I spent part of my week in the nation’s capital so I could testify in front of Congress about a report I wrote.
Uh, sorry, that’s what Robert Mueller did. But I was there, mere blocks away in Georgetown, to drive the all-new Cadillac XT6.
When we stopped at a Virginia vineyard for lunch, Cadillac took the time to show us an updated version of the XT5 crossover (formerly known as the SRX).
The biggest news here is the addition of a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder that makes 237 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque. This is now the base engine, while the 3.6-liter V6 that makes 310 horsepower and 271 lb-ft of torque remains available. Both pair with a nine-speed automatic transmission. XT5 is available with either front-wheel or all-wheel drive.
The second-biggest piece of news is a reshuffling of trims. Now available are Luxury, Premium Luxury, and Sport.
(Editor’s note: I didn’t include pricing in this post because I thought it hadn’t been announced. Turns out it was in my inbox and I missed it. Here it is: Luxury is $45,090 ($47,190 with all-wheel drive), Premium Luxury is $49,790 ($55,095 with all-wheel drive), and Sport is $56,090. It is not clear if these prices include destination fees, as that was not listed.)
Buyers will get the four-cylinder in the Luxury trim, and they can opt for the V6 if they order Premium Luxury. But the V6 is standard on Sport.
Sport models also offer up a standard twin-clutch all-wheel drive system tuned for sportier driving, active damping suspension, quicker steering ratio, and different (read: more aggressive) shift calibrations for the transmission.
Other changes include a patterned grille for the Premium Luxury trim, and a darker grille for Sport models. Heated front seats are now standard and a Bose premium audio system is now available.
LED headlamps are standard across the board, and both the front and rear fascias have been tweaked. XT5 rides on 18- or 20-inch wheels (the latter are standard on Sport) and both sizes get new wheel designs.
Inside, the Cadillac User Experience gets a rotary controller, near-field communication is now available for cell-phone pairing, night vision also becomes available, the rear backup camera has higher resolution, and the center console is totally redesigned.
The Electronic Precision Shift system is updated, and you can now disable stop/start. Fuel-economy numbers have not yet been finalized.
Up close, the XT5 isn’t a huge departure from the 2019 model, with most of the changes being subtle. Even the visible changes, such as the exterior styling tweaks, are extremely easy to miss.
It’s the under-hood changes that will matter most, along with the addition of the Sport model.
The 2020 Cadillac XT5 strays slightly further from the source material than Mueller was willing to. Still, it’s recognizably an XT5, even with the new engine choice and available Sport model. The XT6 (review coming next week) will get all the hype, but the XT5 refresh, subtle as it may be, still matters to the brand.
[Images © 2019 Tim Healey/TTAC]
This has got to be the most generic looking blob to date, if it’s goal was to be indistinguishable from every other blob pod it succeeded. Of course GM goes again and lowers the bar with a base engine undeserving of a mainstream car let alone a supposed “Standard of the World”.
“This has got to be the most generic looking blob to date”
I give that award to our friends at Jaguar.
tinyurl.com/y5oxzf6l
I’m not a fan of the new GM 2.0T, but in these CUVs most drivers won’t ever go over 70% throttle or 3000RPM so it may not end up a big issue. I’m more bothered that they stuck this wheezy 237hp engine into the two upcoming RWD “sporty” cars.
That Jaguar looks like something GM would call a Buick.
I wouldn’t buy it, but then again, I wouldn’t buy ANY of these FWD fake-lux CUVs.
For the same money, an Explorer ST looks awfully appealing.
For the same money, an Explorer ST looks awfully appealing.
The base Explorer has a turbo-4 as well but it actually puts out 310 lb ft of torque owing to a whole 0.3 extra ltrs of displacement.
Welcome to the Barra era.
Of which Mark Reuss has been the head-person when it comes to product development (and even predating Barra).
FFS
Mercedes Benz GLC base engine – 4-cylinder turbo – 241 HP
BMW X3 base engine – 4-cylinder turbo – 248 HP
Audi Q5 base engine – 4-cylinder turbo – 248 HP
Volvo XC60 base engine – 4-cylinder turbo – 250 HP
The trope of 4-cylinder turbo isn’t luxury is dead and that ship sailed almost a decade ago.
You can drop more than 80 large on a 5-series with a 4-pot turbo under the hood.
