Replacing the six year-old SRX, the XT5 joins the large CT6 sedan in Cadillac’s new ‘T-number’ naming strategy.
Far more important than the badge on its rump, however, is the XT5’s role in the new-generation Cadillac line-up: tackling the likes of BMW’s popular X3, the all-new Mercedes-Benz GLC and the Audi Q5, and the Chinese market will be its main battleground.
Riding on an all-new platform rich with high-strength steels and lightweight components, the XT5 is around 130kg lighter than equivalent SRX models, and just under 50kg lighter than the Audi Q5 (although a new Q5 isn't far away).
Power is provided by GM’s new-generation 3.6-litre V6 petrol engine, producing 231kW and 365Nm, and matched to an eight-speed automatic. In China, there’s also a 2.0-litre turbo four.
Front-wheel drive is standard, with all-wheel-drive available as an option.
As with all Cadillac models, the XT5 will be off-limits to Australian buyers. But, as the brand’s global marketing chief Jim Vurpillat revealed to CarAdvice in April, a local launch could occur later this decade.
“It’s really in the end of 2020, that we feel we will have a broad enough portfolio and diversity of powertrain choices to be able to go into right hand drive markets, Australia being one and obviously UK,” Vurpillat said.
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