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2023 Cadillac XT5 Details Come To Light: Exclusive

The Cadillac XT5 luxury crossover first rolled out for the 2017 model year, with the latest 2021 XT5 following up on a model refresh introduced for the 2020 model year. Although the current Cadillac XT5 sales numbers show continuing interest from customers, GM has a fresh second-generation planned for the 2023 model year. Now, GM Authority has exclusive details on what the second-gen XT5 will offer.

Updated Platform

Let’s start under the skin, where the second-gen Cadillac XT5 will ride on a second-iteration of the C1 platform that underpins the current first-generation XT5.

Before we get into the details, we should briefly revisit what a vehicle platform actually is. Breaking it down, an automotive platform provides a set of “instructions” upon which a vehicle is built. Vehicles built on the same platform can be vastly different, even produced by separate manufacturers in different factories located across the world, and in a sense, a platform doesn’t age at the same rate as the car on top. As such, it’s totally fine to base a new vehicle on an existing platform.

With that covered, the next-generation 2023 Cadillac XT5 will ride on the C1-2 platform, which is essentially the same as C1, albeit with a few updates here and there. The updates are similar to those seen on the 31XX platform, which is being updated between the current Chevy Colorado / GMC Canyon and the 2023 models.

More Significant Changes

Beyond the slightly updated C1-2 platform, the 2023 Cadillac XT5 will also feature a completely new electronic architecture, incorporating the latest Global B electrical system. Debuting on the Cadillac CT5 and CT4, Global B offers greater connectivity and processing power, and critically, was designed to accommodate GM’s latest tech features, in particular the Super Cruise semi-autonomous driver system. Although Super Cruise has yet to be confirmed for the next-gen XT5, the inclusion of Global B makes it all but a certainty.

What’s more, the new XT5 will boast all-new styling and a complete overhaul for the interior, the sort of features expected of a next-generation vehicle.

The LSY Returns, V6 May Be Replaced

As for the engine spec, the 2023 Cadillac XT5 is expected to carry over the turbocharged 2.0L I4 LSY for the base engine spec, which produces237 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque in the current model.

The atmospheric 3.6L V6 LGX could also return as the more-powerful engine option, but it’s also possible that the next-gen XT5 will offer the newer turbo 2.7 I4 L3B gasoline engine instead.

The drivetrain spec will include a nine-speed automatic transmission as standard, driving the front wheels. The option for AWD will also be offered.

When Will It Arrive?

The next-gen Cadillac XT5 is in development now, with production ramping up around the 2023 calendar year.

It’s possible that production will be moved from Spring Hill, Tennessee to a facility in China in order to provide greater production capacity for the new Cadillac Lyriq EV crossover, but for now, that little tidbit remains nothing more than a rumor.

What About The EVs?

At this point, Cadillac’s (and GM’s) transition to an all-electric future continues, but in that transition, both all-electric and ICE-powered models will occupy the same space.

It’s believed that the updated C1-2 platform will help in that respect, offering customers a chance to choose the more traditional ICE-powered XT5, or the more futuristic Lyriq EV, given similarities in sizing between the two. Indeed, the XT5 may very well be one of the last ICE-powered vehicles GM builds.

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.

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Jonathan is an automotive journalist based out of Southern California. He loves anything and everything on four wheels.

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Comments

  1. as to the rumor in 2023 may move assembly to communist china , now we have 2 USA assembled XT5’s , if they are move to china ,they will be NOT replaced with a XT5

    Reply
    1. It’s racist to shun Chinese assembly.

      Reply
      1. It’s not that people are against Chinese people. They use essentially slave labor to do it. Not only does it promote the horrific conditions they subject their people to it allows them to undercut places that pay their employees fairly or at least more fairly. This in turn makes it appealing for businesses to move their manufacturing there causing both people to lose their jobs and creating a another slave labor like job.

