Cadillac spent much of the 2017 Geneva Motor Show showing off the Escala concept vehicle, as the brand has reiterated the show car is what consumers should absolutely expect from future vehicles, but it shared some big news on the future product front, too.
Cadillac officially announced the XT4 crossover will be launching in the United States next year. The words come straight from Cadillac President Johan de Nysschen, who reminded the world at large of the brand’s upcoming product offensive.
“Starting with the launch of XT4, a new Cadillac will be brought to market every six months, a total of five car lines in the space of two years,” de Nysschen said.
Additionally, the Cadillac XT4 will arrive with what de Nysschen describes as a “new series of efficient and powerful engines.” As for what those powertrains may be, we don’t know, but judging by spy shots, we can’t imagine any mammoth power sources plopping under the hood of the XT4 crossover. Instead, it’s more likely we may see a new four-cylinder engine, or maybe even a glimpse of a Cadillac diesel that we’ve been promised for so long.
The Cadillac XT4 is the official name for what we’ve been referring to as the Cadillac XT3, meaning the luxury brand will save the XT3 name for something even smaller than what the XT4 will measure in at. And with a 2018 launch window, we’d expect the XT4 to be revealed quite early on in 2018 to ensure it goes on sale by the first half of the year.
Cadillac’s calm before the storm is nearly over; the de Nysschen era is nearly upon us.
Comments
Source?
Seems like this is directly from verbal announcement at the Geneva Auto Show
but I will add that it is also on Cadillac’s page
http://media.cadillac.com/media/intl/en/cadillac/home.detail.html/content/Pages/news/intl/en/2017/cadillac/03-08-escala-concept-geneva-2017.html
Charles,
This is an original report from a Cadillac press release, therefore there is no source listed. The source is the brand itself.
Cheers,
-Sean
Sean, it would be nice to link to the press release anyway, and probably good SEO to boot.
Pednucker – we do not link to press releases. No one does. That’s journalism 101. And no, it’s not good for SEO either.
Outside of that, I would think that GMA has earned a stellar reputation over the years we have been around for readers to trust our reporting at face value.
At the very least you could mention in the peace, preferably somewhere at the beginning, that cadillac has issued a press release. Otherwise it would seem as if you spoke directly with Mr. De Nysschen. Citation of a source is not too much to ask for.
Good to see Cadillac adding to the SUV line-up. I hope it’s bigger than the Buick Encore/Chevy Trax. Also I hope that the new “efficient and powerful” engines will be smoother and more reliable than the old V8-6-4.
The XT4 will be the size of the new Chevy Equinox, GMC Terrain, and somewhat the Buick Envision.
The Cadillac page said compact crossover. That suggests the size of Equinox and Terrain (delta based). But, commenters on the GMA spy shot article speculated it would be on E2xx. Which is very believable.
I wonder if the new engines are new for GM or just new for Cadillac. Would GM powertrain consider the VR engine layout VW uses? It is possible 8 cylinders could fit into all Cadillacs. I’d welcome news of something surprising.
Drew, a good friend of mine has hung on to his parents’ 80’s Seville as a weekend car. They opted for the 4.1L.
Bring back Northstar!!! Seriously though, I too am curious as to what the new engines will be. A smoother turbo 4 with higher output would be nice. Given the size of the vehicle, I suspect at least one of the new engines will be a 4. Maybe an updated Voltec powertrain as well?
rebadged Chevys is all I see.
And this is the aditude that I hate! I hate it because it appears to me that this only applies to GM! As every manufacturer shares platforms up and down within their respective companies but GM is the only company that gets killed for it and it has got to stop!
Judge the car on weather it a good car not weather it rides on the same platform as another car! This would be to difficult for people to do, taking the easy way out by saying the car is a failure because it shares parts with a chevy! Sad!
It’s funny people want companies like Cadillac to not share anything with the rest of GM but then complain when those cars are priced out of their wallets!
People you can’t have it both ways, building cars is a very expensive tasks and sharing parts is a must. Without doing so the price for cars would be ridiculous!
