PUNCHING UP THE POWER.(News)

Byline: BOB GRITZINGER

With the 2004 Cadillac CTS, the second go-round for General Motors' BMW 3 Series contender, you get a more refined interior with a color-keyed center armrest and center console, and gauges with white background lighting (vs. the toyish orange of the original).

If cosmetic fixes solve all your problems with CTS, stop reading now. If not, take note of the really good stuff most of the non-tire-kicking public won't see, starting with the all-new 3.6-liter variable-valve-timing dohc V6 under the hood (AW, April 7). The all-aluminum engine, which produces 255 hp at 6200 rpm and 252 lb-ft at 3200, goes a long way toward correcting the power shortage that arguably was the CTS's biggest failing when it premiered in 2002 as an '03 model. The same engine will power the CTS-based 2004 SRX sportwagon (AW, Feb. 17), the 2004 Buick Rendezvous Ultra and the 2005 STS.

Unless you have your sights set on one of the handful of 400-hp V8-powered V-Series CTS models due in 2004, the new V6 engine represents the bulk of CTS's future. Caddy will continue to sell the 220-hp 3.2-liter V6 model for another year, exclusively with the five-speed manual transmission. Buyers seeking a manual gearbox with the 3.6-liter engine are out of luck for the first year. A five-speed automatic serves as the only transmission until a six-speed manual joins the autobox when 2005s arrive in 2004.

Pity the stick buyers, but there is good news: In an effort to take advantage of the quicker-revving, higher-output 3.6-liter engine, engineers spent three months remapping the ...