As luxury SUVs have gone from relative obscurity to regulars in the valet line, competition has grown fierce, and the measure of overall goodness has been steadily on the rise. And that is how it should be; pretty good just doesn’t cut it anymore.
Unfortunately for Cadillac, the new XT5 rates as merely pretty good in the face of worthy competition, including the excellent 2017 Jaguar F-Pace and more established class leaders such as the BMW X3 and the Porsche Macan. While the XT5 is a big improvement over the SRX it replaces, owners of that SRX may be the only ones who are jealous.
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; it’s a 24-valve, direct-injected powerplant that gets the job done but falls short on both power and refinement when compared against competitors’ powertrains. When pushed, the engine has a decidedly unluxurious coarseness, and it doesn’t always play nice with the eight-speed automatic transmission. Part-throttle downshifts are slow in coming, especially when merging onto a busy highway or at other times when a quick response would be ideal. But shifts can be abrupt in normal driving situations. For example, when coasting down from higher speeds while approaching, say, a red light that changes to green, stepping back onto the gas pedal elicits a momentary pause and then a jerk. There’s a lot going on that may contribute to this behavior, with Cadillac’s V-6 employing both a cylinder-shutdown mode to save fuel under light loads and stop/start technology (which, annoyingly, cannot be disabled). Whatever the cause(s), it ends up feeling less smooth and refined than the segment leaders. Cadillac’s work-around is to select Tap Shift mode by clicking the lever past the D position, using the two paddles hidden behind the steering-wheel spokes to choose your own gears—but it’s one we doubt few owners will employ.
Backsound credit by bensound.com
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