Excellent point Brian. I believe that VW shares some platforms with Audi, possibly some engines as well, but how is Audi penalized for this? If Cadillac builds great luxury cars, what do I care if some parts or platforms are shared with other GM brands?
I understand that the current Chevy Impala is by far the best iteration of that model. That’s good for GM. As far as styling, it still looks “Chevy”, something I might have found to be appealing when I was younger, but not so much now. I don’t think many people would mistake the Impala for the Cadillac XTS, even though they share the same platform.
Back in the 20th Century, GM used to hope customers would remain with GM as they moved through life. The idea was that they would start out with a Chevy or Pontiac when young, move on to an Oldsmobile or Buick when middle aged, and own a Cadillac if and when prosperous. Cadillac was still seen as the top luxury (mass market) car, and did not seem to be embarrassed about being a GM product.
Today there is this idea that everything from Cadillac must be 100% Cadillac. I’d say that what SHOULD be the concept is that everything from Cadillac should be 100% high quality. But if GM wants to share some of that quality with their lower brands, so what? And frankly I’d rather have the access to parts that Cadillac has, than pay for German replacement parts – which I understand make repairs/servicing about twice as expensive. Then again, I guess some people would rather be forced to pay more – as some kind of “status symbol”, regardless of any actual increase in quality.
I agree. Most Acura models are rebadged Hondas, and the Lincoln MKX and MKZ are really Ford Edge and Fusion with nicer leather and more chrome. Heck, even Lexus ES is a rebadged Camry, and people don’t complain.
Then explain why GM gets hammered for it? Why are they the only car company that people keep track of?
It’s called double standard
Very true.
The Escalade EXT the got horrible reviews and the media said it was impractical. This same article said that the Lincoln Blackwood was very practical and better for various reasons.
Unreal
It’s called expecting more out of GM.
Cadillac is America’s highest-tier luxury brand, that belongs to the largest of the Big Three. It’s one of the three largest automakers in the world.
Cadillac literally carries the U.S. banner on the automotive world stage, but they haven’t reached their potential because GM doesn’t consistently invest in these vehicle programs FROM DRIVETRAIN TO INTERIOR like the Germans.
Expecting more! Benz, BMW, Jag all share parts within their own division’s and they sell like hot cakes saying those cars are top notched, GM does this same thing and people call the cars failures! This is not a manufacturer problem buy a customer problem they make excuses for the rest of the world while not giving the same courtesy to GM!
So I ask you, what’s is this world going to do when all of GM’S cars and trucks are better than the competition?
Will people still fall back on stuff like this?
Benz, BMW, and Jag share TOP-NOTCHED platforms. That’s why their cars are considered top notched.
There’s nothing wrong with platform sharing. There IS something wrong with a PERFORMANCE LUXURY brand picks a ECONOMY platform to go up against
As far as CUVs are concerned, Cadillac is bringing a bowling ball to a golf course and painting it white. Cadillac knows this, that’s why the midsize XT5 is priced like a compact.
Curtnik,
I agree. Much has been said about how Rolls Royce uses a shared engine with BMW and therefore there should be no criticism when GM shares power plants. However, Rolls Royce uses a high-technology V-12 engine from a BMW 760Li, which itself is a high-end car priced at $150,000.00 and sold in low volumes. There is a big difference between that and taking a lowly 2.0 turbo four engine out of a mass market Chevrolet Cruze and putting it under the hood of GM’s flagship car; the Cadillac CT6.
Where the engine or platform comes from shouldn’t matter! What matters is how the car performs! Does the combo work? When people just disregard the engine platform combination because it’s shared means they just don’t like the company that’s doing it! So it is a double standard that GM is forced to deal with that no other car manufacturers have to.
So the question is what are people goes to complain about in the future when Cadillac has their own line of engines (which they don’t need) and their own platforms (which they don’t need)?
Ci2Eye – the same engine from the base CT6 is in the Chevy Cruze? That would be a heck of a Cruze, but I don’t think it’s happening. The most pedestrian US car using that engine is the Chevy Malibu, and that’s for the top of the line version Malibu, vs lowest level CT6.
I agree somewhat with both. Overriding is that it shouldn’t matter where the parts come from, the parts either work together to make a great car, or they don’t. And frankly if every Cadillac part were unique to Cadillac, the replacement parts cost would be very high, as well as the initial cost of the car.
