1985 Cadillac Fleetwood 75 Limousine 4-door 4.1l on 2040-cars

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2020 Cadillac XT6 Sport First Drive Review | An unexpectedly strong performer

Cadillac is in an unenviable position right now. Over the past few years, it developed some excellent driving sedans just in time for the world to demand nothing but crossovers. Now it’s working fast to get more crossovers on the market besides the XT5. Its latest is the 2020 Cadillac XT6, a large three-row luxury crossover designed to slide under the enormous Escalade and provide less truck-like driving characteristics. And while it has an underwhelming wrapper, itÂ’s actually a refined, capable and spacious luxury crossover. Still, it must be emphasized that the Cadillac XT6 does not make a strong first impression. The Escalade is brash, bold and above all, big. That's exactly what's been historically expected from Cadillac, but the XT6 just looks like any three-row crossover with some creased lights and lines that help make it look like a Cadillac. ItÂ’s not ugly, but it's not memorable, either. The interior is a mixed bag. The materials are impressive, with interior panels covered in leather and suede in a loaded Premium Luxury version we drove (we haven't had a chance to see a base version). The other trim level, the Sport, gets real carbon fiber trim thatÂ’s made more interesting with copper wires woven into the material for a metallic glint. ThereÂ’s real metal trim throughout, too, from the shift paddles to the nicely weighted infotainment and volume knobs. Unfortunately, the actual dash design looks uninspired and even a little cheap. This is something that weÂ’ve noticed on many GM vehicles, and what seems to be the culprit is that every panel is oddly chunky and blunt. There are no crisp or sharp edges, no thin details, no "wow" moments. The seats arenÂ’t particularly impressive either, as theyÂ’re flat and not very supportive. More lumbar and bolstering would help. The interior is at least spacious, with loads of head, leg and shoulder room in the first two rows. The third-row seat is even usable by adults, at least for short trips since head- and legroom are tight and the seat itself is low. It's similar to what you'd find in the more expensive BMW X7, but less than a Buick Enclave or most non-luxury three-row crossovers. Access to the third row is quite good thanks to the far-sliding second row, and it folds away into the cargo floor at the push of a button at either rear door. There are also USB outlets for every seating position, another thoughtful touch. Once the Cadillac XT6 is on the road, it has some impressive aspects.

Cadillac's Blackwing V8 was the best engine at the worst time

It should be clear that GM knows how to innovate and engineer excellent products when it wants to. Cadillac's 4.2-liter twin-turbo Blackwing V8 is recent proof of that. Yet, as related in an extensive Road & Track piece, the Blackwing became victim to some of The General's bugbears, like the reticence to — for whatever reasons — unleash its excellence everywhere, fund that excellence, and be consistent with that excellence over the long term beyond the Corvette and full-sized pickups and SUVs. The R/T story relates tales told by "several people deeply involved with the Blackwing project" about how an engine 18 years in the making was deprived of its reasons for being in less than three. Starting around 2000, GM spent a dozen years building Cadillac up to the point where the American luxury brand could rationally flip to the chapter called, "Taking the Fight to the Germans, but for Real this Time." The first steps in the plan meant an exclusive platform and an exclusive engine. The platform was called Omega. You know the engine's name. They were going to be the aluminum-blocked fist and velvet glove enabling Cadillac to break on through to the other side of luxury — proper luxury to global standards, that is — with a range of beautiful and dynamic crossovers and sedans. An engineer involved in the project estimates GM poured $16 million into the Blackwing's clean-sheet development. Many more seven-figure sums went into creating the first sedan on the Omega platform, the CT6. The automaker dropped millions again poaching ex-Audi and Infiniti chief Johan de Nysschen, and moving Cadillac's headquarters to New York City in 2014. Further pallets of cash funded the development and debut of the Escala concept at Pebble Beach in 2016. In 2018, GM revealed its dramatically named DOHC twin-turbo V8. Considering what came before, the Blackwing clearly wasn't designed for cars. It was designed for world domination. However, against the backdrop of plummeting sedan sales, the CT6 didn't sell like GM had hoped. The automaker hesitated to marshal another fleet of Brinks trucks to fund entries into a cratering bodystyle. Removing sedans from the world domination equation created more difficult math for the crossovers and the Escala.

Cadillac CT4 Luggage Test | How much fits in the trunk?

If you go by exterior specs, the Cadillac CT4 is more similar to a BMW 3 Series or Mercedes C-Class. However, if you go by interior space (or price), it's more like a Mercedes A-Class or BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe. That's definitely true of the trunk, which measures a rinky-dink 10.9 cubic feet, according to GM's specs. That number is what you'd expect in a small luxury coupe rather than a sedan. Indeed, the old ATS Coupe had 10.4 cubic feet.  Nevertheless, the CT4 is somehow not the smallest in the segment. That would be the A-Class and its 8.9-cubic-foot trunk. Good grief. Now, Mercedes has been known to shortchange its cargo capacity numbers so we'll have to luggage test that at some point to know for sure. Today, let's see if the CT4 is in keeping with that 10.9 number. Also, how much worse is it than the also rinky-dink CT5 trunk or the overly optimistic 2 Series Gran Coupe? Yep, that looks pretty small. Also, note the weird rail-like things that hampered the CT5 (below right) are also present here in the CT4 (below left). There's also a similar lip to clear for the folding back seat, but the CT4's opening seems bigger.  As in every luggage test I do, I use two midsize roller suitcases that would need to be checked in at the airport (26 inches long, 16 wide, 11 deep), two roll-aboard suitcases that just barely fit in the overhead (24L x 15W x 10D), and one smaller roll-aboard that fits easily (23L x 15W x 10D). I also include my wife's fancy overnight bag just to spruce things up a bit (21L x 12W x 12D). All but the biggest bag fit, which is exactly the same number that could fit in the CT5. As the below photo shows, the bigger car has just a bit more space left over. Maybe for a pair of grocery bags. That would be consistent with the difference in cubic feet: 11.9 cubic feet versus 10.9. What about the BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe? BMW says it has 15.1 cubic feet of space, but it doesn't. At least not using the same measurement criteria that the vast majority of other manufacturers use. It can carry the biggest bag, but it would still need to leave the fancy bag behind. That's also while utilizing the 2 GC's ample under-floor storage compartment.  As such, the CT4 does indeed have a small trunk, but it's at least in keeping with its competitors. The CT5 cannot say that, regardless of which segment you compare it to.  Unfortunately for the CT4, though, the story does not stop here.