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The All New Cadillac XT 5 Crossover

Csongor Czezar
Oct 13, 2016
3 min read

Please welcome the Cadillac XT5 the successor of the Cadillac SRX.

While the XT5 is a big improvement over the SRX it replaces, it is up to us to decide just how much it stepped ahead in this overheated SUV/ crossover game.

First of all lets decide where this car belong in term of category. Is this an SUV , or a crossover or just an elevated Wagon?

Looking at it from the outside, and parked next to a Mercedes GLE, or a Ford Explorer, it does looks like same size, maybe a tad shorter.

The space between the bottom of the car and the ground doesn't justify it to be called an SUV on the other hand.

I would put it into a box together with names like: Audi Q5, Lincoln MKX, Mercedes GLC, Lexus RX and similar.

Although you can order one with 4WD, it actually feels better driving in the city than off-road.

I will tell you a couple of PRO and CON of this vehicle , I experienced while driving it over a week.

Lets start with the Pros.

The engine: A 310-horsepower version of General Motors’ corporate 3.6-liter V-6 that first appeared in the 2016 CTS and ATS sedans serves in the XT5 as well. And it serve it very good! I never had the slightest need for more power, even after driving the CTS V-Sport 420Hp. It feels different than the other SUV-s or larger Crossovers for the matter of fact, it feels faster. 0-60 comes in 6.5 second.

The driveability is excellent. Driving on the Highway 1 up from San Francisco toward the Oregon border the car feeling smooth and more refined than the other competitors in the segment. On the twisty road it felt like a much smaller car, not unlikely as a sport sedan.

The interior was wrapped in padded and stitched leather, real wood, and brushed-metal surfaces that make the XT5 look and feel every bit the part of a luxury SUV. Most pieces fit together well, and the single metal insert circling the steering-wheel hub, are nicely styled and well thought out. The heated and ventilated front seats are well padded and comfortable and the interior is spacious all around, with generous head- and legroom .

On most of the surface it is gone the piano black, shiny, fingerprint attracting material, which is a good thing.

And here are the Cons.

The style: Cadillac missed out a huge opportunity with the XT5 to create an outstanding product.

While the design is not ugly by all means, the car doesn't stand for Cadillac, it looks like any other Crossover on the market with a Caddy badge on it. It looks like a Chevy Equinox, for example.

On the inside a couple of complains goes to the gear selector, which is a copy of the one found in the BMWs. It is pointless. It has unnecessary functions. For instance, why do you have to press a button and then push the lever to the front, then holding the button push it to the left, just to put it in reverse? Every other car can do that in one simple move.

Another complain is the resonating cheap plastic on the bottom part of the doors. On medium noise music level the car resonates too much, which is not expected from a brand new car, heck, not even from an older car, in the luxury field.

All in all the XT5, which starting just shy off 40K and goes up to 64K, is a pretty good small family crossover. I would consider it when planning to buy your next car. Take it to a test drive.