One hundred and twenty years. Before both World Wars, before the first television, and well before the invention of the microwave you just used to heat up that pizza pocket, that’s how long Cadillac has been around. As one of the oldest nameplates in luxury, Cadillac has enjoyed a storied but somewhat stumbling past since its inception in 1903, going from ultimate American luxury to a period of bizarre badge-engineered versions of General Motors’ more plebeian products — Cimarron, anyone? — and flip-flopping on what it’s truly trying to become. And that brings us to the 2023 Cadillac XT5 Sport.
With Cadillac setting its sights on blending electrification and luxury, the XT5 is a compact-ish, gas-powered SUV that’s not long for this world. Next year, it’ll enter its final year of production for the North American market, eventually allowing for more room in Cadillac’s lineup for electrification. Knowing the end is near, the XT5 has soldiered on with minor updates since it’s launch in 2016, missing out on some more major revisions afforded to its other siblings, like the XT4 and XT6. Still, there’s value to be had here, aging well in many ways and perhaps not so much in others.
The exterior is unmistakably Cadillac, with a recognizable front clip reminiscent of other Cadillac products, both in SUV and sedan form. The most striking feature up front has to be the headlights that have the signature vertical lighting, albeit a dated version as compared to some of Cadillac’s refreshed portfolio. Still, the tidy proportions accentuated by an amenable design aesthetic that will easily blend in at your local grocery store or look passable in the parking lot of a fancy hotel. The XT5’s overall length is just right compared to its main rivals, slotting in between the BMW X3 and X5, and shorter overall than the two-row Lexus RX and barely longer than an Audi Q5.
This XT5 Sport model we have here gives us 20-inch wheels — which barely hide the enormous, red-painted six-piston Brembo front calipers — and a mesh grille, hinting at some sporting intent. The white paint suits the XT5 nicely, although I was shocked to learn it’s a $1,395 option (silver, by the way, is the only no-cost colour). I’m a fan of the monochromatic Cadillac logo used throughout the exterior, less so about the weird “400” moniker on the liftgate — I had to Google what it meant; apparently, it’s the judiciously rounded-up torque figure in newton-metres, a metric most of us don’t use in North America.
Tasteful use of chrome and brushed aluminum help finish off the look; I have no real qualms about the XT5’s appearance and rather like it, except when I see it parked next to Cadillac’s other (refreshed) offerings. Alongside the XT4 and XT6, it looks rather dated; I’m not sure if this is a slight against the XT5 or a nod to Cadillac’s design language getting better and better.
The inside of the XT5 is well appointed, with this model’s “Kona Brown Sauvage” leather interior offering up some spice compared to your standard black leather offerings. The brown leather is flanked by some contrasting gloss black and wood trim, all feeling solid and premium to the touch. Space is plentiful, offering a comfortable cabin both front and rear, not to mention more cargo space space than the RX and Q5. The seats are perforated, heated — cooled seats are optional — and comfortable. The cabin is easily some place you can spend a few hours, but my one qualm is the four-spoke steering wheel. It feels nice in hand but looks busy, and the track buttons oriented in an up/down (rather than left/right) took me a little getting used to, as did the volume buttons being in a completely different section of the wheel.
The instrument cluster is very clean, offering a hybrid of physical gauges and a central screen, which my old soul certainly appreciates. It’s easy to read with clean graphics throughout, and lit up in a clean white light at night. There is some ambient lighting in the cabin, however it’s limited to the doors and only lights up in a soft white. The heads up display follows the clean look, with a fun horizontal tachometer thrown in for good measure.
The central infotainment screen offers some sharp graphics and well-designed iconography, but I just wish it was bigger, as an eight-inch display seems sufficient these days. However, it’s extremely responsive and the 360-degree camera image is one of the sharpest I’ve experienced in a car, regardless of price. The controls beneath the screen are an odd mix of touch and non-touch, all placed on a fingerprint-prone piano black finish. Why do manufacturers still insist on piano black trim in cars?
