cadillac is hoping to capitalize on the runaway success of the XT4 compact CUV – one of the top sellers in the segment in Canada last year, the model’s first – with the addition of its new, bigger, three-row brother: the XT6, debuting at this year’s North American International Auto Show.
Cadillac Canada wouldn’t confirm or deny whether the front-wheel-drive version will be coming to Canadian markets.
The full-size XT6 is the latest GM model to get the C1XX long wheelbase platform that currently underpins the Buick Enclave and Chevrolet Traverse; the shortened version of the platform, meanwhile, underpins the XT5 mid-size CUV.
Power comes from a 3.6L V6 good for 310 hp and 271 lb-ft of torque; there’s no turbocharging, but there is direct fuel injection in an effort to provide good power without too much of a hit to fuel economy. It’s fed to two or four wheels via a nine-speed automatic; Cadillac Canada wouldn’t confirm or deny whether the front-wheel-drive version will be coming to Canadian markets.
“We have to finalize that,” said Hoss Hassani, managing director of Cadillac Canada. “The segment in Canada is about 95 percent AWD, and we happen to be one of the ones that are in that 5 percent that offer front-wheel drive (it’s available on the XT4 and XT5).” Guess we’ll just have to wait and see on that one.
As far as the engine goes, while there are no plans yet for an alternative powertrain – something smaller and turbocharged, perhaps, or even a hybrid – that may not be the end of the story.
“Powertrain diversity is a good thing for manufacturers to offer,” said Hassani. “What that diversity should be – whether it’s a more affordable engine, a higher performance engine – varies from market to market. There are people that want electric vehicles, and people that want ICE vehicles; the 3.6 is definitely the sweet spot not just in the US, but in Canada as well. Even on a world with multiple powertrains, that would be the most popular.”
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