2021 Cadillac XT4

Carrying over pretty much unchanged over the 2020 Cadillac XT4, the car gets a 2 L turbocharged in-line four-cylinder engine across all three trim levels. For this year, the Cadillac XT4 price starts at MSRP $36,790 and it competes against the BMW X1, Audi Q3, and Mercedes-Benz GLA.

There are three trim levels offered with the latest generation of Cadillac’s crossover SUV and these are called Luxury, Premium Luxury, and Sport. Price starts at MSRP $36,790 and goes all the way up until $43,690 making it the cheapest Cadillac available now. Overall it aims to create a good value in the luxury segment and the trim levels are priced in ways that we feel make a lot of sense.

Which trim should you buy?

 We find the base trim level a bit too bare-bones to justify the investment that comes on it. On the two higher trims that are not separated by a lot, the Premium Luxury trim fails to deliver on its promise of providing much more luxury but the Sport trim is a much better pick. It comes with unique wheel designs as well as a sportier appearance both inside and outside. It also has active suspension and better seats which really add to the experience.

Powering the Cadillac XT4 is a 2 L in-line turbocharged four-cylinder engine that is adequately powerful. This engine is good for 237 hp and 258 lb.-ft. of torque which are excellent numbers for the category. This engine is mated to a nine-speed automatic transmission while front-wheel-drive is the powertrain option as standard. All-wheel-drive is a relatively inexpensive addition at $2500.

 When it comes to acceleration figures the Cadillac performs adequately well with the 7.5 seconds 0 to 60 mph time as well as a 15.8-second quarter-mile time. Although this falls a bit short of the expected acceleration due to its powerful engine, most drivers in this category would find that it is quite adequate.

Nearly all four cars in this category are priced very much equally. It is surprising that the BMW is the cheapest car while promising the best acceleration. On paper, the Cadillac is the fastest but when it comes to real-world figures, it is the lowest both in terms of top speed and acceleration. The BMW and Mercedes are in a league of their own when it comes to performance.

How well does the 2021 Cadillac XT4 SUV handle?

 The Cadillac does not promise a lot in terms of handling but what is truly disappointing is that it has not paid it off by giving good ride quality either. If you equip the car with the optional 20-inch wheels, the ride quality is very bad and owners will be pretty much disappointed with how the vibrations and undulations on the road transfer to the cabin.

However, Cadillac has never been a brand that has built a reputation on handling. What makes us happy is that the adaptive suspension on the Sport trim level makes things very much better when it comes to riding and handling both. The steering is a bit disappointing no matter what trim you pick.

2021 Cadillac XT4 SUV Braking Performance

Being on the light side of this category and 3660 pounds, braking performance can definitely be expected to be good in the Cadillac. The pedal is a bit firm and much more than we like. Cadillac has not yet released the information regarding the size of the brake rotors and this is also an area of uncertainty. However, the rotors are enough to bring the car to a halt from 60 mph in 126 feet which is not at all impressive. Even though the benchmark in this category is not too high, this can definitely be improved.

As we have observed before, the German rivals are simply that much more effective as performance machines not just in terms of acceleration but also braking. The Audi and BMW have 60 to 0 stopping distances around 125 feet, and the Cadillac trails right behind at 126 feet. The Mercedes is a much worse performer, bringing the car to a stop in 138 feet and hence remains the saving grace for the Cadillac.

Despite everything that can be said about the Cadillac XT4, fuel economy is an area where it performs quite well in the class benchmark. The 2 L engine from Cadillac returns 24 MPG in the city, 30 MPG on the highway, and 26 MPG in the combined cycle which is acceptable although not too impressive. The fuel tank capacity is 15.9 gallons which are small but that is enough to have a range of up to 477 miles on the highway and 381 miles inside the city.

When it comes to fuel efficiency, we can see that the BMW is the most impressive because it nearly delivers the same fuel efficiency as the Cadillac while delivering a much higher range due to its large fuel tank. The Mercedes-Benz has the largest fuel tank and also has good fuel efficiency to support that. This results in a much higher range than any of the competitors.

