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Completely redesigned for 2008, the new Cadillac CTS has been causing a lot of people to take notice of GM and Cadillac. For me personally, the new CTS was one of the few releases at last year's Detroit auto show that I was looking forward to driving to see how much better it really was.

Just from the photos, everyone was stumbling over themselves for a better look of the CTS' redesigned interior, which from an observer's perspective was the biggest visible change to the CTS. Having finally been inside the CTS to touch the interior and see it with my own eyes I understand why: it certainly is an exercise in excellent design.

Perhaps it's unfair to judge based on my tester, which is optioned out to just over $60,000. This model certainly is no "base" model Cadillac, but the basics carry over from the standard model just the same.

On top of the usual laundry list of features a standard CTS is equipped with, my tester adds the new 3.6Litre direct-injection V6 engine, producing 304 horsepower and 273lb-ft of torque with a 6-speed automatic transmission, putting the power to the ground with all four wheels using Cadillac's all-wheel drive system.

My tester is equipped with a multitude of packages and I could spend all day typing out the feature list. To save me and any casual readers some time, I will list the packages added to my tester and suggest visiting the link at the end of the article to GM's website for the detailed list of features.

Although the interior of the new 2008 CTS is excellent and surprise to many it isn't a huge surprise to me. It certainly eclipses the old CTS in every way, yet has a similar feel to the 2007 Cadillac Escalade and DTS I drove a year or so ago. The new CTS interior is more flowing than the other Cadillacs' and certainly exudes a more expensive feel and design but it is more evolutionary than some may have you believe.

I'm not sure where to start with the interior: everything is just so well put together, easy to reach, easy to see, easy to use, I could go on and on about it. It really is one of the best interiors I have been in? ever. I would compare it to the Lexus IS350 which had a similar design and button feel with a nod to the Cadillac for edginess.

The door panels and dash are lined in what feels like a very expensive leather, fit and finish seems excellent, although I have noticed a few rattles coming from the centre stack, unfortunately.

The seating and driving controls are a perfect fit and with 8-way adjustable seats with lumbar and power tilt and telescoping steering, getting comfortable is not an issue. The CTS is a fairly long vehicle and it seems to all be in the second row, leg room is plentiful in the rear with the front seat adjusted for my driving position. Head room is slightly reduced from the front and the middle "hump" as in many sports sedans is not really a recommended place to sit.

The integration of the DVD-Navigation touch screen with on-screen audio controls into the dash is pure genius. Retracted into the dash a small screen is left visible to display radio stations, or song names being played from a USB thumb drive or the internal 40 gig hard drive. With the press of a button the full screen is revealed and with it the ability to scroll through multiple features, including a five-day weather forecast, sort your play-lists or use the navigation system.

The interior of the CTS is an excellent place to spend an afternoon of driving and the technology present in the DVD-based navigation system is impressive. I was extremely excited to learn I could just plug in a USB drive, copy the files from it to the hard drive and go. You can also rip CDs to the hard drive and using Gracenote technology, all the song names and information are updated onto the display.

All this is further proof Cadillac is attempting to lure the younger generation with their style, sophistication, luxury and technology.