GM relaunched Cadillac with a focus on producing vehicles fully competitive with the best Europe has to offer. At the time, that meant rear-drive and at least a V8 engine option. With the introduction of the second-generation SRX, it’s apparent that Cadillac has begun to rethink its strategy, yet again. Gone are rear-drive and V8 power, replaced by a front-drive platform with a V6, a typical mass-market layout. All-wheel-drive is still an option, and the performance engine is now a 2.8-liter turbocharged V6.
Prime Numbers:
- Price: $47,540. As Tested: $49,910
- Engine: Aluminum 3.0-liter dual overhead cam direct-injection V6 with VVT
- Horsepower: 265 @ 6,950 rpm
- Torque: 223 lb-ft @ 5,100 rpm
- Drivetrain: Transverse-mounted engine and transaxle with Haldex electronic limited slip rear differential.
- Suspension F/R: independent struts with tuned coil springs, direct-acting hollow anti-roll bar, hydraulic ride bushings/linked H-arm, hollow anti-roll bar.
- Length: 190.3-in.
- Width: 75.2-in.
- Height: 65.7-in.
- Wheelbase: 110.5-in.
- Weight: 4,307 lbs.
Who’s The Buyer
This vehicle is for you if:
- You need slightly more interior room and hauling capacity than can be found in Cadillac’s CTS Wagon (more a 2+2 than a true wagon due to its low roof), and prefer to sit up higher.
- An Escalade doesn’t fit either your garage or self-image.
- Audi’s Q5 and Volvo’s XC60 are the right size, but much too common in your neighborhood.
This vehicle is NOT for you if:
- Even though GM claims it’s a new “premium” platform, you can’t help but notice similarities between the SRX and its less expensive and more prosaic Chevy Equinox and GMC Terrain cousins.
- You have tall children, who would have more head- and a bit more leg room in the squarer, longer wheelbase Equinox.
- You expect even sporty Cadillacs to have a firm, yet comfortable, ride.
Alternatives To Consider
Audi Q5: Impressively built, chock full of technology, and blessed with an interior that defines the term “attention to detail.” To extend their profit, the Germans can’t leave well enough alone, and offer a wide range of expensive option packages on the Q5. Do you really need the ability to create personal settings for the suspension, steering, transmission and throttle? Audi thinks you do. Not only does this “tunability” add cost, it feels out of place in a crossover that will never run the German Touring Car Championship or the Dakar Rally in standard form.
Lexus RX350: For many, the very definition of the affordable luxury crossover. The RX’s appeal to women made it the best-selling Lexus for years, helped along by a cosseting interior with plenty of room for rug rats and their gear. High-quality appointments, available premium audio systems and special editions keep it fresh and competitive.
Land Rover LR2: Clean industrial design inside and out coupled with a capable chassis. Like all Landies, it is quite capable off-road, though you wouldn’t take it on a rock-hopping drive along the Rubicon Trail. Those planning to wait for the next generation might want to reconsider. New owner Tata may not prove as proficient as Ford in engineering a capable platform.
Volvo XC60: The Land Rover’s kissing cousin, it shares the same Ford-sourced platform, but puts a Swedish twist on design, inside and out. A bit more practical and less overtly luxurious in its design and appointments, the XC60 appeals to those for whom Ikea’s coolly minimalist design ethic makes them an interior furnishings leader.
THE FIRST-GENERATION SRX was built on a modified version of the rear-drive CTS sedan’s platform, and engine choices included a 3.6-liter V6 and 4.6-liter V8. In concept, it mimicked BMW’s X3 and X5, but the design was neither a readily understood and conventional crossover or a more nimble sport wagon. Fish nor foul. From some angles, it was striking and daring, from other it was an ungainly mess. With the introduction of the CTS wagon, GM has decided to swap the SRX badge over to a front-drive platform, downsize the engine choices, and focus its attention more on mechanically similar crossovers from Audi, Lexus and Volvo. Adapting to shifts in the market is wise, and there will be mistakes along the way to rebuilding a nearly dead brand, but Cadillac needs to decide what it stands for. Cadillac needs to be a unique alternative to the German and Asian competition, as well as from Buick.