On the other hand, the engine is the one thing that people seem to like to be unique with a luxury car. Maybe that’s a status symbol thing, and personally I don’t care, but I do want all Cadillacs to have great engines.
So on the other other hand, is the current 2.0L turbo engine a good one for the CT6? The reviewers seemed not to think so. Kelley Blue Book specifically said that engine “buzzes and shakes” in the CT6. So the fact that the top Malibu or even (future) Cruze has the same engine is not as problematic as the non-luxury non-smoothness that this apparently imparts to the CT6.
Which gets me to one more rant, the de-contended “Cadillacs”. How can Cadillac raise its image by selling base versions with inappropriate content for the brand? No way should the base ATS and CTS have faux-leather seating surfaces, or cheap halogen headlights. JDN wanted to raise Cadillac prices to give the brand a greater aura of luxury. How about making the brand actual luxury by having minimum standards before it is called a Cadillac?
No cheap seats, no cheap stereos, no cheap headlights, no cheap noisy or less than strongly-powered engines. Of course I’d like all Cadillacs to be roomy and comfortable riding, but even if Cadillac doesn’t match my brand preferences, at least they shouldn’t go cheapo on the base versions. Maybe Cadillac should drop the “base” version of everything they sell, and the new “base” can be whatever was above that. Then lines like “We don’t build cars, we build Cadillacs” would mean something.
Drew,
Sorry. I should have said Chevrolet Malibu rather than Cruze. The point is it’s the same Ecotec four cylinder in a mass market Chevrolet and what should be a much more exclusive and prestigious Cadillac.
I know many don’t see the problem and feel that any old engine ought to be sufficient as long as it works well and even some buzzes in a luxury car should be ignored. I would suggest, however, that that kind of thinking has lead to Cadillac’s stunning downfall and any continuation of that mentality will keep Cadillac as a Tier 3 luxury brand.
The ‘good enough’ or ‘use what we have’ mindset needs to be banished forever if Cadillac is ever going to reassert itself as a standard for the world.
Reading through the comments here, and I agree there is a bit of a double standard. However, GM is partially at fault. The Lincolns that were mentioned are generally considered lackluster and nobody buys them, so not a great example. VW and Audi do share parts, but I think the high volume A4 is not particular rivaled in the VW lineup. Even the Golf R, which is the same as an Audi TT is so vastly different – one is a sexy coupe the other a hot hatch – and they retail at a similar price. The Cadillac ATS 2.0T is identical mechanically to a camaro 2.0T, except it’s $10k+ more. For what, rear doors and a logo? This cheapens the cadillac brand substantially.
I was in the market for an ATS, but went for an A4 because it’s better in every single way. I really wanted to get an ATS, but it’s just so bad (see the new MT “$399 lease” comparison article). Ironically, the one uniquely cadillac product, CUE, is generally perceived to be absolutely terrible. Here I wouldnt mind if caddy shared with chevy. And even the 2.0T engine is coarse, laggy and slower than the competition. BTW, while I’m ranting, the ATS design has aged poorly and that “nose” of a logo is a real dealbreaker.
Audis (and ALL other luxury companies) have sexy halo cars. I walk into a dealership and see RS6’s and R8’s, and I feel like I’m part of the club. Even though I’m way too poor to touch one of those cars. Where’s the caddy halo? Cadillac is busy making crossovers. I agree that acuras are rebranded hondas, but nobody would dare claim the new NSX is a run-of-the-mill honda.
And, RE @Drew’s comments, I’m gonna keep thumping that drum as well until Johan replies here to tell us he’s listening: No decontented base caddys “No cheap seats, no cheap stereos, no cheap headlights, no cheap noisy or less than strongly-powered engines.” By all means, raise the base price for a cadillac, but cars should come with standard bose/panaray systems, leather seats, sexy colors, LED head and tail lights, and strong engines – 3.0TT i’m lookin at you.
I’m out of the market for a while now, but i’d love it if my next luxury sports sedan could be american. If caddy doesnt rise to the challenge, hopefully corvette does.
