In the last few months, Cadillac and Lincoln have debuted new crossover rivals that will go on sale soon for the 2020 model year. In one corner, you have the all-new Cadillac XT6, a three-row crossover that fits between the XT5 and Escalade. Lincoln debuted the Aviator—a rear-wheel-drive crossover that borrows heavily from the bigger Navigator. The approach the automakers are taking to tackle the three-row SUV market is wildly different. However, pricing could pit these two against one another.Â
When the Lincoln Aviator goes on sale later this year, it’ll have a starting price of $52,195 (including destination charge). Cadillac has yet to release pricing information for the XT6; however, pricing should range between $50,000-$60,000 to start. Similar pricing makes them direct competitors in the eyes of consumers. Out of the box, an Aviator owner gets a 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged V6 engine producing a highly impressive 400 horsepower and 400 pound-feet of torque. The XT6, though, gets a naturally aspirated 3.6-liter LFY V6 making an anticlimactic 310 hp and 271 lb-ft of torque—it’s the only powertrain available. The Aviator will offer a Grand Touring trim that adds a mild-hybrid system, increasing horsepower by 50 and adding 200 lb-ft of torque. The Aviator Grand Touring hybrid starts at $69,895.
There is some difficulty comparing Aviator pricing with the Cadillac XT6 because we don’t know how Cadillac will price the XT6’s various trims and configurations. Last year, Cadillac announced its Y trim strategy. The new system split Cadillac’s trims in two—luxury and sport—with the base offering for both called Luxury. Following the luxury arch and the trims are Premium Luxury as the mid-level trim and Platinum as the top-tier trim. On the sport arc, the Sport trim is the mid-level offering while V-Series is the top-tier sport offering. While an XT6 Platinum is likely in the cards, it’s highly unlikely we’ll see an XT6-V.
How Cadillac prices these trims for the XT6 remains to be seen.Â
However, we do have pricing for the Aviator. The Reserve trim, which is one step above the base offering, starts at $57,285, giving owners 20-inch wheels, LED fog lights, a 14-speaker Revel audio system, hands-free liftgate, and much more. Above that is Lincoln’s Black Label offering with three trim combinations called “Chalet,” “Destination,” and “Flight.” Black Label Aviators get 22-inch wheels, a 28-speaker Revel audio system, and a litany of other luxury features. Pricing for the Aviator can reach $88,895 if you add a Black Label trim to the Aviator Grand Touring hybrid. That’s an awful lot for a three row crossover from a brand that’s trying to regain traction in the market.
It’s unlikely the Cadillac XT6 will reach similar high-end pricing like the Aviator Grand Touring. It doesn’t offer a hybrid powertrain that adds a host of performance. However, a litany of available options could increase pricing quickly.Â
Comments
GM Corporate rental fleet quality for a Luxury price. Hertz should buy a lot of these. Meanwhile, Lincoln builds an American Range Rover for the same money. Wait until the 20% off promotions and get a $40,000 three row from GM.
Scrolling up and down between those two images (I should get a 4k monitor), its difficult to believe people that prefer the Aviator exterior aren’t just trolling.
Let me guess. It will be marketed with low down and low monthly payments and assembled from the GM parts bin with new creases in the door panels. An aspirational car it will not be.
My take.
Cadillac will start high after they cant sell enough compared to Lincoln they will start reducing the price until they can’t make enough profit then cut the design.
Then they will sit around and say it was the look, no it was the drivetrain “platform”.
One persons opinion The Cadillacs exterior look better but the rest goes to Lincoln.
Seriously at this point I don’t think GM will ever figure out they can’t sell a Chevrolet as a Cadillac. I guess it works for the Escalade so theirs that.
If GM is REALLY serious about Cadillac being an elite luxury brand, they need to do a four year crash program putting all their CUVs on rear-wheel-drive platforms.
