CT5-V 5BW v. 4BW

[DAC17]

As background, I currently have a 23 CT5-V. I love the space, the looks and mostly everything else about it. However, I miss having a manual and am of the opinion that the BW is not going to be around for more than a couple of years. Hence, I'm considering ordering either a 2024 4BW or a 5BW, with a preference for the latter. For those who have had both (I know you're out there!), if you had a do-over, which would you get and why?

Thanks much.

 

[668LT4]

I had both in 6MT. The 5 all day long for me. Had the 4 while waiting for the 5 and put 2000 miles on it. The 5 suits my tastes much more, and I could never go back now. This is no knock on the 4 - they are just different cars altogether, and the attributes of the 5 are what I prefer. Many prefer the attributes of the 4. I would not own either in an automatic though if I am being honest.

 

[rubberduck]

I don’t think I need both to decide. 6M supercharged V8 is a rare breed and soon to be extinct. My car is exactly what I wanted and more than I expected. My last two cars were supercharged V6 (Audi) and turbo I6 (Mercedes) and as good as the 4BW is I was not settling for another 6 cylinder. Love the torque of the LT4 and no substitute for rowing gears with this wonderful tranny.

 

[MookdocOE]

5 all day and since I sat in traffic last week for miles....I sipped my coffee and said, "Damn I want the 6M but this is exactly why I don't" I guess I wanted a cruiser and wife can't drive stick so I went A10

 

[Dadillac]

I have a 4BW and a ZL1. Granted the ZL1 and 5BW are different in a lot of ways, they do share the same powertrain. The LT4 is one hell of an engine as it has power almost everywhere. The exhaust note (especially with a manual transmission) is really something as well. If I didn't have the ZL1 I would have seriously considered the 5BW solely based on the V8.

The ZL1 is a garage queen and my 4BW replaced my MK8 GTI as my daily. I test drove a base CT5 and it did feel a little bigger than I needed. There is also the significant price difference the two to pick up ~.5 seconds to 60. The 4 also feels a bit more nimble IMO.

At the end of the day if you are leaning towards the 5BW and care about space, go for it man. Either car is going to be a blast.

 

[MookdocOE]

I have a 4BW and a ZL1. Granted the ZL1 and 5BW are different in a lot of ways, they do share the same powertrain. The LT4 is one hell of an engine as it has power almost everywhere. The exhaust note (especially with a manual transmission) is really something as well. If I didn't have the ZL1 I would have seriously considered the 5BW solely based on the V8.

The ZL1 is a garage queen and my 4BW replaced my MK8 GTI as my daily. I test drove a base CT5 and it did feel a little bigger than I needed. There is also the significant price difference the two to pick up ~.5 seconds to 60. The 4 also feels a bit more nimble IMO.

At the end of the day if you are leaning towards the 5BW and care about space, go for it man. Either car is going to be a blast.

Unfortunately, I kinda feel the manual itch eating away at me. I think the CT4 BW would check all my boxes and I could see myself putting heavy miles on it.......

 

[Dadillac]

Unfortunately, I kinda feel the manual itch eating away at me. I think the CT4 BW would check all my boxes and I could see myself putting heavy miles on it.......

I somewhat agree with you on the manual itch, at least for my daily, but we’re coming to a point where it won’t be an option anymore and I wanted to throw support to a manufacturer willing to still put a stick shift in a car. The Blackwings are a last hoorah for this type of car.

 

[Roadhawk]

I had both in 6MT. The 5 all day long for me. Had the 4 while waiting for the 5 and put 2000 miles on it. The 5 suits my tastes much more, and I could never go back now. This is no knock on the 4 - they are just different cars altogether, and the attributes of the 5 are what I prefer. Many prefer the attributes of the 4. I would not own either in an automatic though if I am being honest.

This.

Caveat - I haven't driven either car...lol.

Both seem like fantastic cars (why I bought one haven't ever even driven one...sounds weird even to me). But its all about YOUR preferences (and pocketbook to some degree). Both are obviously fantastic drivers cars in similar and slightly different ways. One has a V8! lol etc I think I could love driving either and would likely not tire of either...but I know what I value most - and thats nimble handling. To me both cars are on the big/heavy side (my subjective opinion) - though seem very dialed in in so many (of all the right) ways....the 4 is more aligned to my preferences...though I can fully see the appeal of the gobs of power supercharged V8...not to mention a roomier back seat.

