Cadillac XT6 Cabin Revealed In New Spy Pictures
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Two days ago, we brought you exclusive news that the upcoming Cadillac XT6 will have an identical cabin to that of the Cadillac XT5. And as luck would have it, our spy photographer just caught up to an XT6 prototype, and managed to snap some photos of its interior, confirming our report.
The photos show the Cadillac XT6 prototype as having an identical “winged” dashboard layout, along with exactly the same center stack and center console as the XT5.
The center stack starts out with two horizontally-placed air vents, which are covered by cloth camouflage in these photos. It is followed by an 8-inch screen running the latest version of the Cadillac User Experience infotainment system and, in this case, tuned to Michigan’s 97.1 FM The Ticket.
Notably, the touch-based volume control slider – typically situated right below the screen – is gone (more on that in a jiffy). The screen is followed by a row of HVAC controls and an open, cover-less storage space completes the center stack.
The center console is the only place where the new Cadillac XT6 is different from the XT5: two rotary controls for the infotainment system reside immediately aft of GM’s first-generation Electronic Precision Shifter. Initially introduced on the all-new 2019 Cadillac XT4 and on the (soon-to-be-discontinued) 2019 CT6 facelift, the smaller control handles volume adjustments, while the larger control behind it drives the screen.
The tactile controls address what is probably the biggest complaint about the CUE infotainment system, which relied solely on touch inputs prior to the introduction of these rotary controls. We should also note that we fully expect the refreshed 2020 Cadillac XT5 to adopt these controls just as well.
So, that’s as good a confirmation as any that the Cadillac XT6 cabin will be identical to that of the XT5, while gaining rotary infotainment controls and three rows of seating.
About Cadillac XT6
The Cadillac XT6 is a three-row premium luxury crossover. The model represents a new addition to the Cadillac model range as part of the brand's crossover expansion strategy. It slots above the the compact Cadillac XT4 and midsize Cadillac XT5 in the Cadillac crossover SUV lineup. Its size classification can be best described as "midsize plus", as it is bigger than midsize but not big enough to be classified as full-size.
The XT6 was announced at the 2019 North American International Auto Show in January 2019 and goes on sale in the spring of the 2019 calendar year as a 2020 model. It is based on the regular-length variant of the GM C1 platform shared with the XT5, but with more rear overhang than the XT5. That extended rear overhang enables it to accommodate a third row. The rest of the vehicle is very similar to the XT5, including its engine, transmission, and cockpit.
The XT5 is produced at the following GM plants globally:
- GM Spring Hill factory in Tennessee or GM Lansing Delta plant operated by GM USA supplying North American markets
- Cadillac China Jinqiao factory operated by Shanghai-GM supplying the Chinese market
Related News & Info
- GM news
- GM forums
- Cadillac XT6 information
- Running GM sales results
- Running Cadillac sales results
- Running Cadillac XT6 sales results
- Running Cadillac sales results
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The X5, Q7, GLE, Aviator, heck even the Tesla Model Y if you believe the reports of it being three row sized will eat this thing alive. This is another joke of an offering by a once great Brand.
And honestly who knows what Acura has in store next year on the new MDX.
I am still holding out hope that this is just the updated XT5 and NOT the all new XT6.
I don’t get it, Johan has joined Cadillac in 2014. 4 years of work and they did not let him to build at least one car or what?
LMAO. Is this to be called XT5-L? It has to be. But I guess it will sell well. That’s GM only concern.
The X5, Q7, GLE, Aviator are really nice SUVs – Is this suppose to compete with them?
The NAIAS starts Jan 12, 2019 – what is Cadillac holding back we know have 4 sedans (XTS, ATS-2018; CTS, CT6) that wont see 2020 what with the replacements?
Cadillac is a joke. I can say on my next luxury car will not be a Cadillac/Chevrollac/Chevyllac!
And why take so long after the xt5.
It would take 5 minutes to develop (copy paste insert 3rd row), it could have been launched at the same time as the xt5.
AutoBlog says the dash is lifted from the defunct CT6, not the XT5.
Negative. Its an updated version of the XT5’s with some CT6 design CUEs (no pun intended).