Cimarron
I think this hits the nail on the head. The reason GM gets knocked for it is that they were so bad about it in the late 70s & 80s. The Cimmaron is the most glaring example, but if you line up any of the GM cars from that era it’s pretty obvious. You look at them and just want to ask “What were they thinking?”
I feel it’s because GM is still the top dog. So everyone is trying knock them down. As usual. I work for GM and I’m very loyal to them. Not just because I work there. Not because I’m 3rd generation working for them. It’s because I currently have 2 Cadillacs, 2 corvettes, a Tahoe, a impala, and GMC truck that are still all actively on the road. All my GM vehicle have been great to me.
“I agree. Most Acura models are rebadged Hondas, and the Lincoln MKX and MKZ are really Ford Edge and Fusion with nicer leather and more chrome.”
What? Acura? You wanna compare Cadillac to Acura? Acura and Lincoln are the benchmarks now?
Acura is so irrelevant, their sedans are barely selling, not even the NSX can generate interest, and their crossovers are the only thing keeping them alive. There aren’t enough suckers left in the world to buy nicer leather and chrome when better alternatives exist.
What a perfect way to lose market share.
“Heck, even Lexus ES is a rebadged Camry…”
It competes with Buick and is real successful with eldererly buyers. Do you want American luxury to go back to being wholly synonymous with senior citizenship?
A XT5 is not another GM model with a Cadillac badge. Next time do your home work.
That is true. I currently build the XT5
Reposted comments for well over 2 years is all we see…
You know, at the beginning I was really indifferent about this new naming scheme, but now it’s really getting to annoy me.
It’s starting to really make no sense at all. The CT6 is out of place. Now, XT5 and XT4, where we all thought it would be an XT3.
Maybe at the end it will all arms and legs but right now it really seems like a mess.
It’s a bad naming scheme because you were mistaken about the name that Cadillac never mentioned until now? How’s that work?
[email protected] has caught spy shots of the new XT3 in full camo for the first time . And as usual with vehicles draped in their sheepish clothing it’s hard to tell much about the styling of it . However the basic shape / profile of it is not unlike every other small SUV on the road these days . It seems to have the same flat no sculptured doors that are on all Cadillac models to date . A baby XT5 !?!
This will be a Johan product and if this newbie has that typical slab-sided doors absent any kind of sculpture or shape I for one will be disappointed because it will just get lost in the sea of all the others on the road .
The big question will be just how far JDN let his designers come up with something that will hold it’s own and not play it safe for fear of turning some customers away .
All you have to do is look at Lexus , that huge front grill may be polarizing to some but they sure do sell alot of them .
But we will just have to wait until late 2018 , hopefully there is something more hiding under all of the camo .
We need:
1. A diesel
2. An XT6
3. An XT7
I can’t imagine how much smaller they can go after the 4. I thought the 5 was plenty small. Or maybe they are going the BMW route and the even numbers are GT styled rears where as the odd numbered trucks are standard SUV style.
“We” don’t need Diesel. We need hybrid or EREV like the Volt.
I don’t understand the love for diesels, even modern “clean” diesels are smelly and clangy compared to gasoline powered cars, though far less than in the old days. Diesel fuel costs more than gas, is not available at all stations, and us usually confined to one or two pumps when available. Sure they might get better mileage, but you pay an upfront premium to purchase new, have higher fuel costs that lengthen the break even point, and don’t forget having to change the exhaust fluid too. No thanks.
E2xx chassis(Etul) compact in size.
There is no such thing as compact E2… this is a D2, through and through.
Is a variant of E2. The code of product is “E2UL”, and will be manufactured in Fairfax.
The size and wheelbase is like the Audi Q5. They used E2, and not D2 basically for a razon: engine V6.
XT5 midsize crossover, XT4 compact crossover, XT3 subcompact crossover, XT6 Large crossover. New turbocharger 2.0-liter four cylinder diesel and 3.0-liter turbocharger v6 diesel engines. CT6, CT7 (above these CT6) and CT8 above these CT7, and more too above to come.
I hope Cadillac develops a full line of cross overs from as small as possible to as large as possible.