Subjectively I also think the 5 is a better looking car. Still for me - the 4 better aligns with my value preferences (and my willingness to spend $). You need to make that call for yourself (and drive both if you can). MT is one of main drivers I chose this car over an RS3 BTW. Anyway just my $ .02...others here probably have more actual data of use to you but hope it helps.

 

[Badillac]

I say if you love everything about your 5, go for the 5 MT! Especially since you mentioned space and looks.....

 

[dinkman]

if you use your backseats for anything more than a gym bag, stick with the 5

 

[PL69]

if you use your backseats for anything more than a gym bag, stick with the 5

I have to agree, dropping my toddler to daycare in the 4BW was an exercise of contraption.

 

[Finally-a-V]

I bought my 4 new as I waited for a 5. Hind sight, the 4 was a lot of fun to drive, but seemed a little slow for 472 hp. It was amazing in and on curves. It would be an awesome track car and a fun DD as you don't have to worry about triple digit speeds in mere seconds.

That said, the 5 is such an amazing car. Fast as poop, it's truly bonkers, handles extreme well. It has never scared me with lack of traction or too much power. Agreed, it looks better. More features, more room. But....here's why I have one. It's the last and best of the V cars IMHO, not counting future EV's. Who knows if or when we go electric what will be there, but I don't care. It's a supercharged V8 with 668 hp. It is amazingly stealthy. I love mine so much as an overall package, I thought about buying another one or a "regular" CT5 V as a daily, even going back to a 4 as a daily. No one knows the future, but I think 4's will continue to drop in value, but the 5's will stay in the $90 plus range unless it's high miles, wrecked, or worn out, if that matters to you. You can have mine after you pry it out of my dead, cold hands....or is that my guns?

 

[668LT4]

I bought my 4 new as I waited for a 5. Hind sight, the 4 was a lot of fun to drive, but seemed a little slow for 472 hp. It was amazing in and on curves. It would be an awesome track car and a fun DD as you don't have to worry about triple digit speeds in mere seconds.

That said, the 5 is such an amazing car. Fast as poop, it's truly bonkers, handles extreme well. It has never scared me with lack of traction or too much power. Agreed, it looks better. More features, more room. But....here's way I have one. It's the last and best of the V cars IMHO, not counting future EV's. Who knows if or when we go electric what will be there, but I don't care. It's a supercharged V8 with 668 hp. It is amazingly stealthy. I love mine so much as an overall package, I thought about buying another one or a "regular" CT5 V as a daily, even going back to a 4 as a daily. No one knows the future, but I think 4's will continue to drop in value, but the 5's will stay in the $90 plus range unless it's high miles, wrecked, or worn out, if that matters to you. You can have mine after you pry it out of my dead, cold hands....or is that my guns?

You know on paper, the cars are very close performance wise. But the 5 feels so much faster. The instantaneous acceleration in any gear at any RPM is intoxicating. But again, having plenty of seat time in both, it is the recipe of the supercharged V8 + 6MT + CT5 that come together as the perfect beast.

 

[SynisterAZ]

I wanted a 5 but couldnt quite come to terms with a 6-figure GM car. I dont need the extra space and the more I looked at the 4 the more it seemed to actually fit what I needed and wanted from a car in this class.

Now that I have a 4 its been great and I dont think the shorter range of the thirstier 5 would fit my long distance driving style very well. Ive also seen a lot more problems with the 5 from nuked engines to cats.

And the instructors at Spring Mtn say the 5 is only 1 sec quicker around the track than the 4, obviously in street driving the 5 is a gorilla. No lift shift on the 5 doesnt really offer much but on the 4 its a real visceral experience that I cant over sell. Plus if you need winter tires the 5 is harder to shop for.

No doubt the 5 looks better and sounds better but its a Samurai sword and the 4 is a pocket knife.

 

[Barstoolman1127]

I had a 4BW and loved it as a daily driver maybe the best daily driver I’ve ever owned. I thought long and hard about going for a 5BW but at the end of the day, went with a C8. Regardless, you can’t go wrong.

 

[DinoPower]

Other than three test drives on the 4BW MT, I don't have experience with it...but was initially drawn to it for the size.

