{"id":24073,"date":"2019-08-01T17:14:56","date_gmt":"2019-08-01T21:14:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=24073"},"modified":"2019-08-09T17:18:44","modified_gmt":"2019-08-09T21:18:44","slug":"payne-three-row-cadillac-xt6-is-the-anti-escalade-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2019\/08\/payne-three-row-cadillac-xt6-is-the-anti-escalade-2","title":{"rendered":"Payne: Three-row Cadillac XT6 is the anti-Escalade"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The<\/p>\n<\/div>

The handsome 2020 Cadillac XT6 Sport starts at $58K and comes standard with all-wheel-drive, blind-spot-assist and fetching looks.\u00a0(Photo: Cadillac)<\/span><\/p>\n

For all you Cadillac fans who yearn for a three-row SUV but couldn\u2019t afford the tugboat to dock the Escalade tanker in your driveway, there is good news.<\/p>\n

The Cadillac XT6 is here.<\/p>\n

Built on a stretched version of the compact\u00a0unibody chassis that undergirds the two-row XT5, the XT6 feels as you\u2019d expect it would \u2014 like an athletic, upsized version of the popular XT5. That will be especially good news to parents who always wanted a three-row Cadillac\u00a0but thought the truck-based, blingtastic Escalade was more suited for Gronk to take his New England Patriots mates to practice than their kids\u2019 soccer team to a game.<\/p>\n

Where the Escalade intimidates, the XT6 invites.<\/p>\n

Say hello to the handsome face, a direct descendant of Cadillac’s Escala concept car. With thin headlights complementing a taut\u00a0grille, XT6 is a nice cut of filet mignon next to the Escalade\u2019s Flintstones rack of brontosaurus.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s inside where you will really get comfortable. Last-generation Cadillacs intimidated with their maddening button-free, haptic-touch Cadillac User Experience (CUE) infotainment system. My friend Dicran ran screaming from his XTS, never to return until the brand reformed CUE.<\/p>\n

The XT6 is reformed. Indeed, it has one of the best systems in luxedom. Drivers choose how to interact with the console screen: by touch, console buttons, voice commands or a remote rotary controller located at the driver\u2019s elbow.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the same system found in the wee Cadillac\u00a0XT4 introduced last year (enticing Dicran back into the Caddy fold), but better: the rotary knob now toggles like a BMW (long the rotary innovator). The screen is buried in a generous helping of carbon fiber or real wood depending on your trim, with a big side of stitched leather. Simple and elegant \u2014 just like outside \u2014 it\u2019s Caddy\u2019s best interior yet.<\/p>\n

Women will cheer the console basement storage for their purses \u2014 a hidden space made possible by the electronic monostable shifter.<\/p>\n

Determined to separate the XT6 from the Escalade but still offer the latter\u2019s living space, veteran Caddy engineer John Plonka\u00a0and his team chose the smaller XT5 platform over the long-wheelbase C1XX platform that the Buick Enclave and GMC Acadia share.<\/p>\n

Then they apparently used huge scallop knives to carve out interior space. The second and third row seats are remarkably spacious for 6-foot-5 giraffes like me. And with a lower rear seat floor than Escalade thanks to the unibody, I\u2019m not gnawing on my knees.<\/p>\n

On par with the industry\u2019s best, the XT6\u2019s second-row captain chairs (bench seats are standard) can be collapsed with the simple pull of a button. The seats can be adjusted forward-and-back, too. On a cool Washington, D.C., evening, I lounged comfortably under the standard, panoramic moonroof while adjusting my second-row seat heat and climate controls.<\/p>\n

But the three-row segment is not a comfortable place for luxury manufacturers these days. While families will welcome the more affordable XT6 positioned under the Escalade, the new ute is squeezed by mainstream makers below.<\/p>\n

The Kia Telluride, Ford Explorer\u00a0and Mazda CX-9 are elegant, three-row SUVs priced $10,000-$20,000\u00a0below the XT6 while sporting standard electronic features once exclusive to luxury.<\/p>\n

Like the Audi Q7, the XT6 stands out in segment for its bold styling next to curvier BMWs and Merc. With its chiseled edges and rich, vertical\u00a0LED-taillight piping, the Cadillac deserves a spot in Cranbrook\u2019s sculpture garden.<\/p>\n

But mainstreamers are cracking the style code.<\/p>\n

At $49,000 the Mazda CX-9 Signature may be the best-looking three-row ute, period. And the Kia Telluride has gone and lifted Cadillac’s design cues \u2014 LED-infused vertical lights, sculpted face, headlights pushed to the corners. Then Kia really gets cheeky.<\/p>\n

With a leather interior right out of Ethan Allen, the all-wheel drive Kia Sport trim options the same standard sunroof and safety-assist systems as my favorite XT6 Sport trim for $20,000 less. Ouch.<\/p>\n

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