Think of the words "luxury car," and what comes to mind? A strong-yet-silent V8?

Undoubtedly. Glove-soft leather and exotic wood? Yup. How about lavish space and a

boulevard ride? If you're a traditionalist, those last two perks probably top your

list.

While even Cadillac has made most of its models smaller and sportier, both the

DeVille and its uplevel Concours twin are aimed squarely at folks like you. Both are

big, roomy, soft-riding, leather-laden paeans to what luxocars--American luxocars--have

always been. Yet the front-drive Northstar-powered DeVille and DeVille Concours are

also a techno-leap beyond the soon-to-be-gone Fleetwood--the rear-drive car both will

replace as Cadillac's most conservative model.

Except for the Cadillac script on its trunk and the crest in its grille, a $41,135

DeVille Concours looks just like a $36,635 DeVille. Both share the hidden rear wheels

and tail fins that have been Cadillac trademarks since 1949, although the tailfins are

a mere suggestion of those bygone days.

Both editions of the DeVille also share a rich palette of toney hues that include

Cotillion White, Polo Green and the Dark Cherry that adorned our Concours test car.

While both cars get Cadillac's 32-valve Northstar V8 for 1996, the Concours gets

an extra 25 hp. H-rated tires also give it a heady 130-mph top speed versus 112 mph

for the DeVille. We'll take the manufacturer's word on both of these upper limits.

Concours literally means "competition." As such, it has more head, hip and legroom

and a larger trunk than its Lincoln Continental rival. It even beats the larger Town

Car in some key dimensions, including rear head and hip room and overall space. It

also wins the horsepower competition hands-down, with 40 more than the Continental and

a 90-hp advantage over the Town Car. Although sheer acceleration isn't a key buying

point for cars in this class, power is part of the prestige formula, and it always

comes in handy when you're passing on a 2-lane highway.

Concours triumphs in the price wars as well. Its base sticker comes in at some

$1000 less than the Continental's. Though the Concours also costs four grand more than

the Town Car, the plain DeVille costs $1000 less and offers most of the Concours'

advantages.

Concours' ecclectic blend of yesterday and tomorrow continues inside. About a

cord's worth of deep-toned Zebrano wood wraps around the dash and continues straight

back to the rear seat. The Concours also comes with the leather seating that's

optional on regular DeVilles. Though it hails from Michigan rather than Corinth, it's

soft yet supportive, if a bit slippery. As you'd expect, the seat's roomy, and there

isn't much in the way of lateral support. Cadillac doesn't expect that customers in

this segment will be hurling their cars around mountain switchbacks for the sheer joy

of driving, a view we endorse.

On the techno side are the sheer number of tasks the Concours does for you. While

the DeVille comes with one remote keyless entry fob, Concours owners get two that

allow two drivers to program the automatic door locks four different ways. Each fob is

also "recognized" by the seat-control computer, which automatically adjusts the 8-way

driver's seat to one of two pre-programmed settings when you slide your gold-plated

key into the ignition.

Personalization is the latest game in the luxury car market, and the Concours is

keeping pace with its competition in this derby.

Seat adjustments are where the past and future sometimes collide. The Concours has

one of the only height-adjustable lumbar supports. Yet the tab that controls it is

mounted low on the side, where it's hard to differentiate from the tabs that recline

the seatback and heat its bottom (a $225 option).

Other seat controls for height, tilt and distance are clustered on the door, along

with the buttons for the seat's dual memory settings and the ones for the windows. A

more modern, multi-function control like the one on Lexuses and Lincolns would be

easier to use.

Concours' digital instrument panel is yet another area where tradition and the

computer age clash. The stark black screen makes a jarring contrast with the warm wood

and graceful sweep of the dash. It's also flanked by dated-looking chrome buttons for

the trip computer and temperature-set climate controls. While pushing them prompts

such informative displays as average fuel mileage and speed--and such critical ones as

coolant temperature and voltage--analog dials like those on Cadillac's Eldorado and

Seville tell you far more at a glance.

This year's revised sound-system controls are more user-friendly. New jumbo-sized

tabs allow you to tune, seek and scan stations without looking. You can also adjust

tuning, volume and even the climate with auxiliary tabs on the steering wheel.

Our Concours test car had the $790 topmost audio system, which includes a cassette

deck, 11 speakers and a 12-disc remote CD. It also includes digitally processed

sound--another new addition that times sound signals to mimic a room setting or

auditorium, and concentrates them around the driver.

Oddly enough, the performance often begins with a less-than-luxurious moment of

static until the automatic antenna can catch up with the radio. After that, though,

the sound quality is as good as the best.

In back, the Concours soundly trounces Lincoln's Continental and comes within an

inch or so of the Town Car in hip and shoulder width. But those who buy by the inch

may long for Cadillac's nearly departed Fleetwood, which is some 3 in. wider in both

dimensions.

Tradition and technology coexist comfortably on the road most of the time. On the

coexistence side is Cadillac's Northstar V8--a quad-camshaft marvel that vaults this

two-ton car instantly off the line, cruises silently and revs very, very quickly to

well over 6000 rpm when you nudge the accelerator.

The Northstar system, including its excellent computer-controlled 4-speed

automatic transmission, has been an industry pacesetter since it first appeared in the

Cadillac Allante, and it just keeps getting better.

Along with added power, the Concours has lower gearing than DeVille's. Result:

sizzling 0-to-60 jaunts in under 7 seconds. The smooth 4-speed automatic transmission

shifts imperceptibly when you're loafing along, and briskly when you're in a hurry.

Both models come with speed-sensitive steering and a suspension that automatically

adjusts ride quality and ride height based on load and road conditions. The Concours

refines both systems with a blend of hydraulics and electromagnetics designed to allow

even easier steering and gentler damping at lower speeds, and firmer doses of both at

faster, curvier clips.

The Concours succeeds admirably on the softer side of that scale. Follow the V8's

siren song on fast, twisty roads, however, and the steering feels too light and too

vague. The Concours also wallows a bit over bumps and still feels floaty over dips.

But then, it's not a sport sedan.

You'll also feel some steering-wheel pull during hard accleration, especially from

a standing start, despite Cadillac's best efforts to eliminate it. Known as torque

steer, it won't surprise anyone accustomed to front-drive. But it's as alien to

rear-drive converts as corporate downsizing would have been back in 1949.

In the course of our evaluation, we gave our test car's standard antilock brakes

and traction control a thorough workout. Both function as they're supposed to, and

braking performance was impressive for a car of this size. Though the torque-limiting

traction control made progress up slippery hills slower than we liked, pushing a

button shuts it off. The bad news: The switch is nestled inconveniently in the

glovebox.

Another system that worked almost too well was Concours' new RainSense wipers,

which vary speed depending on how fast you're driving. We found them too fast for

light-mist conditions. The good news: You can override the system.

Cadillac's DeVille Concours won't win over many import-intenders. That task will

fall to the European-based, entry-level Cadillac Catera that's due to arrive later

this year.

Like the DeVille, the Concours is a contemporary update on the traditional

full-size American luxury car tradition, for buyers who like their space. Who choose

refinement and move-around roominess over sportiness. And prefer the open road over

side roads.

Those are whom these traditional luxury cars are aimed at. While the Concours

competes strongly in that arena, the DeVille may be the ultimate bargain. It's almost

as cushy, nearly as powerful--and costs $4500 less.