All of those numbers are more than 237hp though, and the Mercedes is going up to 255hp next year. Plus, all those CUVs offer way more power than Cadillac throughout their model range.
My problem isn’t that GM is putting a 2.0T in a Cadillac it is that they are putting a *BAD* 2.0T into Cadillacs. Again, maybe the XT5 driver won’t care, but for CT4/5 buyers it’ll be no fun getting pulverized by everything.
APa, following European automakers lead has cost GM a lot of market share and reputation, if you seriously think continuing this trend just because automakers on another continent are doing it then I don’t believe you understand why Cadillac is preforming as poorly as it is and why it’s reputation is garbage. You don’t get ahead by following manufacturers, who by the way, aren’t exactly setting the world on fire with their products to begin with.
GM needs to make Cadillac different, putting the same generic 2.0 liter lawnmower engine into every product is the worst possible choice they could make.
4 cylinder anything isn’t luxury, it’s not going to happen no matter how many 70-80k 4 cylinders BMW sells.
No, I shall NOT drop that much money on an engine that belongs in an FWD car, mounted transversely. A 4 cylinder is NOT a luxury engine. It is fine for transportation….with a turbo it can even make some power, but it isn’t luxury. We don’t live in $10 per gallon gas land-and we aren’t taxed by engine size. Going from an E46 with a six to an F30 with a four is a definite step downward. Going from the GM 3.6 to the blown four is also getting less for more. A four belongs in my Jetta S base car. It’s not about powah…the ecotech Mustang rips off 5 sec runs to 60…but no, not when you are taking $20k of the sales price for image and luxury. I recall driving a friend’s 428i back to back with my E46, and coming away with “this is the new main BMW engine ? WTF !)
Yeah because all the other high riding wagons are so distinctive. Rolls eyes into head
So, how much?
Pricing wasn’t announced.
I goofed…I got an email with pricing and missed it. I’ve updated the article to reflect the new information.
The wife insisted on getting a 2019 XT5 last month. I was a bit more than indifferent about the entire situation other than it was an excellent value (dealer oil change demo with 3k miles on it) compared the Lincolns and Jeep Grand Cherokee we cross shopped. It is starting to grow on me the more I have to drive it but I’m not in love (bleh crossovers). Couple thoughts on this refresh:
1) addresses the backup cam. My Ram is light-years better (full HD quality). For something new in 2017, the quality is comparable to our previous 2015/2016 FCA vehicles.
2) the 2.0 is a joke in the smaller XT4 and might be able to keep up with a base model Camry in this application. Boo Caddilac. The 3.6 is pretty good in the wife’s car but the transmission calibration does not much care for reving it out. Thankfully it pulls pretty nice from 2-4k rpm’s. Flooring it on the highway is an overall yawn experience (not that it can’t get up to speed).
3) Sport model would probably annoy me. I like fun cars but even our Premium model rides pretty stiff. It’s dead quiet inside but you feel the potholes in Michigan that my Ram barely notices.
Just get a Lexus…
Domestic autos are turning into the mattress business….you need a car, it wont last forever, accidents happen, natural disasters…and someone is bound to stroll by and pay for this right?…lets do it.
Not everyone can tolerate Lexus design.
I would rather have the Cadillac. I prefer domestic autos. They are just as good as the Japs.
Until the warranty expires. That’s when lucky GM owners discover that every rubber belt, hose, grommet and bushing was spec-ed to a price point that limits their life to about four years. Annoying little, squeaks, leaks, drips, yeah that’s what luxury is all about.
More useful commentary.
Try telling that to the dealer when you go to trade in your Cadillac.
Anonymous, grossly overpriced, blob of a compilation of Chinese lowest bidder parts, and a Chevrolet chassis, transmission and motor to boot!
Mary Barra = Reincarnation of Roger Smith.
Mary Barra = Roger Smith v2.0
History repeats.
This “All New” Cadillac XT6 would look PERFECT on the road in some area of Chengdu, China, under a polluted, hazy, brownish/grayish sky!
DeadWeight,
Good to see you, man. I’ve gone largely keto, I’m drinking a lot of water and I’m hitting the gym on a more regular basis. It helps with stress. Just throwing that out there.
I met Roger Smith on his last day at GM. He and I started in the same department. LOL!
Roger Smith realized that if GM couldn’t make money on small cars, there would eventually be nowhere that they could make money. Saturn was not the right response to this, but somewhere in there is a lesson for Ford.
