Luxury-brand (and luxury-priced) vehicles have — arguably — been diminished by the fact that many of them have the same size and type of engine that non-luxury-brand vehicles have.
That size and type being a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine.
The Cadillac XT5 also comes with one of those. But — for the moment — it is also still available with what used to be expected when you paid luxury money for a vehicle.
That being a V6.
But probably for not much longer — because compliance pressures are pushing the V6 into the ultra-luxury class (and price).
What It Is
The XT5 is a compact, tow-row crossover from Cadillac. Like so many others in its class (and beneath its class), it is equipped with a 2.0-liter turbocharged engine. A 3.6-liter V6 is, however, available.
And that sets it apart from crossovers in the lesser classes.
Prices start at $44,300 for the Luxury trim, which comes with synthetic leather seat covers, an eight-speaker Bose stereo system, power liftgate, WiFi hot spot and heated seats. Front-wheel drive is standard, along with the 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine already mentioned. All-wheel drive is available as a standalone option. So equipped, the Luxury lists for $46,300.
The mid-trim Premium Luxury — which lists for $52,900 with FWD, or $54,900 with AWD — adds a panorama sunroof, 20-inch wheels, heated steering wheel and ambient interior lighting, and replaced the six-speaker Bose stereo with a 14-speaker stereo (also Bose). This trim also gets the 2.0-liter turbo four.
If you want something more — under the hood — there's the Sport, which lists for $62,100. It gets a 3.6-liter V6 instead of the 2.0-liter four, and AWD is standard. In addition, this trim gets a bundle of performance upgrades, including Brembo front brakes (with contrast color calipers) plus an adaptive suspension, heavy-duty cooling and more aggressive (firmer) suspension tuning.
What's New for 2026
Other than some shuffling of trim/options, the XT5 carries over unchanged.
What's Good
— You can still get more than a four.
— Not as touch screen heavy as newer models.
— V6 hardly uses more gas than the 2.0-liter four.
What's Not So Good
— V6 requires a $10,000 jump from the mid-trim Premium Lux (and an $18,000 jump from the base trim Luxury).
— Standard equipment is comparable to much less expensive non-luxury-brand crossovers.
— Visibility to either side (and rear) is compromised by the short side glass and small/sloped rear glass.
Under the Hood
As mentioned above, the Luxury and Premium luxury trims come standard with what's becoming standard in that it feels like just about everything: A 2.0-liter inline four, augmented by a turbo. It makes an advertised 235 horsepower and 258 foot-pounds of torque. This engine is paired with a nine-speed automatic and either FWD or AWD. Zero to 60 mph takes about 7.7 seconds, and gas mileage us 22 mpg city, 29 mpg highway.
The Sport comes standard with a 3.6-liter V6 that touts 310 horsepower; this is basically the same engine that was standard in the Chevy Camaro (before it got canceled) and greatly improves the XT5's performance. The 0-60 mph time goes down to about six seconds, but what's perhaps more interesting is that the gas mileage remains very close to the same: 18 mpg city, 26 mpg highway.
On the Road
The XT5 is both disappointing — and enjoyable — to drive. It all depends on which XT5 you buy.
If you get one with the 2.0-liter four, you will discover that what you spent Cadillac money for isn't any quicker than what you could have gotten for Honda or Toyota money. Not that there is anything wrong with Hondas or Toyotas. The point is, they aren't Cadillacs — and for that reason, you don't expect them to have the power/performance that ought to be standard in a Cadillac, because you're not paying Cadillac money.
It is not that the 2.0-liter four fails to provide adequate performance. But adequate is not quite enough when you're shopping for a luxury-brand (and luxury-priced) vehicle. It is also more than just that.
Less, actually.
The 2.0-liter four sounds like a four, which is to be expected, given that it is a four. Not (again) that there is anything wrong with fours. It is just that fours were once chiefly found in economy-priced small cars, which used them because they were inexpensive and fuel efficient. But in a $45,000-to-start Cadillac, the sound is cheap-sounding in the sense that you ought to get something more for this kind of money.
The V6 you can get fixes all that. It is exactly the size and type of engine that used to be a given in a luxury-branded vehicle. It sounds right — and it produces the more-than-adequate power/performance you ought to get when you buy a Cadillac. But cost is so high that only a few will get to enjoy this appropriately sized, more-than-just-adequate engine, and that's a shame.
On the upside — at least for now — this Cadillac comes standard with an actual instrument cluster rather than a glowing LCD touch screen. There is also a touch screen, but it's secondary, off to the side and relatively small (compared with the huge ones newer-design vehicles now routinely come standard with). This makes it much simpler to just drive the car — without needing to constantly fiddle with a screen.
On the downside, the XT5's side glass (especially the rear-door side glass) is short — which looks fine from the outside but restricts visibility to the sides from the inside. The rear glass has the same issue; it's small and sloped — which limits what you see using the rearview mirror.
At the Curb
The XT5 has the angular lines that define contemporary Cadillacs, and they serve to set the Cadillac look apart from the look of most of the rest. That's always been a Cadillac selling point — and it still is, here.
At 189.6 inches long, the XT5 is one of those larger-than-compact (but smaller-than-some-midsize) crossovers. A Lexus RX, as a point of comparison, is 192.5 inches long and is considered midsize. On the other side of the scale, a Toyota RAV4 — which is 180.9 inches long — is considered a compact. The XT5 splits the difference between the two sizes.
Like most crossovers, it has impressive interior space for its size, including 30 cubic feet of cargo capacity behind the rear seats — which is about twice the space you'd have to work with in a full-size sedan's trunk. The available space can be expanded to 63 cubic feet by folding down the rear seats, making it feasible to carry long/unwieldy things around that would have to be carried on the roof of a car.
Both first and second rows have plenty of legroom (41.2 and 39 inches, respectively) for four adults to ride comfortably, with more in back in a pinch.
For a luxury-brand vehicle, the XT5 is happily free of overwrought "technology" — as regards controls. There are toggle switches (up and down) to increase/decrease the cabin temperature and adjust the fan speed, and push buttons to turn the seat heaters on (and off). True, the look isn't as razzle-dazzle as the newest/latest thing, but that can have an attraction all its own.
The Rest
Beyond the under-engined (for the money) issue, there is the issue of being under-equipped ... for a Cadillac. The XT5 comes standard with amenities such as climate control, power liftgate, keyless entry/ignition, seat heaters and a pretty good eight-speaker stereo. The problem is, you can get the same (or similar) amenities in new Honda and Toyota crossovers that don't cost as much as a Cadillac does.
The reason why the XT5 lacks some of the latest stuff you'd find in some rival luxury-brand crossovers from Lexus, Audi, BMW and Mercedes is because the 2026 XT5 is pretty much the same as the 2017 XT5, which was the first year for this Caddy crossover. Six years is a long time to go without a major makeover.
And it shows.
The Bottom Line
The XT5 is still an attractive choice — but chiefly because it's an aging design, and for that reason, you're apt to be able to score a much better deal on one before it gets replaced by an updated, second-generation XT5 — which is likely to make its appearance for the 2027 model year.
Eric's latest book, "Doomed: Good Cars Gone Wrong!" will be available soon. To find out more about Eric and read his past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.
View the Cadillac XT5 this week.
View Comments