Compare the2022 Mercedes A-ClassVS 2022 Cadillac CT4

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Mercedes A-Class have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Cadillac CT4 doesn’t offer pretensioners for the rear seat belts.

The A-Class’ optional pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The CT4 doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

The A-Class’ driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The CT4 doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the A-Class and the CT4 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, available all wheel drive, lane departure warning systems and around view monitors.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2021 Auto Issue reports that Mercedes vehicles are more reliable than Cadillac vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Mercedes 1 place higher in reliability than Cadillac.

As tested in Consumer Reports the Mercedes A-Class is faster than the Cadillac CT4 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder:

The A-Class offers a standard sequential manual gearbox (SMG). With no clutch pedal to worry about and a fully automatic mode, an SMG is much more efficient than a conventional automatic but just as easy to drive. The CT4 doesn’t offer an SMG or a conventional manual transmission.

For better stopping power the A-Class’ front brake rotors are larger than those on the CT4:

The A-Class stops shorter than the CT4:

The A-Class offers an optional driver-adjustable suspension system. It allows the driver to choose between an extra-supple ride, reducing fatigue on long trips, or a sport setting, which allows maximum control for tricky roads. The CT4’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.

The A-Class’ drift compensation steering can automatically compensate for road conditions which would cause the vehicle to drift from side to side, helping the driver to keep the vehicle straight more easily. The CT4 doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the A-Class is 1.4 inches wider in the front than on the CT4.

The A 220 handles at .87 G’s, while the CT4 Premium Luxury AWD pulls only .83 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

For better maneuverability, the A-Class’ turning circle is 1 foot tighter than the CT4’s (36.1 feet vs. 37.1 feet). The A-Class’ turning circle is 1.9 feet tighter than the CT4 AWD’s (36.1 feet vs. 38 feet).

The A-Class is 8.1 inches shorter than the CT4, making the A-Class easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The A-Class has 3 cubic feet more passenger volume than the CT4 (93 vs. 90).

The A-Class has 2 inches more front headroom, .7 inches more rear headroom, .5 inches more rear legroom and .1 inches more rear shoulder room than the CT4.

The front step up height for the A-Class is 1.5 inches lower than the CT4 (15” vs. 16.5”). The A-Class’ rear step up height is 2 inches lower than the CT4’s (15” vs. 17”).

A low lift-over trunk design makes loading and unloading the A-Class easier. The A-Class’ trunk lift-over height is 26.1 inches, while the CT4’s liftover is 30 inches.

To make loading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the A-Class’ available trunk can be opened just by kicking your foot under the back bumper, leaving your hands completely free. The CT4 doesn’t offer a hands-free gesture to open its trunk, forcing you to put cargo down if your hands are full.

The A-Class uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The CT4 uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

Unlike the driver-only memory seat and mirrors in the CT4 Premium Luxury/Sport, the A-Class has standard driver and passenger memory, so that when drivers switch, the memory setting adjusts the driver’s seat and outside mirror angle and the front passenger seat also adjusts to the new passenger’s preset preferences.

The A-Class’ front and rear power windows all open or close with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside of the car. The CT4’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to close them fully.

If the windows are left open on the A-Class the driver can close them all at the outside door handle or from a distance using the remote. On a hot day the driver can lower the windows from a distance using the keyless remote. The driver of the CT4 can only close the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The A-Class has a standard locking fuel door with a remote release located convenient to the driver. A locking fuel door helps prevent fuel theft and vandalism, such as sugar in the tank. The CT4 doesn’t offer a locking fuel door.

The A-Class’ rain-sensitive wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically based on the amount of rainfall on the windshield. This allows the driver to concentrate on driving without constantly adjusting the wipers. The CT4’s standard manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

The CT4 Premium Luxury/Sport’s optional cornering lamps activate a lamp on the front corner when the turn signal is activated. The A-Class’ optional adaptive cornering lights turn the actual headlight unit up to several degrees, depending on steering wheel angle and vehicle speed. This lights a significant distance into corners at any speed.

The A-Class’ optional Active Parking Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. The CT4 doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

The A-Class will cost the buyer less in the long run because of its superior resale value. The IntelliChoice estimates that the A-Class will retain 44.32% to 44.51% of its original price after five years, while the CT4 only retains 38.95% to 41.49%.

The Mercedes A-Class outsold the Cadillac CT4 by 22% during the 2021 model year.