That’s actually not bad, I was expecting them to copy the design verbatim. The new updates more than welcomed & it’ll certainly make it look more upscale in the right color combination. It still no where close to the XC90, X5 …etc, but give it a brown/tan interior, replace the faux carbon fiber with some nice wood & you get something competitive with the FWD part of crowd.
If only GM put more effort into this. Lesson of the story? Don’t be like GM.
Looks like a Dodge Journey on the exterior, to me at least. It also has a significant amount of front overhang. Is this thing a FWD CUV? If so, it’s already outclassed in this segment. The Aviator looks miles better with its proportions with is being RWD in its drivetrain setup.
Yes, it’s a front-wheelie. Basically a Cadillac Traverse/Enclave. It seems to have taken the place of the GMC Acadia as the most pricey of GM’s trio of large FWD CUVs. With XT6 in the works, Acadia had to move down a notch to the XT5 size.
1. Shame on GM.
2. Lexus did the same thing with the stretched RX.
3. I spy paddle shifters and they look metal.
4. The engine will matter. If Johan has his way this would probably come with the 3.0TT and the new Blackwing – no 2.0T or 3.6l
I really hope the title is wrong and it’s a pic of the face lifted XT5. Otherwise it would be too bad, since Cadillac keeps on promissing and promissing new products, but these are only meaningless words.
And what about digitization and making a statement that the former so called “Standard of the World” is a progressive modern luxury car maker. Such a dashboard proves only a stillborn child: sad, sad.
Small detail, it looks like magnesium paddle shifters will live on in the XT6. Odd that we didn’t see them in the performance oriented CT5, but glad to see they aren’t completely abandoning the material.
Did the world complain when Mercedes announced the GL suv with the exact same interior as the M-Class (and still does have the same interior)? I just think GM gets a lot of B.S. from everyone when they do this, but as most double standards go, other manufacturers don’t.
My guess is some people will claim posters here are not GM fans or Cadillac fans and are just trolls who want to indiscriminately bash GM and Cadillac. Maybe some are like that, I don’t know. But reading through these posts, most of the points are quite valid criticisms, some of which are constructive. I gave Cadillac a chance. I’ve been giving a chance to impress me. The ATS. Then the CTS. Then the XT5 is released. Then the CT6. Now the XT4. I like the exterior styling and driving dynamics/handling. It could be more plush and less firm but fine. Some do not like the GM engine sharing and would prefer exclusive motors which are quiet and refined and designed with luxury in mind. I can concur but even then..OK.
For me, the biggest turn off are their interiors. Save for the latest Escalade generation, there isn’t an interior in the last 20 years from Cadillac that impressed me or didn’t offend me in some way. It’s not about the materials so much. In the top trim models, Cadillac uses real stuff. Real leather, metal, carbon fiber, aluminum, suede, wood. The problem is the design language. It’s how you weave said materials together to create a cohesive, serene and luxurious interior design. You could cover every inch of the XT4 interior in high quality leather and it’d still wouldn’t look as good as the competition because materials is one just one part of the process.
A good analogy might be a bedroom. The furniture is high grade. Expensive. Real wood. You got the big TV in there. All that, right. But if the room looks like it’s been painted by a 5 year old with the oddest choices of color mixtures and there’s stuff all over to the place and it’s hard to walk around without bumping into something, maybe it’s time to do something about it. Ideally, the bedroom should feel warm, inviting, calming, peaceful, tranquil. It’s where you sleep, where you rest. That’s the effect, I think, a luxury interior should have on you when you step inside. And I’ve never felt that feeling in any of the Cadillacs, save for perhaps the Escalade.
I step into any of the new Volvos. Or one of the Range Rovers. Or the Lincoln Navigator. Even Tesla’s and I’d probably add a high trim Jeep Grand Cherokee to the mix, too. What a feeling. It feels expensive. It looks expensive. And it feels inviting and there’s a sense of calmness. It’s that whole feng shui movement: Harmonize your environment and it applies equally to vehicles as it does to houses.
I’m sorry to say but Cadillac interiors are just not inspiring. They feel very conservative, bland. Just a random mix of materials thrown together without much thought. It’s not atrocious, I guess. But it’s not class leading or class competitive. And your answer might be, well, it’s good enough. Not for me. Not when I have other choices. Cadillac did lose me as a potential customer and I bought a competitor’s vehicle instead for the reasons I stated above.
