Cadillac fills a gap in its SUV product offerings for 2020 with the XT6, a new mid-size model that fits in between the XT5 compact and Escalade full-size model.
This is Cadillac's second crack at a three-row crossover utility in the mid-size segment. The first was the original SRX of the mid-2000s, that, in 2010, was subsequently redesigned into a smaller, five-seat vehicle that itself was redrawn into the XT5 in 2017.
The XT6 takes Cadillac into a market segment its General Motors corporate cousins at Chevrolet, GMC and Buick already know well. Unsurprisingly, the XT6 SUV shares underpinnings and mechanical components with the platform on which the Buick Enclave and Chevrolet Traverse are based.
Like those other utilities, the XT6 is powered by a 3.6L V6 engine tuned here for 310 hp and 271 lb-ft of torque. It also has a nine-speed automatic transmission and AWD. UPDATE THISAs of this writing, Cadillac hasn't confirmed whether there will be a FWD variant. The Traverse and Enclave are offered that way, but only in entry trim levels.UPDATE THIS
Cadillac has settled on a two trim level approach. The XT6 starting point is the Premium Luxury trim, and the alternative is Sport. They'll be distinguished visually, with Premium Luxury getting a bright grille and other exterior trim, 20-inch wheels and trim-specific front and rear fascias. Sport instead gets a black grille and trim, different front and rear styling, including clear taillight lenses, and a different style of 20-inch wheels. On Sport, 21-inch rims are an option.
New for Cadillac is a rotary infotainment controller with a "jog" function, which means you can bump the knob left/right and fore/aft to navigate between menu items. It's new for Caddy, maybe, but old hat elsewhere in the industry.
Standard advanced safety features include a backup camera with built-in washer, forward collision alert with low-speed automatic braking and front pedestrian braking, following distance indicator, front and rear park assist, lane change alert with blind spot warning, rear cross traffic alert and lane keep assist with lane departure warning. All of these systems warn the driver of obstacles and impediments through GM's safety alert seat, which vibrates when the car has something to say.
Optional kit includes a rear camera mirror, forward and reverse automatic braking, adaptive cruise control, automatic parking assist, rear pedestrian alert, surround vision exterior camera system with recorder, head-up display, night vision and trailer hitch guidance.
As we write this, Cadillac has not published fuel consumption ratings for the XT6, but we expect them to be similar to those for the AWD versions of the Traverse and Enclave. Those estimates are 13.8/9.5 L/100 km (city/highway).
