mod on the M3, all done for me with a great warranty and the difference financed at 0.9%.

That is, if you can get around the brand-elitism... I personally don't mind, and I followed this car since its launch. And, since getting into the domestic scene I have done a lot of reading, and I have come to appreciate the 60yrs+ history of the Chevy Small Block, the Cadillac brand, and the efforts that GM Performance put into this car (and also the Camaro ZL1, not to mention the C7 Corvette Stingray).

So, overall I'm a happy camper

[gtron]

Originally Posted by Veritable

Thanks for the compliments. I use a Canon EOS 50D with a Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM + 77mm B+W Circular Polarizer. Which is why the colour balance seems to be a bit off... but at least the blue sky really pops and the contrast is great



My most direct comparison is coming from 4 years of E90 M3 ownership, and for this kind of driving, I cannot feel the difference between the 2. Maybe if I hit the road courses back-to-back I would notice the extra weight or the extra length, but honestly I prefer these kind of drives more

Except, of course, the ride is 5x better all around, and the suspension just soaks up the small bumps while keeping the body in control. I'm now a firm believer of these Magnetic Ride Control shocks:

Interior build quality is not as good as even the 3-series, and I don't like some of the design choices in the controls (like navi / entertainment or even how you operate the wipers). However, the drivetrain is bullet-proof (and thus I have more faith in the warranty and also more faith in owning the car out-of-warranty) and performs great, brakes are awesome and so are the seats. So, it's everything I was going to mod on the M3, all done for me with a great warranty and the difference financed at 0.9%.

That is, if you can get around the brand-elitism... I personally don't mind, and I followed this car since its launch. And, since getting into the domestic scene I have done a lot of reading, and I have come to appreciate the 60yrs+ history of the Chevy Small Block, the Cadillac brand, and the efforts that GM Performance put into this car (and also the Camaro ZL1, not to mention the C7 Corvette Stingray).

So, overall I'm a happy camper

thanks for the detailed reply! that's a good review. to be honest, i think the "brand-elitism" is what got me.