CT6,CT7,CT9,CST1 (Cadillac models here and coming up).
I don’t expect it, but wouldn’t it be nice if one of Cadillac’s new, powerful and efficient engines is a 3L straight six?
This is the last thing cadillac needs! The engines they have are good enough, they need diesel opinions in their lineups
The article says Cadillac is currently developing new engines, so what is wrong if one is a straight 6? We all know the advantages of straight 6. Would a smooth and powerful straight 6, be it diesel, petrol or both, exclusive to Cadillac and not shared with Chevy be such a bad idea?
Straight 6 engines can’t fit on a transverse FWD platform. Transverse V8s make too much torque for a FWD transmission to handle.
THINGS LIKE THIS are why it matters what platform luxury cars are built on.
Brian,
Apparently the engines are not “good enough”. Nobody is buying their cars and the road tests often cite the engines as a weak point. No company can build a single engine that is cheap enough to produce to put in a Cruz and generate a profit, yet sophisticated enough and leading-edge enough to be competitive in their flagship. Yet, GM is currently asking the 2.0 Turbo to pull off this impossible feat.
Cadillac absolutely needs a lineup of exclusive engines to include a modern DOHC V-8 of about 4.0 liters, perhaps a low-volume 5.0 L V-12, and maybe three different six cylinder engines. I think I’d skip the four-cylinder though in favor of a small, efficient six cylinder as their base engine.
In the 1990’s, Mazda offered a 1.8 L DOHC V-6 in their MX-3 and an up-level 2.5 L variant in their 626/Millennia/MX-6. Given the premium positioning of Cadillac, I would suggest that a couple of small V-6s of approximately the same sizes (1.8 L and 2.5 L) should serve as their base engines with another V-6 displacing about 3.2 liters also needed. Using an exclusive very small and sophisticated V-6 as the entry level power plant would go a long way towards setting Cadillac apart from the competition.
I think they all need a brand too like Northstar was in the 1990s so I’d do something like this with normally aspirated and turbo variants:
Northstar 1.8 L V-6
Northstar 2.5 L V-6
Northstar 3.2 L V-6
Northstar 4.0 L V-8
Northstar 5.0 L V-12
Maybe Northstar isn’t the name they’d want to use but there is already brand equity there and a relationship to the Cadillac name.
A few thoughts:
1. Caddy needs a better base engine than the LTG 4. Mind you, I think the LTG 4 is a great engine in its own right and excellent in Chevy. But it doesn’t have the smoothness that a Caddy engine needs.
2. I’ve owned 4 BMWs and I’d love an inline-6 as much as anybody, but I don’t think such an engine will work for Cadillac. A lot of these crossovers that will be critical to the brand are being based on FWD platforms (XT4, XT5, and I’d imagine the XT7). Unfortunately, I6s don’t work in FWD applications.
3. I think Caddy’s V6 of the future is already here – the TT 3.0L V6 (LGW) from the CT6. From what I’ve read, we’re in good hands with this motor. I like the LGX too, but it lacks low-end torque.
4. In case anybody is wondering, as a BMW owner who has tracked their cars – yes, the Alpha platform really is that good dynamically. I prefer it to the F30.
TT 2.0-liter Four cylinder Diesel engine, TT 3.0 liter Diesel v6 engine come up.
XT4: 2.0 liter TT four cylinder Diesel engine, 2.0-liter TT four cylinder gas/petrol engine.
Please offer the a detuned version of the TT 3.0 V6. A V-Sport trim level in this class would be awesome. 0-60 in 4.5 to 5 seconds, MRC, Recaros and Brembos. It would be a great competitor for the AMG GLC43 and SQ5.
Full PHEV Powertrain will be in there crossovers too.
I admit: I’d rather not see another corporate platform-based vehicle come from Cadillac. But I’m so desperate to see this company expand and succeed, I could care less what platform the next Caddy is riding on! I’m willing to trust that these engineers will push the envelope in engineering the next wave of GM’s corporate FWD-based chassis to deliver a much more refined, confident luxury driving experience. At the end of the day, this is really what counts! If Cadillac is truly about “daring greatly” they’d better prioritize on delivering a higher level of luxury and driving capability! Hopefully the XT4 marks the beginning of new Cadillac-exclusive 4 and 6 cylinder engines, with the potential fullsize flagship delivering the 4.2L TTV8!
