LVSteve
Member
My wife's 2014 Cadilliac shredded its transmission at under 50k miles, but through the wonders of CPO Cadillac rebuilt it for free.
In the meantime, they gave us an XT5 crossover as a loaner.
STYLING: The XT5 is the successor to the SRX crossover. My first impression was that the XT5 is styled more plainly than the SRX but has smaller blindspots as the roof line is higher at the back with more glass. It's not quite at the Audi Q5 level of yawn inducing blandness, but it's definitely gone that way.
ENGINE: On paper, they don't look much different, but the devil is in the detail. Both have 3.6 V6 motors, but the XT5 is using a newer, slightly larger design with greater sophistication. For example, under light constant load or the overrun, the XT5 motor runs as a V4 instead of a V6. The transition is seamless, probably due to some active engine mount magic. Combined with the new transmission the gas mileage seemed pretty good getting 20+ mpg in mixed conditions with the A/C on 100% of the time.
TRANSMISSION: Backing the new motor is an 8-speed transmission that was desperately needed due to the 3.6 motor's lack of real grunt in a 4000lb+ vehicle. The transmission is very smooth and Cadillac give you paddle shifters for when you need to downshift in anticipation. When you do, watching the rev counter shows just how close together the ratios are spaced. Shifts were smooth. One thing MANY may not like is that GM have decided that the old shifter pattern needed changing. With the new system it is easy to get the car into manual mode and unless briefed, you may not know how to get out of it. An MMI change for changes sake, and not a helpful one IMHO.
INTERIOR: The interior was nice for the base model but I know many would scream blue murder at the lack of sunroof. Not me, I hate the things. Cadillac have simplified the CUE system to some degree and returned some of the A/C controls to switches rather than the "haptic controls" on the SRX. Hooray! Only thing is the A/C system is noisy for the amount of output. I have the same beef with the SRX.
RIDE AND HANDLING: Ever heard the thing about the curate's egg, good in places? This applies 100% to the XT5. Being a base model it came with 18" wheels and tires with lots of sidewall. I expected this to give a really cushy ride compared to the SRX Premium I've ridden in that had 20" wheel.
Nope. The XT5 clumped noisily over road repairs at town speeds in a most un-Cadiilac manner. I checked the repuusres to find they were dead on spec, probably only the second time from a shop in Vegas. Certain surfaces, even smooth ones, set up some awful racket in the vehicle at freeway speeds. Weirdly, a run down the concrete section of I-15 to Stateline was pretty serene. Color me baffled. Web research suggests the tires are the culprit, Michelin Premier LTX. Supposedly a 60k tire, many folks are reporting them done at 25k.
Handling was OK within the limits I would push a vehicle of thins type. I did not that it is very short of droop capability in the rear suspension. Drivng off the street onto my drive at an angle the inside rear wheel would come off the ground, and my drive is not that extreme. The older SRX does not do this.
WHY I PROBABLY WOULD NEVER BUY ONE: The XT5 has two "no sale" features.
#1 No spare wheel, just an inflation kit. There appeared to be space for a spare, so maybe it's an option.
#2 You cannot disable the auto stop feature on the engine. That is an utter deal breaker for me.
In the meantime, they gave us an XT5 crossover as a loaner.STYLING: The XT5 is the successor to the SRX crossover. My first impression was that the XT5 is styled more plainly than the SRX but has smaller blindspots as the roof line is higher at the back with more glass. It's not quite at the Audi Q5 level of yawn inducing blandness, but it's definitely gone that way.
ENGINE: On paper, they don't look much different, but the devil is in the detail. Both have 3.6 V6 motors, but the XT5 is using a newer, slightly larger design with greater sophistication. For example, under light constant load or the overrun, the XT5 motor runs as a V4 instead of a V6. The transition is seamless, probably due to some active engine mount magic. Combined with the new transmission the gas mileage seemed pretty good getting 20+ mpg in mixed conditions with the A/C on 100% of the time.
TRANSMISSION: Backing the new motor is an 8-speed transmission that was desperately needed due to the 3.6 motor's lack of real grunt in a 4000lb+ vehicle. The transmission is very smooth and Cadillac give you paddle shifters for when you need to downshift in anticipation. When you do, watching the rev counter shows just how close together the ratios are spaced. Shifts were smooth. One thing MANY may not like is that GM have decided that the old shifter pattern needed changing. With the new system it is easy to get the car into manual mode and unless briefed, you may not know how to get out of it. An MMI change for changes sake, and not a helpful one IMHO.
INTERIOR: The interior was nice for the base model but I know many would scream blue murder at the lack of sunroof. Not me, I hate the things. Cadillac have simplified the CUE system to some degree and returned some of the A/C controls to switches rather than the "haptic controls" on the SRX. Hooray! Only thing is the A/C system is noisy for the amount of output. I have the same beef with the SRX.
RIDE AND HANDLING: Ever heard the thing about the curate's egg, good in places? This applies 100% to the XT5. Being a base model it came with 18" wheels and tires with lots of sidewall. I expected this to give a really cushy ride compared to the SRX Premium I've ridden in that had 20" wheel.
Nope. The XT5 clumped noisily over road repairs at town speeds in a most un-Cadiilac manner. I checked the repuusres to find they were dead on spec, probably only the second time from a shop in Vegas. Certain surfaces, even smooth ones, set up some awful racket in the vehicle at freeway speeds. Weirdly, a run down the concrete section of I-15 to Stateline was pretty serene. Color me baffled. Web research suggests the tires are the culprit, Michelin Premier LTX. Supposedly a 60k tire, many folks are reporting them done at 25k.
Handling was OK within the limits I would push a vehicle of thins type. I did not that it is very short of droop capability in the rear suspension. Drivng off the street onto my drive at an angle the inside rear wheel would come off the ground, and my drive is not that extreme. The older SRX does not do this.
WHY I PROBABLY WOULD NEVER BUY ONE: The XT5 has two "no sale" features.
#1 No spare wheel, just an inflation kit. There appeared to be space for a spare, so maybe it's an option.
#2 You cannot disable the auto stop feature on the engine. That is an utter deal breaker for me.
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