2017 Cadillac XT5, Price And Review: Ready For The Big Leagues

There is a pretty clear boundary lying between a luxury SUV's driving dynamics and the comfort it offers, there's no in between. The SUVs manufactured by Mercedes-Benz and Lexus focus towards a soft ride while Audi and BMW SUVs give a sports car feel in turn. The 2017 Cadillac XT5 can be added to the latter column, as this latest SUV seeks a new demographic that favors a very sporty handling performance.

XT5's Architecture:

Compared to the outgoing SRX, the XT5 gave up 300 pounds, meaning this new SUV is about 600+ lbs leaner than its rival Mercedes-Benz GLE350. Cadillac states the lightweight chassis is totally designed to function just like a race car's safety cage that improves handling and shields occupants in case of a mishap.

Focussing on the crossover's new architecture, the car manufacturer also offers a twin-clutch all-wheel drive (AWD) system with the latest torque-vectoring technology along with three driving modes: Tour, Sport, and Ice. Attached with the XT5's AWD setup is an 3.6-liter naturally aspirated V6 and an eight-speed fully automatic transmission. Producing 310 HP with 271 pound-feet of torque, XT5 is available with paddle shifters mounted on steering wheel so as to manually row through each gear.

Exterior:

Well XT5 is not that stylish as was expected. Though the Caddy's high-volume crossover does manage to soften some of the SRX's unromantically snippy exterior, it doesn't seem to totally escape from the shadow of its precursor.

The XT5's face is probably the most attractive in the whole segment, its profile being conservatively appealing but the rear end is just dull. XT5 manages to highlight some of its best exterior traits In jet black color including the Cadillac's signature LED running lights. The other colors however don't leave that charm.

Interiors:

Inside the XT5's cabin, Cadillac has possibly the most streamlined interiors of any other luxury offering. The supple leather, brushed metal surfaces and real wood engulf passengers without crushing the design, reports cnet.com.

Not only is the cabin spacious, there's also a large sunroof, each seat is very beautifully styled and absolutely comfortable. Like most of its main rivals, the XT5 comes only in a five-seater design. XT5 offers liberal rear passenger legroom and about 30 cubic feet of cargo space with the rear seats up, that none of its rivals provide.

The Premium Luxury includes blind spot monitoring, lane keeping assist, rear cross traffic alert, forward collision alert, low speed automatic braking, pedestrian detection, a backup camera and parking sensors. This sounds like a comprehensive list, but an adaptive cruise control system is missing. Ignoring the driver-centric tech, the XT5's cabin is a pretty quiet as a luxurious habitat, states Digitaltrends.com .

The SRX that XT5 will replace was old, lumpy and not so pleasant to drive, as per reports, still it was Cadillac's best-selling vehicle. The 2017 XT5 is better in every respect. However, you should just not expect the same love affair that an Escalade provides. The XT5 is available at a jaw dropping $39,990.