The XT4 “name” is so shallow and meaningless; sounds like something to attach to a washing machine. It conjures up no such a sense of rarity, elegance, adventure, or exclusivity. It conjures up total nothingness.
I know I am beating a dead horse at this point but couldn’t they do something like Mazda did with MX5 Miata and adopt their hierarchical alphanumeric characters plus an actual meaningful name. Thus, there might be an XT7 Escalade or a CT8 Escala. In foreign markets, such as China, where the name doesn’t translate, only the alphanumeric could be used but in their home market, something more original and meaningful could supplement the alphanumeric. Thus, they might have a North American line-up tagged something like this:
CT2 Calais
CT4 Emage
CT5 Seville
CT6 Deville
CT7 Eldorado
CT8 Escala
CT9 Fleetwood
CM6 Cien
XT2 Evoq
XT4 Aventure
XT5 Provoq
XT6 Meridian
XT7 Escalade
I think Lincoln is sensing this and moving back to real names. They’re making good gains in the market lately as well.
CT6 Deville.
CT7 Esacala/Eldorado.
CT8 Fleetwood.
Cadillac would have a gold mine if they took the 2.8L Duramax from the Colorado/Canyon and put it in the Escalade, in order to compete with the MB GLS.
A bit of backstory before my next point… I live in SE PA, and its a somewhat small town in a mostly wooded area. Back in 2014 I saw a pickup truck that looked almost exactly what the Chevy Colorado looks like, but it was covered in these black tarps (almost like the covers on unreleased cars in testing) I had never seen anything like it before, long story short, it turned out to be a Colorado in testing. This past weekend, I saw an unmarked Vehicle drive by my house, it was all black, no camo. except for the wheels and the front corner panel, I am wondering if this is the new XT4, because of its size and looks. It looked like a combination of an Escalade, MKC and Traverse, with an Escalada Grille.
I am pissed at myself for not taking a picture, and I wish I knew what it was.
I know Cadillac always get’s bad reviews for their GM engines. I have the same 3.6L (LY7) in my car that was in the mid 2000’s Cadillac CTS. When I first purchased the car, it was very rough and buzzy between 2500-3200 RPM. I’ve heard similar complaints about the engine in the Cadillac’s. However, now that I have 160,000 miles on the engine…..and I actually think somewhere around 50,000 it is very smooth and spins all the way to it’s 6500 rpm redline without much vibration at all and all of the noises are good to hear. I actually love to redline it now…but when it was new I used to manually shift it short of 2500 just so I wouldn’t feel and hear the buzz. My question is, with the additional cost of a Cadillac, wouldn’t it be simple enough to “break in” or simulate this break-in via polishing or porting or something so that the Cadillac engines would not have to face this break in period and the bad press that comes with it.
Or stop worrying about it! I mean clearly the noise that you think your engine makes doesn’t affect the performance of the engine. So why make a big deal out of it? Is this what you guys are referring to when you say that a car is more refined? If so then the buying public is focusing on the wrong thing! I would gladly take a so called harsh sounding engine that was problem free. But know refinement means that the engine must not make any noise or vibrate!
“Or stop worrying about it! I mean clearly the noise that you think your engine makes doesn’t affect the performance of the engine. So why make a big deal out of it? ”
Because the whole car, the whole experience, needs to be perfect and without any nagging hang-up, annoyances, and odd noises that will otherwise dampen or ruin the car. Your luxury car can’t claim to be an image of perfection if there are subtle noises or rattles that the driver can detect every time they drive it. They will hear it, and know of it as a shortcoming of the design.
Google coil whine, and tell me something like that wouldn’t ruin a computer for you.
Looks cool.
Here are some stuff I would like to see for options.
– Auto LED Headlamps
– 9 speed auto standard on all models
– Intelligent all wheel drive
– 1.6L diesel
– Auto on/off standard on all models
– Forward collision warning
I’m going out on a limb but maybe a hybrid/PHEV model would be nice.