 | Positives: Attractive sheetmetal, punchy engine, respectable handling for a three-row SUV, posh seats, great infotainment system. |
 | Negatives: Small cargo capacity behind row three, a little too much dash plastic, annoying capacitive touch climate controls. |
 | Bottom Line: The XT6 wants to compete with offerings from Germany and Japan but with an American flavor. The V6-powered version is potent and attractive, but some cheaper bits and small-ish cargo make it hard to stomach at this price. |
Driving Experience
The XT6 has two engine choices, dependent on trim level. The base engine, a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder with 237 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque isn't enough to move the large XT6. Opt for the more powerful 310-hp V6, which was the engine in our tester.
Ride Quality: The XT6 at top trim level has air suspension, and the ride is a nice balance of firm and comfortable. It absorbs bumps well.
Acceleration: 0-60 comes in just under seven seconds, which is decently quick but not blistering. Offerings from BMW, Mercedes, Acura, and Genesis do the sprint in less time. Throttle response is good, and the 9-speed automatic does a good job of shifting.
Braking: The brakes are progressive and have good pedal feel. Our tester did not have the Brembo Brake Package, but they did a fine job of bringing the XT6 to a stop well.
Steering: Steering feel is largely absent, but precision and turn in are good. It's also good on-center at high speeds.
Handling: There's some body roll, but the XT6 does a good job of managing corners for something this big.
Technology
GM and Chevy have come a long way with their in-car tech, and the system in the XT6 is quite good in terms of both looks and functionality, except for the screen size. Our tester also had the awesome Night Vision feature that uses infrared technology to detect large animals and people out of the headlights' range.
Infotainment System: The 8-inch touchscreen is crisp and clean, and both the Cue system and Apple CarPlay worked flawlessly. It's just too bad that at this price and at top trim level, you only get 8 inches of real estate.
Controls: For the most part, the controls are pretty good, including the steering wheel controls and the infotainment, but the climate controls seem to be vestiges of old Caddys with the piano black capacitive touch center stack climate controls, which aren't great to use.
Styling
For the biggest crossover in the lineup, the XT6 is actually pretty conservatively styled, but it avoids being boring. There are some signature styling cues that are bona fide Cadillac, but for the most part the XT6 avoids looking goofy and overly done. At last, some Caddy swagger makes it to the 2022 XT6. The front has a corporate shield-shaped grille, flanked by thin LED headlights and unusual daytime running lights set vertically. Lighting adds some drama at the tail as well, enhanced by dual exhaust outlets on models with the V6 engine. the cabin of the 2022 XT6 is not particularly special.
Front: The front fascia is the busiest view of the XT6, but that's not a bad thing. The thin LED lights and the big grille go shockingly well together. The large side intakes in front are a bit to big for our tastes.
Rear: The T-shaped tailights look great here, better than on Caddy sedans. The brushed chrome wing that unites them also looks excellent. We love the fact that most of the back is understated.
Profile: The side view shows off a nicely styled body with conservative use of metal trim and great proportions that give the XT6 a sporty but sophisticated look.
Cabin: Some of the cabin is very nice, but about half of it needs to look and feel more upscale to compete. The seats look opulent, and the gauges are handsome. We just don't like the real wood that looks fake because it's just so danged shiny. The plastic on the lower dash and center console are also too cheap looking for this price point.
Comfort
The cabin of the XT6 is a great place to spend time. The seats are great, most of the soft-touch materials are high-quality, and the ergonomics are largely very good. All three rows have solid amount of room, as well.
Front Seats: The semi-Aniline leather is soft and supple. The seats are well-bolstered and the cushioning is top-notch without being mushy.
Rear Seats: Row two gets a generous 39.1 inches of legroom, and even the third-row legroom of 29.5 inches is spacious enough for adults.
Visibility: Visibility all around is quite good thanks to a good seating position, big glass, and manageable pillar size.
Climate: We had no trouble heating and cooling the interior of the XT6, sans the annoying climate control issue.
Safety
The XT6 is remarkably safe and pretty much ranks at the top in terms of crash testing and crash avoidance technology. It also comes with a strong set of safety features, both standard and optional.
IIHS Rating: It earned the Top Safety Pick+ rating with "good" in all crash tests. Its only issues were the LATCH ease of use and the headlights, both of which received an "acceptable".
NHTSA Rating: The XT6 earned five stars from the federal government.
Standard Tech: The XT6 comes with a following distance indicator, forward collision alert, front pedestrian braking, lane keep assist w/ lane departure warning, and safety alert seat.
Optional Tech: Our tester came with HD Surround Vision, head-up display, rear pedestrian alert, surround vision recorder, rear camera mirror washer; rear camera night vision, auto seat belt tightening, reverse automatic braking, enhanced automatic emergency braking, and adaptive cruise control.
Storage/Cargo
If you're driving with six passengers, you might want to cut back on cargo and supplies because it's seriously small behind the third row. The storage options in the cabin also need improvement because there's not much.
Storage Space: There's a small open cubby at the base of the center stack and some small cupholders. The armrest compartment is decent, as are teh door pockets. There's no larger, easily reachable storage spot that's large, which needs to be remedied.
Cargo Room: With the seats in place, there's only 12.6 cubic feet behind row three. With all seats in the back two rows folded flat, the XT6 does offer a very good 78.7 cubes.
Fuel Economy
We drove mostly in Sport mode the entire time, but we were surprised by the XT6's V6 thirst, which gave us some pretty bad fuel efficiency numbers. It's hard to choose because you want the power of the V6 but the efficiency of the weak turbo four.
Observed: 13.4 mpg.
Distance Driven: 156 miles.
Audio
The Bose Performance Series 14-speaker audio system, which is part of the $1,300 Driver Assist Package, is very good to listen to with solid bass and great clarity. It's worth the extra coin to get this system.
