Update: Cadillac has confirmed this next crossover will, in fact, be called the Cadillac XT4. Additional information has not been made official. You can read the XT4 announcement here.
Kudos to the camouflage department on this one, since it’s difficult to tell what exactly this compact crossover is upon first glance, but spy photos can’t hide the details to pour over.
This is more than likely the first test mule we’ve seen for the 2018Â Cadillac XT3, the first all-new product Cadillac will launch next year. Not only that, but it’s a compact crossover… which Cadillac needs quite badly in today’s crossover-crazy climate.
The biggest giveaway are the rear taillights, which seem to stretch into the D-pillars much like the Cadillac Escalade. If this is the case, it would mark a distinct design shift from the 2017 Cadillac XT5, whose tail lights are more akin to those of the outgoing Cadillac SRX.
Instead of using tall vertical bars for its tail lamps, the 2017 Cadillac XT5 uses shorter lights that are more akin to the SRX it replaces
Up front, it’s hard to distinguish any design traits. Though, it doesn’t look like Cadillac’s traditional vertical headlight treatment is present. And though we are speculating, it’s quite likely that the 2018 XT3 will usher in Cadillac’s first major design shift in some time. All signs point to the Escala show car as future inspiration for sedans and crossovers alike.
We even rendered an Escala crossover to show how handsome the Escala’s face looks on this type of vehicle. The current design language just doesn’t really fit the shape of a crossover. But we digress.
Our own rendering of a large Cadillac crossover based on the Escala Concept
As for what platform the XT3 will be riding on, the jury is still out. However, the dash-to-axle ratio of this vehicle suggest that the compact CUV will use the D2 platform that underpins similarly compact 2018 Chevrolet Equinox and 2018 GMC Terrain. However, the XT3 is also rumored to be produced in Fairfax, Kansas, which currently solely builds the 2017 Chevrolet Malibu.
We won’t know for some time, but we do expect to see more of the 2018 XT3 testing in the coming months.
Spy shots: Autoblog
Comments
not really a fan of Caddys widge shaped styling and sloped rear roof…I think it looks odd.
“not really a fan of Caddys widge shaped styling and sloped rear roof”
Please, tell us more about what you don’t like about Cadillac’s styling.
1) Wedge
It looks smoother and less angled than the XT5, maybe it’s going to be nice
these were my thoughts even though its still hard to tell it looks better proportioned than the XT5. I see some audio q5 in the shape and that’s not bad.
I’ve seen the beltline and roofline on the XT3…I dont like it….why does Cadillac have to make the exterior designs look so weird….I miss the simple designs and straight classic lines on the Cadillacs of the glory days….why don’t Cadillac make Cadillacs real Cadillacs again and stop chasing the Germans.
If you want a ‘weird’ design, look no further than your nearest Lexus dealer.
with your xray vision?
I hope this is the start of the new design language displayed on the escala.
Especially upfront with horizontal headlights. This will be the true first test of this new Cadillac management team. All products existing currently have previous people’s fingerprints all over them. No excuses I hope this doesn’t disappoint.
All I see is a spicy tango between the classically beautiful Q5 and seductively sexy Escala. This vehicle will be a winner; GM can’t get it wrong. I just hope the launch advertising matches the quality of the engineering and design.
So basically a slightly reworked Audi with a Chevy platform and drivetrain?
So… no. Not at all.
Audis (A4 and up) have longtitudinally-mounted engines that provide better Front-Rear weight distribution than vehicles with transversely-mounted engines (like the platform we’re looking at here). At least Audis (A4 and up) have unique platforms from Volkswagens.
The Audi comment was made regarding the exterior styling. A spicy tango between a real Audi and an Audi-like Cadillac on a Chevy drivetrain.
If you look closely at the last photo, through the mesh it appears to be a similar grill texture to the Escala. This good be a pre-production grill, but it is quite similar. I’d say it’s safe to say this will definitely carry Escala design cues.
I’ve been waiting to see what Caddy’s product strategy will be like under JdN. But I have to say that I am disappointed that this will be a reskinned Equinox/Terrain, thereby inheriting the nose-heavy, poorly balanced roots of those two vehicles. That’s fine for the mainstream segment, but not for the luxury space. What a let down.