Engine, Transmission, Drivetrain
The SRX buyer has a choice of two V6s. First up is a naturally aspirated 3.0-liter V6 based on GM’s 3.6-liter Premium V6 engine. Rated at 17 mpg city/23 mpg highway, it handled everyday chores with quiet speed and reasonable fuel economy, returned an average of 20 mpg in combined city/highway driving, and proved more than capable of getting the 4,307-lb. SRX up to speed quickly.
Cadillac also offers a smaller but more powerful optional 2.8-liter turbocharged V6 that produces 300 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque, but is only available with all-wheel-drive. Though an extra 35 hp and, more importantly, 72 extra lb-ft of torque should make the SRX appreciably quicker with the optional engine, it comes at a price. Both city and highway estimated fuel economy drop by two miles per gallon, and premium unleaded gasoline is required.
If the federal government’s CAFE regulations were evenly applied to US- and foreign-engineered vehicles, the engine options might be considerably different. The CAFE regs are decidedly punitive for the US carmakers, as Ford and GM are NOT allowed to count their very thrifty cars sold in Europe and Asia, whereas foreign companies are allowed to do so, making it easier for them to export extremely powerful and thirsty vehicles to the US. If the CAFE regs were applied more fairly, the gap from Cadillac to BMW, Mercedes, and Audi might close very quickly.
The 3.0-liter is mated to GM’s 6T70 Hydra-Matic six-speed automatic transmission (the 2.8 V6 uses an Aisin Warner six-speed) that offers the option of choosing your own gear. The shifts, whether chosen by the driver or initiated by the transmission itself, are smooth, crisp and well spaced. Not only are the gear ratios far enough apart for fuel economy, they are not so far from each other that power drops off as you work through the range.
Despite Cadillac’s move to a rear-drive strategy with the introduction of the first-generation CTS in 2002, the latest SRX is built around a front-drive architecture. That means the engine is transversely mounted up front, and drives the front wheels under most situations. An active transfer case sends power to the rear wheels as needed, and an electronic limited-slip differential transfers power front-to-rear and from side-to-side to maintain grip. As best we can tell, this is a precursor of the next-generation Chevy Equinox, or some evolution of the current platform. That said, it has the necessary enhancements to structure and sound deadening to make it an acceptable luxury vehicle. In short, SRX is directly comparable to the Lexus RX, which shares fundamentals with Camry and Highlander, yet delivers a premium experience.
Suspension, Steering, Brakes
The steering is not overly light or exceedingly direct. Though there isn’t an excess of feel through the tiller, you can tell what’s happening at the front wheels at all times. On the other hand, the suspension has to work against the large (20-in.) wheels and tires, which means you feel their weight out at the corners over bumps, and hear road resonance through them more than you feel it. It’s one of the side effects of the drive to increase sidewall stiffness and reduce rolling resistance in modern tires as automakers try to combine good handling with increased fuel economy. If the SRX suffered from poorly designed suspension bushings, this reverberation from the huge tires would make itself known as a vibration through the floorpan or even squeaks and rattles. The fact that there is no such problem says GM engineers worked hard to successfully isolate the unwanted harmonics. As stated above, no matter the origins of the platform, Cadillac engineers have delivered a solid body structure.
