TWO LEVELS OF Luxury
New AWD crossover’s Sport model looks and drives even better than its ‘softer’ sibling
WASHINGTON, D.C The 2020 Cadillac XT6 is a new three-row, allwheel-drive crossover that sits neatly between the face-lifted XT5 and overblown Escalade. It’s large without feeling bloated and it has the amenities expected of a luxury crossover.
There are two distinctly different models: the Premium Luxury keys on the softer side of life, while the Sport adds an entertaining extension to the drive. The key differences between the Premium Luxury and the Sport is that the latter has quicker steering, a torque-vectoring all-wheel-drive system, and adaptive damping. It’s also offered with larger P265/45R21 tires.
Other changes are found in the grille treatment and the interior trim. The Premium Luxury uses exotic wood trim, while the Sport gets carbon-fibre inserts.
Both models are powered by a 3.6-litre V6 that makes 310 horsepower and 271 pound-feet of torque. It has plenty of pop off the line and it works with a slick nine-speed automatic transmission, providing solid performance over the entire operating range. At the top end, the transmission gearing improves fuel economy, as does the cylinder-deactivation system (when loads are low the engine shuts down two of the six cylinders).
The 400 badge on the liftgate indicates the amount of torque on tap — or that’s the intent. Rather than round up the pound-feet and use that number, the twisting force is converted to Newton-metres and then modified. This means the 271 lb-ft, which converts to 367 N-m of torque, becomes the 400 designation after it’s been doctored. It’s a strange naming strategy, to say the least.
While the Premium Luxury’s all-wheel-drive system does add stability to the drive, it doesn’t compare with the Sport model’s Sport Control system. The latter has two clutches in the rear axle module. Heading into a corner, the system directs the drive to the outside rear wheel, which helps to power the XT6 through the corner with more authority.
Other differences in the personalities show up when the going gets quick.
The Premium Luxury’s front struts and multi-link suspension are tuned to maximize ride comfort. Conversely, the Sport’s adaptive damping delivers a comfortable ride when in AWD mode and it cuts body roll noticeably when in Sport mode.
The XT6 is notable for the quality of the interior execution. Both trims feature nice materials and all the surfaces are butted together neatly. The latest Cadillac User Experience (CUE) with its eight-inch touch screen now has a new central controller with a jog function. It makes it much easier to navigate between functions.
The nit to pick is the instrumentation. While it’s configurable, it lacks the visual zing of the Audi Q7’s Virtual Cockpit.
If you want more luxury, the Platinum package is available on both models.
The XT6 comes with 11 standard safety systems, including blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert, lane-departure warning with lane-keep assist, auto high beams, and low-speed forward-collision prevention with auto braking. It requires the Driver Assistance package to get adaptive cruise control and enhanced forward-collision prevention with full auto emergency braking.
The other safety system worth considering is the optional threeled headlight system. There is one low-beam unit and two highbeam units, each of which has 16 individually controlled LEDS. It brings superior illumination.
A very cool extension is the Surround View Recorder, which acts like a 360-degree dash cam. It runs a five-minute loop whenever the XT6 is in motion, and when triggered by an incident, it stores the video on an SD card. It’s novel and means no more ugly dash cams stuck to the windshield.
Unlike many in the segment, the second two rows of seats are usable. Sliding the middle row forward opens up legroom for the thirdrow riders. When the third row is empty and the middle row is fully rearward, there’s ample room for a pair of six-foot riders. There are both six- and seven-seat versions.
Switching from multi-seat crossover to a cargo carrier is a simple matter. The third row powers down into the floor, while the second row folds forward at the touch of a button. There’s 357 litres of space behind the third row, 1,220 L behind the second row, and 2,229 L with both rows folded.
The XT6 is at dealerships now. The Premium Luxury model starts at $60,998, while the Sport commands $63,798.
Unless a softer driving personality is the primary goal, the Sport model is the better buy. It has sharper looks, crisper driving dynamics and the very good torque-vectoring all-wheel-drive system.