While Cadillac has long been known for its luxury vehicles, the company is trying out bold new ideas by appealing to the average consumers' taste with its family of crossover vehicles. Introducing the 2017 Cadillac XT5, the successor to the now defunct SRX.
The 2017 Cadillac XT5 might just be Cadillac's best crossover vehicle in years. Although this isn't their first foray into the crossover vehicle market, previous attempts left customers wanting more. According to Business Insider, Cadillac's President Johan de Nysschen wanted crossovers in order to compete with the likes of Mercedes Benz, Audi, BMW, Lexus, Porsche, Volvo, and pretty much every single luxury vehicle in the market.
Available with #AWD so you can always journey forward. Discover the 2017 #Cadillac #XT5 pic.twitter.com/R5ltp7bKHq
— Cadillac (@Cadillac) January 6, 2017
The goal was to shift from an aggressive, almost exotic design to the likes of the larger and in-charge persona of the mega-SUV Escalade. The company wants to align Cadillac with the rest of the luxury vehicle market. By doing this, a number of crossover vehicles will be popping out in the next couple of years, and the XT5 is just the beginning.
Although the 2017 Cadillac XT5 is nothing but unique and impressive, it has one bit of a problem. Being the successor to the SRX, it still sports the SRX's 3.6-liter V6 engine under the hood. The current trend in crossover vehicle engines being a turbocharged 4-cylinder workhorse, the XT5 decides to go big. The power plant has been extensively overhauled though to be able to contain the cylinder deactivation feature for fuel-efficient highway driving.
The XT5 is also equipped with an idle-stop technology, shutting the engine down when at an extended stop. The XT5 has a brand new 8-speed automatic transmission with a 310 hp.
Cadillac explained that the engineering team behind the 2017 Cadillac XT5 was "aiming to get the best real-world fuel economy and day-to-day usability for buyers in the market segment." They added that fuel economy ranks high in vehicle owner surveys.
Overall, despite the XT5 being Cadillac's bestselling vehicle in the market, it pretty much still has room for improvement. For now, the crossover Caddy claims a 6.6-sec 0-60mph dash. The crossover vehicle's tech included Apple CarPlay and Android Auto with 4G Connectivity, reported by CarAndDriver.
Buyers can choose from either front- or all-wheel drive. The 2017 Cadillac XT5 comes in 5 trim levels: base, luxury, premium luxury, and platinum. The Cadillac crossover might just be ready to battle Europe's and Japan's luxury vehicles.
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