If you had the choice between an XT5 and a Volvo XC60, Range Rover Sport/Valor, or even one of the Germans like the BMX X3/5 or Audi Q5/7 and you’re judging on interior, I can tell you XT5 would be last on my list. And you might say, yeah, but that’s an XC60, or an X5, or Q7 or whatever. That’s a Range. Or, that’s a Lincoln. So, what? They’re supposed to be superior? That’s precisely my point. That’s why I went with the competition because their interiors are superior. It shouldn’t be like that. It shouldn’t be, well, it’s a Range Rover and we can’t compete with a Range Rover? Says who? The newest Range Rover Evoque generation is the “cheapest” Range you can get into and its interior design blows away any car in Cadillac’s lineup at any price range. You can do better, Cadillac. You can make an interior at least as good, if not better.
I could not agree less.
I’ve only seen them in photos, but the others you name manage to be both busy and bland.
Don’t get me started on the cheap, fragile, and lazy tablet sticking up out of the dash.
Generally, the SUV interiors across the market are pretty big letdowns these days. I feel like all of the automakers are phoning them in, since they know people will buy them no matter what.
Whether it’s BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Lexus, etc., their SUV interiors just seem like simple-minded interpretations of their general design language as executed by their junior team.
The only exceptions to this are the Bentley Bentayga, Rolls-Royce Cullinan, the new BMW X7, kind of Range Rover on some models, and maybe the Volvo XC90.
Well….this sucks.
All of you who wanted Johann out, look what you get. Parts-bin rush-job market segment filler.
This is what Johann didn’t want to compromise on. So they showed him the door, and did what they wanted anyway. “To hell with quality and design, we already have a dashboard!”
This WAS Johann’s decision. This car’s exterior was photographed months ago.
Disagree.
I think the foundation of the car was drawn up, or at least primarily developed, under his tenure.
But I wouldn’t be surprised if he wanted a more refined and distinctive interior and one of two things happened. A: He was turned down for the sake of expediency and cost cutting, or B: GM scrapped that plan and stuck this in after he left to speed up the development timeline.
Whether it’s A or B, it’s either a sign of GM not listening to him or GM not listening to him and getting rid of him so they didn’t have to hear him anymore.
It’s possible Johann had this idea all along, and that would be disappointing. But, there’s no way to prove one way or the other.
A is possible, B not. Do you really think they’d tear out the dash of a test car and put in another?
They had the XT4, CT4, CT5, and Escalade interiors to work on at pretty much the same time, then the promised electric cars and maybe a mid-engine. It’s more likely they ran out of ideas in a similar style that wouldn’t involve expensively re-arranging and re-designing individual dash elements (which come from suppliers) from the XT5, which is assembled on the same line I believe.
We should be glad the bugs have (hopefully) been worked out. I’d rather they spend their money and energy on new colors and materials.
I think GM was freaking out so badly about missing the SUV trend, that I wouldn’t put it past them.
We know they fired Johann because he couldn’t or wouldn’t get SUVs developed fast enough, and we know they just cancelled a ton of their sedans. Clearly, they’re in freak out, or at least semi-freak out mode, and have been for a while now.
I could see Johann saying it will take XYZ months to bring this SUV to market, and another XYZ months to bring these other SUVs to market. GM says no, get them out now now now! Johann fights them and says it’s better to wait and push out a top quality product, rather than a rush job. GM looks at their sales figures and industry trendlines, disagrees, and fires Johann. Then, they say to their engineers, take whatever Johann had and do what you can to get it out as fast as possible without a lawsuit.
Knowing how the product lifecycle of a car goes, I would imagine the platform, engine, powertrain, and general exterior design were well-enough along that they could use those as-is. Rather than waiting on NVH testing/refinement, handling testing/refinement, new interior, etc., they shortchanged those steps, or in the case of the interior, shoehorned in something they already had, rather than wait on something all new to be designed, tooled, contracted, tested, etc.
Maybe I’m crazy paranoid, but that sounds like something a company like GM would do, when presented with a problem like this, and given the other circumstantial evidence around their panic-mode lack of SUVs, especially at Cadillac.
They better do something about the door handle placements. You get into a CT6, sit down, and there is no handle to grab on the door in the correct position to close it. Its insanity that no one at GM noticed this, you cannot easily pull the door closed when seated.