Surrounding the screen, you have some touch controls for gadgets like park assist, the auto stop/start system, hazard lights, and the home and mute button shortcuts. Below that are the HVAC controls, which all look similar to touch controls, but instead are physical buttons you have to press — albeit with a cheap, squishy plastic feel, similar to a child’s waterproof toy. It’s just an odd design/UX decision.
The centre console is well-designed overall, with a girthy — yes, I said it — shift knob, some redundant infotainment controls which I appreciated, and two cup holders that evidently haven’t seen Supersize Me yet. There’s also a sort-of hidden storage spot underneath the center console with a power outlet, which I thought was a clever use of space. The wireless phone charger with a vertical “drop in” orientation is also smart.
The XT5 features a 14-speaker Bose “Performance Series” sound system. It’s a delight, offering good overall sound-staging and punchy (but not very deep) bass once dialed in. I really enjoyed listening to it, although it holds nothing to Lexus’ Mark Levinson, and certainly nothing to Volvo’s Bowers & Wilkins systems. That said, the Bose system even integrates beautifully into the interior design aesthetic, offsetting the brown leather and wood with real metal speaker grills. Not only does it sound premium, it looks premium, too.
You can expect your typical safety technology features for this segment in the XT5, including parking sensors, a 360-degree camera, blind-spot monitoring, lane-departure warning, pedestrian detection, automatic emergency braking, etc. What’s unique about the XT5 is the vibration seat alert most of these features are tied to; it takes a bit of getting used to, but is wonderful once you do get used to it. To give you an idea of how it works, let’s say you’re veering out of your lane. Instead of an easy-to-miss visual or a jarring audible alert, the driver’s seat will vibrate either the left or right bolster, not unlike having a phone in your back pocket. Some people may find it intrusive, but I think it’s a great system.
From a tech perspective, what I didn’t like is the exterior door handles using a button to unlock, instead of the typical touch sensor located on the back of the handle, which feels more natural. It’s yet another way the XT5 shows its age, but at least Cadillac has a button on all four door handles, rather than just the two front doors, like many competitors.
Underneath, the XT5 boasts a 3.6-litre V6 that produces a respectable 310 horsepower at 6,600 rpm, and 271 pound-feet of torque at 5,000 rpm. It’s mated to a nine-speed automatic transmission, which powers all four wheels via a twin-clutch all-wheel-drive system. The powertrain even gets some extra points for sipping regular-grade fuel at under 10 L/100 km.
In addition to the aforementioned 20-inch wheels and six-piston Brembos, all of this equipment is balanced on an adaptive suspension meant to adjust in real-time — every two milliseconds! — to road conditions. Ride quality is great, the engine is relatively muted thanks to acoustic laminated front glass, and noise is kept to a minimum. Flipping the XT5’s drive modes into Sport activates the AWD system, but not much else changes.
Come to think of it, there’s no real duality to the XT5’s character. It soldiers on as a (very) comfortable SUV, leaning heavily into corners while using the lightly weighted steering, never really giving you the confidence to use those giant Brembos for anything outside of a panic stop. Power is available when you need it from that naturally aspirated engine, but you do have to rev it high to really get moving. The transmission works well enough in automatic mode, but the metal — yes, metal! — paddle shifters offer a delayed response, reminiscent more so of the “tiptronic” transmissions from yesteryear. It’s a good representation of Cadillac’s identity crisis; so long as you ignore Cadillac trying to tell you this is the “sporty” version, the XT5 is actually a joy in which to casually rack up miles.
All of this feels quintessentially Cadillac to me. A bit of nearly there, good enough, and respectable. And that is what the XT5 is — topping out at $67,962 as-tested, it’s a respectable, value-driven alternative to the countless competitors in the very busy entry-level luxury SUV space. Just don’t pay $1,395 for the white paint.
There are better offerings if you want a sportier ride, or something that feels even more luxurious. Heck, if a “Cadillac SUV” is what you’re after, the XT4 and XT6 can more than adequately fill the gap. But you’d be hard-pressed to find the same “bang for buck” value prop the 2023 Cadillac XT5 Sport offers. Its days may be numbered, and as long as you don’t think too hard about what identity Cadillac is trying to sell you this decade, enjoy the XT5 for the comfortable and luxurious SUV that it is.