The problem is GM is not really serious about that. Their current moto seems to be if it ain’t broke don’t fix it, if it’s broke don’t fix it.
The powertrain option alone is enough reason for the informed consumer to walk away from the Cadillac. Well wait and see the final price but if it is priced within +-2000K of the Lincoln’s starting price it would be a joke. Now if they put the “new” Cadillac 3.0TT in it that would be another story. The Cadillac should be at least 7k less than the Lincoln me thinks. If they do price it similarly I think they will get away with it for a bit but Lincolns ads have been good as of late so I think Lincoln appears more prestigious than Cadillac at the moment. So that could also easily sway consumers.
I think this contributed to Ruess’ comment about the next big thing for Cadillac, hate to say it’s a vote of no confidence but the current turn around looks dead on arrival.
There is not a lot of difference between a Buick and a Cadillac in GM’s scheme of things. In fact, I think the Enclave is a better looking vehicle than the XT6.
Aviator Hybrid would be a cool car to own.
If I were Cadillac, this thing should be priced starting at least $5K less than the Lincoln.
If they are similarly priced, my money would go to the Lincoln. And I get a GM discount.
The XT6 looks great on the outside but the powertrain screams Chevy Traverse. And I’m not a fan of the Traverse.
Have we seen the base Aviator interior yet?
They didn’t announce there would be a base model XT6, only Sport and Premium Luxury.
Many non-towing buyers of 3 rows won’t want the extra hp if it means significantly less mpg. The towers will want RWD regardless of hp.
The ’19 Buick Enclave Avenir AWD with extra options can go over $60K MSRP before incentives. I’m guessing the XT6 will have a range of $49-65K to start and then go into the mid $70’s if and when they roll out a Platinum trim.
Cadillac has the 3.0L TTV6 used in the CT6 that would make sense for a Platinum and/or V-sport version of this vehicle, but I doubt the FWD based C1 platform could handle 400hp/400lb.ft. without significant modification?
GM is way behind using the low power 3.6 liter V6 in almost every model. GM will loose sales to the other brands, that have a higher power V6 or a hybrid option that gives a low speed power boost. What the heck are the bean counters doing in the Detroit HQ, setting the low power standard. With only 310 pounds feet of torque in a 3,600 or 3,800 pound car or SUV, the car isn’t safe for emergency situations. WAKE UP GM. They used a twin turbo small V6 in some of the Cadillacs and they should use the same high power 400 plus HP engine in the premium SUV’s and Colorado pickup to make the Super Sport name a huge success.
I am a very loyal GM Customer, having purchased 11 New GM vehicles over the past 30 years. I am left very disappointed by the design and powertrain of the new XT6. Indeed it is a lackluster vehicle where GM has obviously rushed it through design and production, failing to make it stand out from it’s Chevy, GMC and Buick relatives. Moreover, it truly is not much more than a re-badged XT4 or XT5, with the exception that the wheelbase is a few inches longer. I could probably make this vehicle work if they would have included a Turbo V6 or Small Block V8 as the base engines. The price that this vehicle will command is certainly worthy of a more powerful power plant and more deluxe interior detailing. GM continues to be criticized by countless reviews for failing to design greater definition between it’s brands. No matter if it’s a Pick-up, SUV or Car, GM only seems to have one common parts-bin to pick from. Only the badging truly separates one vehicle from the other. Speaking as a loyal GM customer for decades, when I compare the XT6 to it’s NOW rival the Lincoln Aviator, I would hope that GM will look closely from the lessons that Ford has learned from its past. Look now how Ford has chosen to undoubtedly separate its Standard-line of vehicles from its Luxury-line. For example, aside from the Chassis, the new Explorer shares no visible common parts with the Aviator; both the exterior and interior designs are also completely different. With personal opinions of the consumers aside, the future sales of GM versus Ford products will absolutely speak for itself. Unfortunately, I predict many more lessons are to be learned for GM. I hope they exceed that challenge!