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CarsLore / Compare / Large cars / M3 vs CTS-V

BMW M3 vs Cadillac CTS-V

Two large cars, compared on the same official records: MOT and inspection results, safety ratings, fuel use, recalls and owner complaints. 1 like-for-like measure: the BMW M3 leads on 1, the Cadillac CTS-V on 0.

Where each one leads

BMW M3

  • On Canada's official test the most frugal 2026 BMW M3 uses 12.6 l/100 km, the 2019 Cadillac CTS-V 14.3.

Cadillac CTS-V

Ahead on none of the like-for-like measures.

Only measures that do not depend on how many cars were sold: pass and failure rates against cars of the same age, ratings, fuel use and CO₂. How we compare

At a glance

BMW M3Cadillac CTS-V
Model years in the US safety record1988–20252004–2018
New cars registered in Europe23,515 (2010–2022)—
Licensed in the United Kingdom27,874—
On the road in the Netherlands2,842—
In traffic in Finland347—

EEA new-car registrations (CC BY 4.0) · DVLA licensed vehicles (OGL v3.0) · RDW (CC0) · Traficom (CC BY 4.0) · generations: Wikidata (CC0).

Reliability and problems

BMW M3Cadillac CTS-V
UK MOT first-time pass rate85%—
… against cars of the same age+34%—
New York safety inspections failed0.6%—
… against cars of the same year−64%—
Illogical odometer records (NL)7.3%—
US owner complaints44427
Most complaints aboutPower trainService brakes
Model year with most complaints2008 (82)2005 (7)
US recall campaigns262
Manufacturer service bulletins1,6332,605
NHTSA defect investigations25—

Complaint, recall and bulletin counts grow with the number of cars sold and are not adjusted for it. UK MOT: DVSA anonymised MOT results (OGL v3.0); New York: DMV inspections; complaints, recalls, bulletins and investigations: NHTSA (public domain); odometer: RDW (CC0).

Safety

BMW M3Cadillac CTS-V
NHTSA overall rating—4★ (2019)

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program, most recent rated model year (public domain).

Fuel, emissions and price

BMW M3Cadillac CTS-V
Official combined fuel use, Canada12.6 l/100 km (2026)14.3 l/100 km (2019)
Real-world use in Europe, petrol13.1 l/100 km—
Real-world use in Europe, petrol hybrid10.0 l/100 km—
Official CO₂ of new cars in Europe211 g/km—
Average power of new cars in Europe337 kW (452 hp)—
Average mass in running order1,850 kg—
Dutch list price when new (median)€124,668—
Average odometer in Finland151,000 km—

Canada: NRCan Fuel Consumption Ratings, most frugal version of the latest year (OGL Canada). Europe: EEA monitoring of new-car CO₂ and on-board fuel meters (OBFCM), CC BY 4.0. Price: RDW catalogue price (CC0). Finland: Traficom (CC BY 4.0).