Back in August of 2019, we featured a photograph that highlighted Cadillac’s evolving design language. In that photo, three Cadillac crossovers are shown, including the Cadillac XT4, the Cadillac XT5, and the Cadillac XT6. Of the three, the XT5 has the oldest styling, with a design taken from Caddy’s Art & Science era. The other two models are rolling examples of the automaker’s design language advances, but it got us thinking – what would the XT5 look like with modern Cadillac styling cues?
By modern, we mean styling similar to that of the next-gen 2021 Cadillac Escalade, which arrived earlier this year with a completely new look. So then, if we transplanted that over to the Cadillac XT5, what would be the results? Lucky for us, our sister publication, Cadillac Society, answered that question for us with the following rendering.
Cadillac XT5 rendering with Escalade-inspired styling
Standard Cadillac XT5
Some of the most noticeable differences can be found up front, where our rendered Cadillac XT5 rocks a set of horizontal headlamps and signature vertical accent lights. The grille now stretches between the headlamps with a black mesh similar to that of the 2021 Cadillac Escalade Sport, and comes complemented by black trim bits in the profile.
The rear is also updated, with our Cadillac XT5 rendering now sporting a more upright, squared-off hatch section with vertical tail lamps, once again giving a nod to the new Escalade. The hatch also looks cleaner without the usual trim bits above the license plate.
Cadillac XT5 rendering with Escalade-inspired styling
As Cadillac Society points out, the current XT5 is a solid midsize luxury crossover, recognized as Cadillac’s global best-seller for years now. However, there has been some criticism thrown towards it. Some would like a more powerful engine option beyond the naturally aspirated 3.6L LGX V6, which produces 310 horsepower and 271 pound-feet of torque. Others would like a more balanced rear-drive-based platform under the skin. Still others would like to see the crossover use Cadillac’s modern design language.
This rendering would at least address that last bit, and quite well at that.
Are you a fan of our XT5 rendering with modern, Escalade-inspired styling cues? Let us know your thoughts in the comments, and make sure to subscribe to GM Authority for more Cadillac XT5 news, Cadillac news, and around-the-clock GM news coverage.
This post was created in collaboration with our sister publication, Cadillac Society.
Comments
Looks bad , the desigmer will get a placement in gm Cadillac design wing. Don’t go near Chevy one. They are running better with Camaro design clues ..
Cadillac’s is always beautiful.
that’s a fact.
Looks good, update the powertrain to something worth discussing now even if it’s a dream.
While the design cues of the Escalade look good; they’re not as striking and eye catching as how the 2020 Cadillac XT5 looks like, one has to wonder whether the new 2021 Cadillac Escalade should incorporate front facial design cues from the 2020 Cadillac XT5 is very aggressive and in the current sales market, being aggressive means catching the attention of potential consumers.
The front end……maybe, just maybe, but the way the vertical taillights are grafted on to the back looks arbitrary and just plain wrong.
Looks great!
They should offer the 3.0TT as an option. That would help out sales
That is exactly the front end GM should have done for the XT5.
And offer the 3.0TT instead of the Corporate 3.6 HFV6
This is front fascia change is inevitable across all Cadillacs.
Looks similar to the Chrysler Pacific before its Mini-van makeover.
OK but bigger engine not smaller
Looks better. Front end looks longer this way. Good render.
I can see the front clip as very modern and following the rest of the Cadillac products . But the rear looks odd to me . They could use the feature line from the bottom of the rear hatch so the taillight would be sort of a hockey stick , down and turned inward towards the center of the rear hatch .
Also it would be great if they did away with the fake vents up in front . And give the XT5 some power by dropping the 3.0TT under the hood . There’s room for it .
Don’t like the front, but the back is eye candy
Like the front, but the back needs to be cleaned up, and made to not look so Volvo ish.