Essentially, "the standard of the world" used to mean a vehicle as large as the Cutty Sark with the masts sawed off, with acres of chrome and fins like a Pan-Am 747. And fuel economy like a Pan-Am 747.

They were glorious machines, unapologetically vast and sumptuous, royal barges for the likes of Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack. Cock your fedora, spark up a Pall Mall and hit the open road with your best gal and her four nicest mink coats. Wonderful stuff.

But excessive consumption isn't a luxury item anymore. What's more, show one of those old behemoths a corner and it'll roll like Don Draper after a four-martini lunch.

With the diminutive ATS, Cadillac is staking their reputation not on the land-yachts of the past, but on the sporting credentials of cars like the blistering CTS-V. This angular, supercharged V-8 highperformance sedan is attractive to younger buyers, but few of them can afford it, nor its massive thirst for fuel.

The ATS is the juggernaut-CTS writ small. Light and agile, track-tuned and set up to be fun to drive as well as efficient. In fact, Cadillac is claiming that their new baby Caddy is poised to take on the segment-benchmark BMW 3-series. How does it stack up?

Design

Cadillac's design department deserves praise for creating and continually developing a distinctive and attractive design language. In a sea of sameness, the ATS is unmistakably a Cadillac.

Witness the sharp creases and blocky side profile; yet the ATS is not quite as striking as its stablemates. Where the CTS's face is dominated by an enormous expanse of grille, the ATS receives a (thankfully) toned down treatment.

The headlights seem to bleed backwards up the front quarter-panels, LEDs streaming out over the front wheel wells. At night, they're stacked up like a waterfall that, with the similar upright profile of the LED taillights, give the ATS a unique nighttime profile.

While pricing on options packages is yet to be determined, optional 17-inch alloys blend attractiveness with a good ride quality; moving up to 18-inch sizing gives the ATS considerably more curb presence at the expense of some smoothness.

Environment

While the exterior of the ATS could be called reserved, the same cannot be said for some of the interior options. With real wood, aluminum or carbon-fibre trim and a range of available leather colours, it's a very nice place to be indeed, and easily the equal of big players like BMW and Audi.

There's plenty of space up front and forward visibility is excellent. Rear seat passengers will not be seated in quite as spacious quarters.

The real story on the inside of the ATS is Cadillac's CUE system (Cadillac User Experience). This touchscreen-based system works in much the same way as an iPad, with large, brightly lit "apps" that you can swipe through.

Additional information displays are integrated into the instrument panel: three screens that you can cycle through to show fuel economy statistics, navigation system shorthand, compass heading; any number of little tidbits.

Best of all, there's an available heads-up display. It's not standard equipment, but it should be, as it allows the driver to never actually take their eyes off the road. You can adjust it to show a revcounter and speedometer for sportier driving, but in standard mode it even shows a GPS-linked speedlimit for the road you're on. No excuses, officer.

The stereo system in the ATS is just as powerful as you'd expect in a luxury car. Better yet, it employs Bose sound-cancellation technology. By playing inverse sound-waves, the stereo can eliminate much of the background road noise - all without added weight. Performance

With reduced sound deadening, lightweight structural materials, and an engineering program that celebrated every gram saved, the ATS tips the scales starting at a little more than 1,500 kilograms. In an applesto-apples comparison with the stated arch-nemesis BMW 3-series, the ATS has a slight weight advantage at each level - and that weight has a perfect 50: 50 distribution.

There's a basic fourcylinder option ($35,195) available for penny-pinchers, and a range-topping 321 horsepower V-6 ($43,935) that's got plenty of pull. However, the volume-seller is bound to be the 2.0-litre turbocharged ($36,985) engine with 274 h.p.

Equipped with the turbo motor and either a manual or automatic six-speed transmission, the rear-wheel-drive ATS is a real back-country road delight. Even without optioning the car right up to the highest-spec sports suspension, the ATS has a high fun-to-drive factor, and the 2.0-litre turbo has prodigious torque for such a small engine.

While most ATS intenders won't spend much time flogging their Cadillac around a racetrack, it's the perfect place to identify any dynamic flaws. As it turns out, the ATS is extremely neutral and surprisingly quick. Even when a corner is flubbed, it's very easy to get the car back on track.

The available Magneto-ride suspension uses a fluid that reacts instantly to electromagnetic fields to continually adapt damping for corners. The Brembo brakes (standard on all but the base model) are fade-free even after hard stops and the rotors are treated with a process designed to stop oxidation.

As a package, it's very convincing. The ATS feels light on its feet, eager to change direction, and very easy to steer with a little application of throttle.

Features

Along with available CUE features like satellite navigation, the ATS boasts a huge range of available tech. Driver-safety assists include blind-spot monitoring, lane-departure and collision warning systems.

Wander across the line and the ATS will pick up on your veering using a front mounted camera and warn the driver, using a seat-based buzzer so as not to embarrass you in front of your passenger. The collision-warning alert can be similarly discreet, and will help you stop in seconds if someone in front of you slows suddenly.

Official fuel economy ratings are 9.2 litres/100 kilometres for city and 6.0 l/100 km highway for the base four-cylinder - figures for the V-6 and turbo-charged models are still forthcoming.

Green light

Balanced handling; strong turbo-motor; fun-to-drive, nimble feel; high level of available technology.

Stop sign

Small rear seats; base four cylinder risks brand dilution; conservative appearance.

The checkered flag

Fun to drive, quick and nimble, relatively efficient and sharply priced. It might not please Frank Sinatra, but it's sure a car that can sing on a twisty road.

Competitors BMW 3-Series ($44,300)

It's been the series benchmark since the 1980s, blending luxury and sporty driving in a cocktail that's been hard for other marques to beat. The latest iteration is larger and smoother than ever, and boasts a creamy 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo engine in place of the faithful straight-six.

It's still a delight to drive, and the eight-speed transmission will have the Bimmer pipping the Caddy on fuel economy. Everywhere else though, it's a pretty tight dogfight.

Audi A4 ($37,800)

Audi's built their reputation on their Quattro All-wheel drive and all but their basic sedan come soequipped. As such, you might not expect them to have the sporting élan of the BMW and (now) Cadillac.

Even so, an A4 is a lovely car to drive, with plenty of grunt from its 2.0-litre turbo (now the only engine option). Personally, I bemoan the discontinuation of the Avant (wagon) version, but the A4 sedan is still a must on any mid-size luxury shopper's list, and boasts fuel economy among the 2.0-litre crowd.

mcaleeronwheels@gmail.com.