The 2020 Cadillac XT6 Dares To Meet Expectations

Several years ago, Cadillac launched a new brand advertising campaign with the tag line “Dare Greatly.” The premise was that those that take risks will often fall short, but they are also the ones that achieve the greatest success. After a decade of wavering on the issue, Cadillac has finally launched a three-row crossover called the XT6 and we’ve now driven it. Did Cadillac dare greatly with the XT6 or just meet expectations?

If you’ve ever gone through the process of annual performance reviews in a job, you’ve no doubt seen a rating labeled “meets expectations” or some variation of that. That means you’ve basically achieved exactly what you are supposed to, no more, no less. Employees that continually meet expectations aren’t usually going to get themselves fired, but they also aren’t likely to move up the pecking order. 

A company needs these people because they get stuff done, on time and on budget. But for a company in a competitive, dynamic marketplace, like for example the auto industry, just chugging along may not be good enough. You also need members of the team that exceed expectations. They are the ones that get customers excited and attract customers from the competition. Without some players that exceed expectations, you’ll lose ground to other companies that do. In the end, those that only meet expectations may find themselves on the sidelines through no direct fault of their own, but rather because the competition moved ahead and stole your base.

Of course, expectations are always a matter of perspective. I’ll be honest, when we first saw the XT6 back in January, many of us were underwhelmed. Compared to what Cadillac had been showing us in concept cars in recent years, it seemed kind of plain, especially compared to the Lincoln Aviator. It wasn’t bad looking, but aside from the front, it looked a bit uninspired and seemed to draw heavily on the Volvo XC90. 

The interior like many recent Cadillacs also didn’t appear to be on the same level as many premium competitors. While Cadillac announced it would be bringing out a new battery electric crossover at some indeterminate future date (probably not before 2021), the XT6 lacked even a mild hybrid option. 

Gallery: 2020 Cadillac XT6, first drive

22 images

The shape obviously hadn’t changed by the time we arrived in Washington DC to drive it in July, but out in the daylight, it does look more handsome. It still isn’t going to knock anyone’s socks off, but it also won’t likely make their eyes roll back into their skulls like an Aztec. The front end is a handsome crossover interpretation of the latest Cadillac face that we’ve seen on concepts like the Escala. The horizontal headlamps are slim and the vertical running lamps are even more so. Toward the back, it’s a mix of Volvo XC90 and Honda Pilot, all fairly generic but inoffensive. 

Inside, the materials and finish definitely seem like a step up from the examples we saw at the Detroit show in January. It’s not as plush as the high-end German examples, but there is definitely less plastic than I remember. Ergonomically, it works reasonably well and the XT6 is the first Cadillac to the updated central rotary controller. Unlike the XT4 version last year that only rotated and pushed down to select, this one works more like iDrive with jog functionality if four directions. 

Unlike many premium vehicles in 2019, Cadillac doesn’t offer a fully digital instrument cluster, sticking with two round analog dials and a digital display in between. That limits the reconfigurability but it is functional. Both the Premium Luxury and Sport models we tested had a heads up display that remained visible even with polarized sunglasses. With everyone bringing their devices along everywhere, Cadillac has installed six USB ports including two Type-A and four Type-C ports. 

When we first saw the XT6, the assumption was that it was based on GM’s larger crossover platform shared with the Buick Enclave and Chevrolet Traverse. In fact, it rides on the midsize platform used by the XT5. Despite being a three-row, the XT6 only has about 0.2-inch more wheelbase. However, it is 2.3-inches wider and 2.8-inches taller with 9.8-inches more length, most of which is hanging behind the rear axle. 

Cadillac actually made excellent use of the additional body dimensions for seating occupants. The third row seats actually sit up higher than the second row, theater style thanks to the added roof altitude. I got my five-foot-eleven-inch frame in there without any difficulty and was able to sit comfortably without being in a knees-up position. While overall dimensions of the Lincoln Aviator are similar (albeit with seven-inches more wheelbase) I expect it’s sleeker roofline will mean a less commodious third row. The result is usable seating for six or seven (with the available second-row bench). 

The downside of this architectural choice is that the ample cargo bay of the XT5 is sacrificed to that extra row. The 30.2 cubic feet available in the XT5 with all seats in use shrinks to just 12.6 cubic feet in the XT6. Thus you’ll need a rooftop carrier attached to the standard roof rails to take a full load on an extended road trip. The XT6 also offers up to 4,000-lbs of towing capability, well short of the 6,700-lbs in the twin-turbo gasoline V6 Aviator but enough for many people’s needs. For those that need really heavy duty towing capability in a Cadillac, there is always the Escalade. 

Cadillac undoubtedly heard the complaints from reviewers about engine and road noise in the compact XT4 and made sure the XT6 did much better. Driving on a variety of different road surfaces out of Washington and into Virginia, the XT6 offered the sort of serenity one would expect from a Caddie. That serenity also extended to the ride quality. 

Body motions were well controlled with the available adaptive damping and directional control was precise. While the XT6 generally went wherever it was pointed, the steering didn’t really offer much feedback, even on the Sport. The 310-hp V6 offered more than adequate performance to motivate this more than 4,600-lb utility. 

The Sport is more about the blacked out appearance than any actual performance enhancement which is limited to slightly more weighty steering and the substitution of a twin-clutch all-wheel-drive system that enables torque vectoring for better cornering control. The roads and speed limits on our drive route were too narrow and too low to reasonably evaluate the efficacy of the torque vectoring but I’m confident when used in the right circumstances it will enhance the dynamic character of the XT6. 

Despite some low expectations we had for the XT6 when we first saw it, in practice it actually does the things it’s capable of surprisingly well. It’s quiet, smooth, spacious, pleasant enough to look at and seems reasonably fuel efficient. Despite all that, I can really only rate it meets expectations because it does the minimum of what is expected in the segment. Like the XT4, it doesn’t reach for a higher bar. 

While we were in DC, Cadillac engineers explained that the XT6 will get Super Cruise, eventually, at some indeterminate date. It might get some electrification option, but that seems less likely since GM has backed away from hybrid and plug-in hybrid technology in favor of full electric which is coming on another model. Cadillac customers that need more room than an XT4 or XT5 offer will probably be quite content with the XT6. It certainly offers a far more usable third row than the Acura MDX or Lexus RX350L. But it lacks the style of the Lincoln as well as the 450-hp plug-in hybrid. Ultimately, there is just nothing daring about this vehicle. The front drive XT6 Premium Luxury starts at $54,315 delivered and runs up to over $75,000 with all options on a Sport with the Platinum package.