Mercedes Benz GLC300, here I come!
What is this new word “dissalounted”? Also, if this car looks anything like the rendition this website made, I love it.
Problem is, the rendering you see here assumes a RWD layout: the long dash-to-axle ratio, resulting in cab-rearward proportions… all that is factored into the image as well.
Unfortunately, this XT3 won’t have these proportions due to its FWD roots. But it could have the rest of the design traits, that’s for sure, and still get away with looking half-decent. It’s just too bad that this is a corner-cutting move by Cadillac.
Even if it were FWD, if they don’t execute the proportions like they did for the new Traverse, which looks almost like it’s RWD (if you don’t pay attention to the dash-axle ratio), it WILL end up looking goofy like the XT5.
Alex Luft, I should’ve bet money on what this Cadillac would be based on back in June last year. http://gmauthority.com/blog/2016/06/may-kicked-off-initial-buick-envision-deliveries/#comments
That aside, I predict one of four scenarios will be how Cadillac’s CUV strategy will play out, from best to worst, least likely to most likely, based on Cadillac’s stated goal of higher ATP and brand image:
A. Cadillac will eschew the CUV “coupe” segments to offer two different product lines for two different kinds of customers:
-XT3/XT5/XT7- FWD/AWD for more traditional, comfort-oriented buyers.
-XT2/XT4/XT6/XT8- RWD/AWD for buyers who want both luxury and performance.
B. Cadillac is rolling the FWD CUVs out to have at least an entry in the main segments, but will re-engineer 2nd-generation CUVs onto a modular RWD platform once it’s available. Once these CUVs reach their second generation, Cadillac will finally have an all-RWD/AWD product portfolio.
C. Cadillac’s core CUV strategy will mimic Infiniti, and all will be FWD/AWD, save for one performance CUV (like the FX/QX70) and keep the Escalade around, like Infiniti’s QX80.
D. Cadillac is entirely giving up on competing with Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar, Audi, BMW, Genesis, etc. on the CUV end, and will compete with Lincoln and Lexus on CUVs/SUVs, and compete with the Europeans on sedans and coupes.
And you would have one!
That said, there is and/or was an Alpha-based crossover in the works when we discussed this last year. Can’t tell right now whether or not such a model is still planned or in the works.
I sincerely hope that Cadillac’s strategy entails either option A or B in your list. There is an inherent competitive disadvantage of Cadillac CUVs using FWD architectures, the most notable being that GM as a full-line automaker not having any true/direct rivals to the RWD-based CUVs from Germany (and most recently, from Italy in Maserati Levante and Alfa Romeo Stelvio).
I like option A, I think Cadillac should look for a happy medium between comfort-luxury and sports luxury buyers. recently Cadillac has been pushing away the comfort luxury buyers in favor of the sports luxury buyers, but the CT6 is making me think that they are starting to pay just the tiniest bit of attention to us comfort luxury buyers. If you look at recent sales numbers, more people are buying big, comfortable Cadillac’s (XTS, Escalade, XT5) then are buying the cramped harsh riding German wannabes. If I were in charge of Cadillac, I’d focus on comfort but have at least one model in each segment be performance oriented.
The reason Cadillac didn’t stated off with alpha and omega chassis for these crossovers because it would have taken them longer to get there crossover’s out here, that was said two years ago. Now will these be alpha and omega chassis crossovers/suv’s in the future yes.
XT3 E2xx chassis (ETUL) short version, XT7 E2xx chassis (Cyxx) long-wheel-base) version.
Front end styling doesn’t have the Wow! factor to me. Not a fan of the vertical / lower horizontal chrome. Would rather have something that goes from the bottom of the grilles to the corner……give more of a visual of something faster instead of classy bulldozer bucket.
Personal to an extent……..but it would be interesting to see variations on the theme and see what people like
the Whole entire Cadillac exterior doesn’t have any WOW factor….just looks wedged, blocky and bloated….I think Volvos are much more appealing inside and out.
This is only your opinion. Thousands of people all over the world think otherwise.
Heck, you’re not even the target market for Cadillac. Sit down and let the big boys talk.
Volvo out sells Cadillac 2 to 1 worldwide. It is on an upward trajectory while Cadillac is losing market share monthly.