1994 Cadillac Brougham 5.7 LT1 from North America
Summary:
The 90's finest luxury car ever made
Faults:
Well nothing really so far. I do know that the transmission was rebuilt not too long ago.
I have a slight exhaust leak, but it's because muffler pipe is rusted and has allowed the tailpipe to come loose.
General Comments:
First and foremost, the 94-96 Fleetwood Broughams is one of GM's best combination's when it comes to comfort, style, luxury, and performance in the 90's. The mixture of modern features, design, with a touch of old schoolness, is what makes these cars perfect daily drivers if you like big American luxury cars, but without all the old school problems. These Caddy's were ahead of their time, on board diagnostics is great, you can look for codes without having a scan too. My 93 Town Car doesn't even have that kind tech built into it.
This car is the best car I have ever owned. It totally blows away my 93 Town Car in every category that you can think of; quality of materials, performance, quietness, comfort, luxury appeal, size, styling, and everything else.
The Fleetwoods are solid cars, the doors are heavy, there's a lot of steel on the body for a car of this age. Most 90's vehicles were getting much more plasticky, but not the Fleetwoods, even the bumpers are all metal chrome. You can definitely feel the 4,500lb's curb weight when driving this thing. It's not nimble at all, but it takes pot holes like a champ, and the body absorbs many road imperfections well. I also like when driving over rough pavement, or expansion joints on the freeways, you don't feel anything. You literally float over all the crap below you. I truly believe the heaviness of the car, is why it rides so good, it's just so smooth. Plus the car stays grounded, and I don't get tossed around or slide from side to side like I do in my Townie.
Performance wise, all it takes to get up to speed, is the tip of your toe. The throttle responds well, there's a slight delay though, but it's not too bad, especially when you're trying to pass somebody on the freeway. The Caddy loves to stay at 70 MPH, I honestly have a hard time keeping her under 70, because the car maintains its speed very well. It never feels like it's bogging down or doesn't have enough power either.
The transmission shifts extremely smooth, which is undetectable at times.
The interior is all leather, and is high quality. The seats are big, nice and soft, very plush. Many seating controls are at your service (actually too many if you ask me) like full lumbar support, memory seats, power recline, heated seats and so on. My dash is cracked, but I guess that's common on these Fleetwoods.
The interior styling is sort of bland though, it lacks flash of the older Cadillac's. Chrome accents is basically non existent, seat emblems or embroidery are gone, but I rather have a slightly more modern Caddy (less detailed), than a old school (more detailed) one, since I have owned 2 old classic Cads in the past, and want something that looks and feels new, young, yet classy.
I have heard of the lack of quality of materials on these Caddys. I have to disagree, because I have yet to find a broken or loose trim in my car. The interior feels tight, free from any rattles, and many trim parts are soft to touch, which is not the case in my Town Car which has horrible interior quality! More cheap plastic parts than you can think of, more creaks and rattles than you can think of, it's that bad, but not shocking, because it's a Ford product after all, Ford... equals cheap everything.
Anyways I love this car, everything still works on it, it leaks a little oil, but that's expected considering the high mileage. Thankfully, It doesn't burn oil.
My Fav's.
The LT1 engine, very smooth, very quiet, great power.
Ride is smooth, and soft, very comfortable quiet ride.
Love the exterior styling, one of the best if not the best looking modern Cadillac ever!
Build quality.
Classy Cadillacness.
Interior room.
Smooth shifting transmission.
Interior lighting.
Caddy wreath hood emblem.
Minus -
Blandish interior.
Wish the trunk was a little deeper so you could fit bigger stuff in it.
Digital dash is weak; it doesn't inform you on how many gallons of gas you have left, no distance to empty, only one trip gauge, no coolant temp gauge, you must go into diagnostic mode in order to see the engine temp. My friend's 94 Deville even has all extra dash features I just mentioned, including my 93 Town Car which has a better, more informed digital dash than the Fleetwood.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 29th July, 2009
11th Dec 2010, 13:12
Yes, the 93 has the L05 with none of the distributor problems of the LT1. Daniel.
4th May 2011, 23:47
I would actually buy the 1993 model over the 94-96 ones. It may have less horsepower, but it's a simple 350 engine, which is easy to work on, with less to go wrong. Plus you can throw one of those chrome Edelbrock air cleaners on it, and make the engine look old school. Best of both worlds, modern style Fleetwood Brougham with the simple good old 350. Only issue with this year is the unreliable R4 A/C compressor. Buy a R4/Sanden conversion bracket from Vintage Air, and swap in a Sanden 508 A/C compressor. You will get better A/C performance, and the compressor will last more than 2 years. Also 1993 was the only new style Fleetwood Brougham that used R12 freon. It blows way colder than the 94-96 models.
29th Jul 2009, 17:19
The '93 Fleetwood was identical in most respects to the '94-96.