Cadillac is giving a mid-cycle refresh to its compact SUV, by bringing it more into line with its smaller XT4 and brand-new XT6 utility models. The 2020 Cadillac XT5 will be available in Luxury, Premium Luxury and Sport versions. The latter two give buyers the option to upgrade to the Platinum trim, which brings with it premium leather seating, adaptive cruise control, full-speed automatic emergency braking and other added systems. The Sport version gets torque vectoring in all-wheel drive configuration.
The look
Visually, the 2020 edition of the luxury compact SUV gets a new mesh-style front grille and LED headlights and daytime running lights. Inside, the centre console has been redesigned, and all versions get heated seats, a 360-degree camera and the brand-new CUE (Cadillac User Experience) multimedia system. Its screen is larger and it features a new controller that allows the user to jog to navigate more easily from one menu to another. One-touch phone pairing is now included.
Now included in the XT5’s list of standard safety and drive assist systems are lane departure warning, low-speed forward collision avoidance and auto high beams.
The powertrain
The Luxury and Premium Luxury versions of the new XT5 are powered by the same 2.0L 4-cylinder turbo engine delivering 237 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque wedded to a 9-speed automatic transmission and, in the case of the Luxury, working in a front-wheel-drive configuration. The Premium Luxury edition, however, gets Cadillac’s single-clutch all-wheel-drive system.
For those who want more dynamism with their luxury, the Premium Luxury can also be had (for an extra cost) with a 3.6L V6 making 310 hp and 271 hp.
And that engine is the one that sits under the hood of the Sport edition, sending power to all four wheels in that version via a 9-speed automatic transmission. That AWD system is here a twin-clutch unit, which means torque vectoring. The system can send up to 100% power to the outside rear wheel if needed. The Sport also gets a tighter suspension, adaptive damping and a quicker steering ratio.
Cadillac is introducing a new naming methodology designed to reflect available torque in each version. So the Sport model, which delivers 271 lb-ft or roughly 367-Nm of torque, gets its total rounded up and becomes the 400.
There’s no word on exact specifications and pricing for Canada; we can expect that information as the September 2019 launch date approaches.