        Reply
        1. Mr. Mike: So why are so many American’s ok with buying Japanese junk? I’m not defending China in any way and I’d prefer GM/Ford/Chrysler produce everything they sell in the USA. That may not be overly doable, but it’s a wish I had. But people need to take a look at the Japanese culture. Their work culture. Look at the suicide rate with the Japanese. Look at Toyota and Honda’s business practices.

          So I’m going to start pointing out the massive double standard of so many on here when they say stuff about China and yet threaten to buy a Toyota because GM doesn’t make enough sedans.

          Reply
          1. japanese junk? hahaha. you are skating on thin ice.

            Reply
            1. steve: There isn’t a single Japanese vehicle produced or sold in the USA that is anything better than the American brands have. Nothing. Mazda is a joke. Toyota and Honda are average at best. Subaru? I’d rather pluck my eyes out with a dull rusty butter knife. Nissan? Haha. If you think Mazda (or whatever) is so good, go with it. I’d suggest you move to Japan too.

              Reply
            2. Steve,

              You still have said nothing about the elephant in the room, the huge double standard that we should boycott China yet force feed the Japanese and Koreans. Americans are so confused.

              Reply
    2. Tom, as stupid as it sounds, you are not the only one.

      One of the things my mom was most proud of (and she annoyingly always reminds us) is where her car was built. Spring Hill TN.

      If there’s absolutely 1 thing that Cadillac has over the competition, hands down, its the built locations. Every Cadillac model is built right here at home, and I always question why GM never advertises that.

      Reply
    3. Ok Karen, bye. Glad to know you are so star spangled awesome that you only buy USofA made items. I take it we won’t find like 90% of stuff in your home from overseas? What will you replace the XT5 with? People like you just crack me up, such hypocrites.

      Reply
  2. So……

    If production of this vehicle is: “…ramping up around the 2023 calendar year…” wouldn’t that make it a 2024 model year vehicle?

    Reply
  3. We have an xt5 made in Tn. If they move it to China I guess I will not have another XT5. I love that Springhill Tenn sticker on the door.

    Reply
    1. Get a Lyriq then. RWD, vastly superior exterior and interior styling, cheaper to own and run. I’ll always wish that JDN got his Blackwing V8-powered RWD crossover before he got canned…

      Reply
    2. Ok, I am sure that was detrimental to your decision while how much of the other stuff you own in your home is from China and other Asian countries…

      Reply
  4. Cadillac and GM in General better shift from the 3.6 to the 3.0T/TT Asap.
    Cadillacs should utilize only the Twin Turbo version and the rest of GM lineup that use the 3.0 should have a single Turbo,

    Reply
  5. This doesn’t match with what GM heads have been saying about the brand’s future. Everything we’ve seen and heard shows that, with the exception of the Escalade, the existing ICE models offered by Cadillac will be the last minus some minor refreshes.

    Reply
    1. Andy: Where are you getting that from? I’m not saying it’s wrong, but just asking because I may have missed something. My understanding is that most brands are looking to be all electric by 2035 when the ICE is phased out. Some brands are heading all electric sooner than that, and I feel that is a good plan that will most likely change as well. I’ve also picked up on a theme from the blackwing articles where they keep saying this will be the last Cadillac ever with a gas engine and offered in manual. What am I missing?

      Reply
      1. I’d refer you to a December 2019 Reuters interview (also reposted on this website at the same time) where brand president Steve Carlisle said that the brand was going fully electric by 2030. In the many months since then, it has been pulled up to 2025 based on multiple news reports.
        Now, you could take all of those articles with a grain of salt and say it’s all speculation.
        However, the Reuters article is the clearest example of GM’s intentions with Cadillac.

        Reply
        1. Got it. Thanks. You are totally correct and things can and will most likely change before 2025 even.

          Reply
  6. I am with LeeS The reason I buy Cadillac is because they are made in Tenn.