Where they need to do a bit more work is in the ultimate tuning of the suspension. Under some conditions, the SRX was a bit abrupt in its reactions, not damping out the bulk of the disturbance but letting it through to the passenger cabin. Though fitted with all-wheel-drive and continuously variable real-time damping, our test vehicle was not able to combine suppleness and sportiness in equal measures. That’s because the two-stage valving of the shocks doesn’t have enough bandwidth to handle the combination of sportiness and comfort. Perhaps Cadillac should consider offering the Delphi-sourced magneto-rheological shocks it offered on the first-gen SRX. These units use iron shavings suspended in liquid as the damping medium, and have an electronically controlled magnet around the outer shock body. Applying a current turns the fluid near solid, but by quickly switching the current on and off, they are able to continuously control ride motions. This would be a real plus considering that the stiffer FE3 sport suspension is part of the package with all-wheel-drive. The magneto-rheological dampers come with a premium price tag but then again, Cadillac is a premium brand, or at least aspires to be once again with people in the prime of life. To re-establish its credentials, Cadillac may be forced to deliver far more car at a noticeably lower price, a deal luxury buyers will embrace. It worked for Lexus 20 years ago, and seems to be working for Hyundai with its Genesis sedan. It might work for Cadillac.
The brake pedal is firm, and the effort to actuate the four-wheel vented disc brakes is consistent with the rest of the SRX’s controls, a clear sign that the engineers had a defined plan and stuck to it. ABS, electronic stability control and dual-mode traction control are all standard.
Body, Design, Quality
SRX uses a new premium front-drive crossover architecture instead of GM’s recently upgraded Theta platform (a.k.a. the Chevy Equinox, see review here), though we’re not entirely sure about the origins of the SRX platform. It may have some Theta in it. That said the claimed reason for this change is to produce a chassis designed to provide strong driving dynamics while also isolating passengers from road noise. However, by switching to a front-drive architecture, GM also was able to increase interior space efficiency, reduce costs by borrowing pieces from GM’s broad front-drive portfolio, and produce a crossover more in line with the bulk of luxury crossover offerings. In short, Cadillac decided to follow the market and give the people what they want. The downside to modifying the Equinox/Terrain architecture is that for some odd reason the Cadillac engineers decided to SHORTEN the wheelbase by two inches (all in the back seat area), and the rear seats are fixed in place. Rear seats in both the Theta-based Chevy Equinox and GMC Terrain are mounted on a slider that moves fore-aft approximately eight inches, and allows rear passengers to enjoy leg room greater than that found in a Mercedes S-Class when the seat is moved to full extension. That said, at least the product planners turned their back on the temptation to add a useless third-row seat.
These choices are very odd at best. It seems the CTS sport wagon is the better choice for those with a more aggressive self-image, who want a more engaging driving experience, and who will look on that vehicle’s tight rear cabin as a place for occasional use by passengers. Would not a crossover buyer want more package efficiency (greater passenger room) and seating/cargo versatility? Would it not have been wiser to ADD an inch to the wheelbase compared to the Chevy even if that made it slightly less maneuverable? Don’t premium crossover buyers deserve the same highly versatile seating Equinox buyers get, like rear seats that slide back and forth depending on cargo needs? Perhaps GM needs a better way to engage customers on a more intelligent level and not just copy.
The pictures tell most of the styling story, but the SRX is another example of a design that could use a deft hand to remove some of the excesses. It’s unclear why designers found it necessary to emboss the Cadillac crest inside the housings for the adaptive xenon headlights. This reminds of the etching done inside crystal trophies and awards given out at the annual sales convention. Neither is it clear why the side vent is a large, obviously plastic chromed piece whose only reason for being seems to be to provide a continuation for the rising character line found on the front bumper. Though we like the sharp edges derived from Stealth fighter design, we’d also appreciate a more thoughtful approach.
Cadillac lost its way starting in the mid-Fifties, when the cars headed down an egocentric path, becoming ever larger and more garish. By the late Sixties, the fine quality was dimming, too. Perhaps Cadillac should return to the qualities and themes that made it the finest car in the world both before World War II and in the 15 years following: bold but elegant design, clean, tidy detailing, and beautifully thought out packaging that simply fits the lives of upper-middle-class Americans.
