Review: Cadillac XT5 is a worthy SUV competitor for BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz
The SUV and compact SUV segments are the hottest in the auto industry, as continuing low gas prices drive more car buyers away from sedans and toward heavier sport vehicles.
The luxury side of that business is hot too, as BMW, Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Lexus, Acura, Infiniti and others fight for space at the upscale utility vehicle table.
The Cadillac XT5 is the venerable General Motors brand’s new effort to play ball with the bigger boys. A well-appointed and luxurious five-passenger car, loaded with technological advances and top-drawer trimmings, it is a worthy entry into this increasingly competitive field.
But is it appealing enough to steal buyers from the current segment leaders, and luxurious enough to warrant the MSRP? Entry level XT5s start at around $40,000, but the Platinum versions go out the door at $63,495 or more.
The 2017 Cadillac XT5, which replaces the very popular SRX, is powered by a 3.6-liter, V-6 engine that produces 310 horsepower. The starting MSRP is $38,995, but this Platinum AWD version costs $63,845.
The XT5, all new for 2017, replaces Cadillac’s SRX. That was the bestselling vehicle in the entire Caddy corral last year. So the XT5 is an essential vehicle for the coming years.
It’s powered by a 3.6-liter V-6 engine that makes 310 horsepower and 271 pound-feet of torque and is reported to go from zero to 60 miles per hour in 6.6 seconds and hit a top speed of 130 mph.
Even though the XT5 is said to be lighter than the outgoing SRX — and lighter than Mercedes’ GLE and Audi’s Q5, Cadillac says — it still tips the scales at nearly 4,000 pounds. That’s not huge for a midsize SUV, but it’s still two tons.
And the big V-6 seems tuned more for efficiency than performance. The engine deactivates two cylinders and becomes a V-4 when full power is not required, and doesn’t exactly peel out even when pressed hard and firing on all six.
It’s easy to see where the weight went. Cadillac has gone to great lengths to give this car upscale appointments.
The seats and dash are done in fine leather. The head liner and door panels are cloaked in Alcantara. Wood paneling adorns the dash and other key points.
One result: It’s quiet. It’s super quiet. Scooting around town, climbing up a canyon or flying down the freeway, it’s like driving a library. I ran some Beethoven through the Bose surround-sound system and it was grand.
But it doesn’t drive heavy. The XT5 is surprisingly nimble, and becomes more so when the standard “Tour” mode is switched to “Sport” or “All Wheel Drive.” This sharpens the suspension and increases the XT5’s cornering capability. I felt very little of the top-heavy SUV sway that is common to this class of car.
Cadillac has also included some cool technology. Standard on the Platinum-level XT5 are rear cross-traffic alert, lane-change alert, blind-spot alert, pedestrian detection and parking-assist programs.
One techno trick I particularly liked turns the rearview mirror into a rearview camera, eliminating the back seats and body parts from the screen, and giving the driver an unobstructed rear vista. (Cadillac debuted this device on its CT6.) I also liked the haptic input delivered, as a jolt to the seat of the pants, whenever a front, rear or side obstruction was too close to the vehicle. A buzz in the backside does get your attention.
And then there were the things that didn’t seem to work so well. Previous iterations of the Cadillac Cue in-dash infotainment system have come in for some criticism — it was clumsy, people said, and difficult to navigate. This one is better, and hosts a wide variety of applications. But I couldn’t even get it to recognize my telephone.
Since miscommunication between phones and car devices is often listed as the No. 1 complaint owners have about their new cars, I hope this was just a problem with my iPhone, and not with the system in general.
I wasn’t crazy about the eight-speed transmission, which often seemed to be struggling to find the right gear, and which sometimes shifted between gears with unwelcome violence — especially downshifting on downhill stretches.
Navigating that transmission also took some adjusting. Cadillac has replaced the traditional column-mounted shifter with a knob in the center console. A push button selects “Park,” but a different button is required to move into “Drive” or “Reverse” gears, and back out of them.
I also found the stop/start function, which disables the engine when it’s at a red light and re-engages it when the driver touches the gas, a little abrupt. I know this can help increase overall fuel economy by several percentage points, but I was irritated to discover that, on the XT5, the stop/start cannot be switched off.
Fans of the SRX will like the new vehicle, which is good news for Cadillac. The automaker sold a lot of those cars last year — more than 100,000 globally, Cadillac says, about two-thirds of those in the U.S.
The open question is whether the “Made in America” appeal of a homegrown luxury SUV can steal buyers away from the European and Japanese makers who currently dominate the segment.
If Cadillac can do that, it’ll have wisely started a new series of SUVs right in the middle, with the XT5. Look for smaller XT3s and larger XT7s to follow.
2017 Cadillac XT5 Platinum AWD
Times’ take: Cadillac replaces its top-selling car
Highs: Plush, personable and very easy to drive
Lows: Sluggish engine, balky transmission
Vehicle type: Four-door, five-passenger SUV
Base price: $63,495
Price as tested: $63,845
Powertrain: 3.6-liter V-6 engine, all-wheel drive
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Horsepower: 310
Torque: 271 pound-feet
EPA fuel economy rating: 18 mpg city/26 highway/21 combined