    Reply
    1. Sure you did…

      Reply
  7. “It’s possible that production will be moved from Spring Hill, Tennessee to a facility in China in order to provide greater production capacity for the new Cadillac Lyriq EV crossover, but for now, that little tidbit remains nothing more than a rumor”

    Let’s see. Fairfax, Orion, and Lansing Grand River all have excess capacity and gm is talking about building more vehicles in China and Mexico? I would not buy a $15 k entry level vehicle made in China let alone a $55k luxury CUV.

    BTW, I think the Acadia is being moved out of Spring Hill to make room for the Lyriq

    Reply
  8. I’m sure the average Chinese person is just trying to survive just as the average American. It has todo with the Chinese leadership and being Communist. They are out to destroy America just as Russia tried to do back in the cold war.

    Reply
    1. Tom: When you say they are out to destroy American, how? And could that maybe look some like when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor? At one time, the Japanese were out to take over the world. That same attitude is/was prevalent with Toyota’s desire to dominate the auto markets. I could go on, but I’m really more interested in what it is that makes you feel China is out to destroy. Maybe the USA should close it’s boarders to anyone from Asian countries?

      Reply
      1. Covid. In the very least, China covered it up and allowed it to spread. At the very most, it was a manmade virus designed to cause harm.

        Reply
      2. Dan Berning, Companies like GM can produce products in America and make a modest profit. You know this!!! America will always import foreign vehicles to help control inflation. Companies move production overseas to increase their bottom line…So, when someone says ” foreign production is destroying America” they are talking about Corporate greed…has nothing to do with the bombing of Pearl Harbor, communism, or racism… It’s about good paying America Jobs and a stable American economy.

        Reply
  9. This will be interesting to me.
    We are not XT5 buyers, yet we do want a smaller mid-sized Cadillac.
    However we want a Cadillac interior and NOT a Chevy interior !
    Like the CT5-CT4-XT4 interiors, that interior is nothing better than say the 2021 Suburban.

    We would love to see a Cadillac interior in this XT5 like the Escalade or Lyriq, bring that to market with the 2.7T and FINEALLY we are talking a Cadillac !!

    You are getting there boys and girls at GM, almost there !

    My fingers are crossed that the next ICE CT4-CT5-XT4, will have a Escalade – Lyriq interior with the 2.7T and we will be there !
    And I was also led to believe, in a Mark Ruess, and Steve Carlisle interviews, they have BOTH said many times that the current ICE Cadillacs would be the last ICE Cadillacs !
    Yet now we here this news, and a complete overhaul of the interior !
    Will it be the cheap Chevy interior like the CT4-CT5-XT4, or will it be a Cadillac worthy interior ?

    Now this one I can not wait to see !!

    Why would anyone take one bit of information GM gave or gives on Cadillac, seriously ?
    Remember how many times in the last two years it has changed !
    When GM can’t sell many Lyriqs yet an XT5 with the same Lyriq interior and a 2.7T ICE fly off the shelves, I bet I know what GM will do !!

    Show me the money !

    Reply
  10. This new XT5 better have a bigger infotainment screen than the 8inch they putting in there now

    Reply
  11. The ride comfort is great, the long fuel range (with the 21 gallon tank) is great, interior room is fantastic, interior materials are good.

    I hope the ’23 model gets an engine above the NA 3.6. I’d (as I’m sure many others would agree) love to see the 3.6 or 3.0 TT from the XTS. I’d also like to see better headlights, maybe even optional fog’s. Hard buttons from the XT4 would also be a welcome addition.

    Otherwise, keep up the good work Cadillac!

    Reply
  12. Epic fail if they put two noisy unrefined 4 cylinder turbo’s as the only choices. This needs some sort of V6 whether its turbo or NA improved 3.6.

    Reply
  13. I think they should keep building the xt5 in the states and put a stronger motor in it and update the interior to compete with the European vehicles . What’s wrong with you guys

    Reply
  14. Love my 2020 xt 5 I wouldn’t care if it was made in mars lol

    Reply

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