► New 2017 Cadillac Xt5

2017 Cadillac Xt5 Overview

One Particularly Bright Spot In Cadillac's Ongoing Self-reinvention (or Turnaround, Rather), Has Been The Srx 5-passenger Crossover, Which Cadillac Designed To Compete With The Segment-leading Lexus Rx 350. The Srx Is Cadillac’s Top-selling Vehicle By Far, Outselling All Other Cadillac Models By 3-to-1 Or More. And Now, The All-new 2017 Cadillac Xt5 Is Going To Replace The Srx. Talk About Pressure.

Messing With Success Is A Necessity In The Automotive World. Sit Happily On A Winning Design And An Entrenched Competitor Will Eventually Top You, Or A Newbie Like Tesla Will Steal Your Cheese While You’re Not Looking. The 2017 Xt5 Is An All-new Design, Although Not A Radical Shift For The Segment. It Will Be A Roomy 5-passenger Vehicle With Available All-wheel Drive (awd), A V6 Engine Coupled To An 8-speed Automatic Transmission, And Every Modern Driver-assistance Feature. But This Description Already Fits The Srx, Not To Mention Every Strong Seller In The Premium Midsize Crossover Segment Right Now. So How Will The Xt5 Thrill Cadillac’s Target Audience?

Possibly Through Its Styling. Cadillac’s Current President Told Reporters That This New Vehicle (and New Cadillacs In General) Will Be For Non-enthusiasts. In Other Words, It Won't Just Be A Hot-rod, Leather-draped Version Of Some Other Gm Product. In Fact, The Initial Gm Product Previews For The Xt5 Were Held In New York City (not Exactly A Mecca Of Car Enjoyment), At A Fashion Boutique. Every Luxury Automaker Has Been Waking Up To The Fact That Most Every Car And Crossover In The Market Is Now Thrilling: Fun To Drive, With Interesting Styling And Up-to-date Mechanical Specifications. Cadillac Plans To Make The Xt5 Special With Its Technology And Styling, Though, And By Trying To Instill A Certain Feeling Of "specialness" In Its Customers.

The Cabin Is A Good Example Of The Xt5's Strategy. It Will Have Premium Soft Materials And Fine Craftsmanship (of Course), But Unlike Lexus, Which Offers A Steering Wheel With A Wooden Rim, Cadillac Is Moving The Wood To The Center Section. Cadillac Knows Consumers Expect Wood, But It Also Knows Wood Is Not A Great Material For The Part Of The Wheel The Driver Actually Touches. A Head-up Display Will Also Be Included. Cadillac Is A Leader In Head-up Technology And Its Display Will Not Just Be A Redundant Speed Readout--it Will Offer Turning Instructions Coupled To Navigation, And Display Things Like The Speed Limit For The Current Road.

The Xt5's Cue Infotainment System Will Include Surround-view Cameras, Rather Than Just A Back-up Camera, And Will Work Directly With Your Apple Or Droid Phone (app Integration Will Be A Focus). The Xt5’s Gear Shifter Will Be Very Similar To The Shifter Found In Bmws, Probably A Wise Move On Cadillac's Part.

Active Driver Aids Have Not Really Been A Gm Strong Point, But Cadillac Has Now Caught Up. Expect Not Just Advanced Forward Collision Prevention (required Now To Earn A Top Safety Score), But Pedestrian Impact Avoidance As Well, Perfect For, Say, New York City. Rear Cross-traffic Alerts And Blind-spot Monitoring Will Be Standard, And Look For Lane Keeping Assist And Adaptive Cruise Control With Automated Highway Passing To Debut. We Would Be Shocked If The Xt5 Didn’t Allow For Autonomous Driving In Some Circumstances.

Exterior Styling Is Strictly A Matter Of Taste, But We Can Say The Xt5 Won’t Make Any Mistakes. As Revealed By Cadillac, The Xt5's Look Is Elegant And Mature, With A Classy Modern Feel. Cadillac Has An Opportunity Here: Audi, Bmw, And Mercedes Are A Bit Too Conservative, And Lexus Has Become Very Aggressive. Cadillac Can Win Over Customers With Styling That Falls Right Up The Middle.

Aside From The Xt5 Vehicle Itself, Cadillac Has Been Hard At Work Improving Its Ownership Experience. Among Luxury Brands Offering Crossovers, It Is Now Ranked Fourth In Customer Service Visit Satisfaction, According To J.d. Power And Associates. The Same Group Rates Cadillac Ahead Of Lexus, Volvo, And Acura In An Important Metric That Looks At How Happy Buyers Are With Their Cars After Owning Them For 90 Days. Consumer Reports Says That As A Brand, Cadillac Still Has Work To Do Regarding Quality (it's Kept Out Of Last Place Only By The Fca Brands), But Maybe The New Xt5 Will Strengthen Its Ranking There As Well.

Look For The 2017 Cadillac Xt5 To Go On Sale In Late Spring Of 2016. Expect A Price Of About $55,000 For A Well-equipped Model With Awd.
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Killing Time By Kevin Macleod Is Licensed Under A Creative Commons Attribution Licence