Oh good lord, how ridiculous.
More drivel.
What did they change? In order to see the change you’d have to put the current one against the “new” one. This is why Cadihack is fake luxury. It is also a fake company.
Dark gray w/tinted windows isn’t flattering for a PR photo (IMO). Just throwing that out to GM’s press pool.
And does the XT5 still have that lame instrument cluster on the lower trims? Just spend the extra money and make the Platinum trim cluster standard across the trims.
I dont know much about this model, and frankly dont care to…but it was originally only available with a V6, and now that is pushed upline so how much did the price drop by pushing a 4cyl into it? Just uh, you know, curious. And if you need, I can repeat the question again.
“so how much did the price drop by pushing a 4cyl into it?”
LOL. I think you know the answer to this.
I share the majority opinion here: this is a bland, generic blob that has little to redeem it. But… GM makes these bland, lifeless blobs because a lot of people seem to like that in a vehicular conveyance. (I refuse to call this a car.)
Now the Juke is no longer the only road-going vehicle shaped just like a potato.
Just configured one bare bones for 45k, but you can lard it up to over 66k. They charge $625 for paint other than silver.
How much glue are the huffing in the marketing dept? Seriously, how much?
No thanks, old news.
I do not want to order from a menu option.
When a RAM 1500 (or Grand Cherokee) drives much more plushly and at least, if not more, quietly, with way more power, torque and nearly as good fuel economy in the real world, at a lower to much-lower price, and has better interior material, fit/finish and gauges…
…and the Grand Cherokee or RAM has more utility, capability, and even cargo/passenger room…
…”What is a Cadillac?”
As the owner of a 2019 Ram and 2019 XT5 (Cadi was the wife’s choice, not mine, and it was her $$), you’re not too far off comparing it to the Ram.
After several test drives in the JGC prior to the wife pulling the trigger on the Cadi, they are getting long in the tooth. No incentives on the JGC made it more expensive than the Cadi, the back seat is laughably small and the cargo area is less useful. UConnect is vastly superior though along with that glorious ZF 8-speed/pentastar combo.
Stop saying “Cadi”!
@Tim-
“I spent part of my week in the nation’s capital so I could testify in front of Congress about a report I wrote.
Uh, sorry, that’s what Robert Mueller did. But I was there, mere blocks away in Georgetown, to drive the all-new Cadillac XT6.
When we stopped at a Virginia vineyard for lunch, Cadillac took the time to show us an updated version of the XT5 crossover (formerly known as the SRX).”
Well I hope that you had a better week than did Robert Mueller. BTW, how much wine did Mueller have at lunch, and was he still there from the night before ? (You did not make it clear who “we” was at your lunch in the vineyard. I assumed that you meant you and Mueller.) As an observer of his performance in DC, I would say that old Robert is in need of some kind of intervention. The word ‘delusional’ comes to mind. Just sayin’.
“We” is the invited media. I missed ole Bob’s testimony due to our driving.
Thanks for clearing that up. :-) BTW, I wonder if Marry Barry drives one of her abominable Cadillac blobs…er…I mean SUVs or CUVs. I would be embarrassed to be seen in one of those.
If you removed the emblems and said it’s the 2020 Equinox, I’d be less unimpressed, but close.
A friend of mine wanted an SRX from the first “Equinox based” generation. I pointed out to her that it was an Equinox under the skin (which she was driving as an assigned fleet vehicle.)
Suddenly it became “do not want.”
Anonymous and forgettable. Cadillac.
Oops- I tried to post the address of a picture of the Mr. Potato Head car, but something went wrong and it did not work. But you can still use your imagination and see it in your minds. Sorry.
( @RHD )
The XT5 got to the worse looking crossover out there equal to the RX350! As they age they look even more pitiful because of its trendy design styling. offering a 4 cycler as a base model now will drop the price down but the reliability going suffer even more!
It is an ungainly looking beast from the rear three-quarter, and uninspired elsewhere. Probably styled by the same guy who came up with the stubby and awkward CT-5, They both are distinctive but not for the right reasons. I assume they’re chosen by people who are oblivious but reasonably well-off, as a necessity for wheels of some perceived prestige and not because the owner has any interest in vehicles whatsoever. So long as it moves and waves a badge, its mission is complete.