Interior, Ergonomics
Interior design is crisply modern, combining bright work with a brushed steel finish and hand-stitched instrument panel accents. The driver faces three main gauges, with the speedometer containing a small LED screen that can display a variety of information, including speed, fuel economy, miles to empty and many others. But its most interesting trick is the ability to display the speed limit on the road you are traveling. This feature is very handy in ex-urban and rural areas where the speed limit changes dramatically (“speed traps” in layman’s terms).
Rear-seat passengers can set the temperature for their portion of the cabin, but they don’t have control over the child locks on the rear doors. Unlike most cars that have their child lock switches (it prevents kids from opening the door from the inside) on the rear doors themselves, the SRX has a pushbutton located in the center stack of the instrument panel. It allows the driver or front-seat passenger to set or override that function electronically. This makes it possible to haul the kids to and from school during the day, and take another couple to dinner at night without having to remember to reset door-mounted child locks.
Then again, on a clear day or starry night, each will probably be engaged in gazing out of the oddly named “Ultraview” panoramic sunroof overhead, and completely forget about the need to exit the vehicle.
This level of detail also extends to the cargo area where a U-shaped aluminum extrusion is set into the floor and provides a tie-down to secure your luggage or other bulky items. Smaller items can be placed in the rigid Styrofoam carrier directly beneath the load floor. There’s no spare wheel and tire under the cargo floor, however. In its place is a tire sealant and inflator kit. Considering the lack of a spare tire, we would have hoped for more rear-seat legroom. Here again, we have to wonder if Cadillac’s marketing people really thought about who buys a crossover because the rear seat should be far roomier than it is.
Another neat feature is a power rear hatch that can be programmed to open only partially so that you can raise it in your garage without having it crash into the ceiling, or so that it doesn’t open so high that shorter drivers can’t reach it. Also, the window shade blind that hides items from prying eyes fits into graduated slots on the rear pillars. This feature allows it to neatly rise just above the level of bulky items while still offering protection. Topping off the list of “surprise and delight” features is a depth-adjustable front cup holder that can be switched to hold taller drinks at the press of a button.
Audio, Video, Navigation
As if this wasn’t trick enough, the 8.0-in. navigation screen rises up from the instrument panel when in use. When the SRX’s transmission is placed into reverse, the screen provides a full-color look at what is behind the vehicle. The navigation screen can be set to show things like highway exits as well as the direction of travel, traffic, shorter routes in traffic in turn-by-turn mode. As you approach an exit, it overlays this information on the same side of the screen as the exit itself. (Not all are on the right.) And this information disappears when it’s no longer relevant. Unfortunately, Cadillac’s web site falls short in that it doesn’t have any informational videos that would show the potential customer how the technology works (and how cool it can be) better than mere words can convey.
If you want to know about more than just traffic, you can access real-time weather data on the same screen or pull up a long-range forecast. Both of these items depend on the expanded XM satellite radio service. The first 90 days of the subscription to this service are on GM, after that it’s up to you.
As expected, you get AM and FM along with the XM, as well as a CD/DVD player, 40 gigabyte hard drive, a USB port for iPod integration and charging, and an auxiliary jack, Bluetooth connection and Bose 5.1 digital surround sound with 10 speakers. In addition, our tester was fitted with the $1,295 rear-seat entertainment system that features a video screen on each of the front seatbacks, wireless headphones and a remote control.
THE SRX IS A CAPABLE MID-SIZE CROSSOVER with plenty of nice features, and the amenities you expect from Cadillac. It is, however, a product of me-too thinking, as Cadillac assembles a nice selection of front-drive components into an analog of the vehicle that defined luxury crossover, the Lexus RX. It is based on a front-drive platform that borrows heavily from the GM bin of components when the current and future Cadillac line is predominantly rear-drive. While this makes it roomier than a like-sized rear-drive crossover, the SRX lacks the rear-seat capacity and adjustability found in its lesser GM brethren (Chevy Equinox). Fold in fussy detailing and a suspension that could use more development to more evenly balance sportiness and softness, and you begin to see that GM is still unsure of what exactly Cadillac stands for.
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