Now, as 30-day owner of a 5BW MT I'm wrestling with the size and for almost all daily stuff, I am grabbing the keys for my Cayman GTS and not the 5BW.

Make no mistake, ALL that has been written about the 5BW is true (and not oversold). For me it's clear that physical size of the car ties directly to daily driver enjoyment. I'll weight the size factor more heavily in any of my future car decisions.

 

[Bocian]

It's M3 VS M5 all over again lol.

The three biggest things is really the 5 having more power, space, and size than the 4.

You could always close the gap with a tune on the 4 to come closer to the 5.

imo if the 5 had the option of AWD it would have been the perfect car.

I'm going for the 4 because i know i will pretty much never use the back seats and it's a little bit easier on the daily driving side. Also there is great deals to be had right now for the 4's compared to the 5's if you shop around.

 

[minn19]

if you use your backseats for anything more than a gym bag, stick with the 5

I have to disagree about the 4V BW backseats, it depends on your usage for the car. My 13 year old and her friends are just fine back there. Also, my wife is 5’7” and has ridden back there with no complaints. I even specifically asked her about it and she said she never had the thought it was too small.

These aren‘t 911 seats, those I would agree are only good enough for a gym bag.

 

[minn19]

When I was choosing between the 4 and the 5, this is why I went with the 4. I wanted the smaller/slightly lighter more nimble car as I prioritize backroad driving over all out straight line performance. As others, I’ve had a couple previous ZL1s with the LT4 and it is indeed an awesome engine, but as others know an extremely thirsty one. I also went with the 4 as I use it as DD as much as possible and wanted more range per tank. I had no problem with the transmission choice, unlike others after having the 6MT in my ZLE, I wasn’t as enamored with it as others here and reviewers are. I’ve driven a lot of different MTs and that one I had the hardest time starting off smooth, plus the 1 to 2 change was especially notchy. Then GMs 1 to three mandated skip (is that still a thing?) was extremely annoying and I got worse gas mileage to avoid it.

Finally, price came into the decision as well, I had a hard enough time paying 69k after 6k off for my 4 and no way wanted to spend six figures plus on a 5 when ZL1s exist with the same drivetrain and similar chassis/suspension etc for 20-30k less. Maybe not fair and everyone has different thought processes how they spend their money, but that was mine.

As others have said though you cant go wrong with either, both are fantastic cars and won’t be around long so grab them while you can.

Edit: Almost forgot, 5 obviously wins hands down in the sound category, the 4 is just meh, but nto much you can do with a V6 TT sound wise.

 

[raptor5244]

When I was choosing between the 4 and the 5, this is why I went with the 4. I wanted the smaller/slightly lighter more nimble car as I prioritize backroad driving over all out straight line performance. As others, I’ve had a couple previous ZL1s with the LT4 and it is indeed an awesome engine, but as others know an extremely thirsty one. I also went with the 4 as I use it as DD as much as possible and wanted more range per tank. I had no problem with the transmission choice, unlike others after having the 6MT in my ZLE, I wasn’t as enamored with it as others here and reviewers are. I’ve driven a lot of different MTs and that one I had the hardest time starting off smooth, plus the 1 to 2 change was especially notchy. Then GMs 1 to three mandated skip (is that still a thing?) was extremely annoying and I got worse gas mileage to avoid it.

Finally, price came into the decision as well, I had a hard enough time paying 69k after 6k off for my 4 and no way wanted to spend six figures plus on a 5 when ZL1s exist with the same drivetrain and similar chassis/suspension etc for 20-30k less. Maybe not fair and everyone has different thought processes how they spend their money, but that was mine.

As others have said though you cant go wrong with either, both are fantastic cars and won’t be around long so grab them while you can.

Edit: Almost forgot, 5 obviously wins hands down in the sound category, the 4 is just meh, but nto much you can do with a V6 TT sound wI’ve.

Same here. Traded a 2021 ZL1 for a 4BW with no regrets. I like the 5BW but couldn't justify $30k more for a 4-door version of the Camaro ZL1. I would have just kept the ZL1 as I don't really need 4 doors.

On the street, I find the the 4BW has the right amount of power, shorter M6 gearing and its smaller size makes it more fun to toss around. It just depends what you are looking for. Some refer to the 5BW as the sledgehammer and the 4BW as the scalpel.