The interiors of the new Cadillac XT4 don’t exactly do an excellent job of keeping up the luxury-derived name of the brand. Although it does have soft-touch materials here and there, there are plastic bits that stick out like a sore thumb and bring down the overall quality of the interiors. In terms of switchgear as well, this car does try to save a lot of money and ends up being lackluster. It also performs badly in terms of cargo capacity with just 22.5 ft.³ of storage.

In terms of interior space, however, the car feels very roomy and that is definitely a plus point. The Cadillac would not have looked very lackluster if it was alone in its category but the presence of the German rivals does raise the bar a lot when it comes to quality of materials and overall fit and finish.

The interior space of all the cars is very much evenly matched and none of them have a specific advantage in terms of space. However, the BMW has excellent cargo space that totally blows the competition out of the water. The quality of switchgear, leather, and plastics is also much higher in the three cars that compete with the Cadillac. The Mercedes fails to impress in terms of cargo space as well. Some standard features include:

• Leather Trim Seats
• Heated front passenger seats
• UV-protected glass
• Heated steering wheel
• 4-way Power Lumbar Support For Front Seats
• Alloy pedals

What’s there to keep you entertained?

One of the biggest of the Cadillac XT4 visits the infotainment system. Even though all trims come with a small 8-inch touchscreen system, it looks nice and well-integrated in the dashboard. The interface is also very simple to use even while driving. The 2021 Cadillac CUE software also allows wireless integration of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto which feels like a blessing. 

Other features include built-in navigation, wireless charging, satellite radio, a Wi-Fi hotspot, and so on. There is a seven-speaker audio system available as standard and an optional 13 speaker Bose system is available. Other available options include a digital gauge cluster, heads-up display, and wireless smartphone charging pad. Some features of the infotainment system include: 

• Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
• HD Radio
• SiriusXM
• 4G LTE Wifi Hotspot
• 4.2-inch diagonal color diver infotainment center
• Standard 7-speakers audio system

In terms of looks, we could say that it is definitely attractive. It looks much more modern and sharp, retaining very distinct lights from Cadillac. Even next to much more sophisticated rivals from BMW, Mercedes, and Audi the Cadillac does not feel out of place. It also feels bigger than it is due to its good proportions.

We find out very quickly that the Cadillac does not just look big, it is much bigger than its rivals in terms of all dimensions. In fact, the only place the rivals have an advantage is in terms of ground clearance where they have approximately half an inch more which is not a lot either. Despite the larger overall dimensions, the car still manages to become one of the lighter models in its class. Some standout features include:

• 18" Silver Aluminum Wheels
• Fully adaptive LED headlamps
• Sporty exhaust tops
• Shark fin antenna
• Hands-free liftgate
• Mesh grille

Even though it was not named as the Top Safety Pick from the IIHS, the Cadillac has done very well in the organization's tests. It has also scored an excellent five stars overall safety rating from the NHTSA which is very significant. It does not just pack passive safety features but also several active safety features like forward collision warning, automated emergency braking, and so on as standard. Available safety features even include adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring, and rear cross-traffic alert. Some of the standout safety features include:

• Automatic emergency braking
• HD rear vision camera
• Adaptive Cruise Control
• LED headlamps
• Front pedestrian braking
• Side blind zone alert
• Lane Change Alert
• Rear cross-traffic alert
• Front and rear park assist
• Rearview auto-dimming mirror
• Automatic on/off headlamps

2021 Cadillac XT4 SUV Vs. 2021 BMW X1

The BMW X1 is a much better pick no matter what way you look at it. The car is cheaper, faster, the interiors, and even looks better. The Cadillac might have a slight advantage in terms of fuel efficiency but even that is not much and the advantage is restricted only inside the city. In terms of overall fit and finish, the German is much better put together as well. 

2021 Cadillac XT4 SUV Vs. 2021 Audi Q3

 The Audi Q3 offers an all-wheel-drive powertrain at a cheaper rate than the Cadillac. Considering that this is the famed Quattro system, even this car has a very significant advantage over the Cadillac. We also feel that the interiors of the Audi are built much better and the car performs better as well. In terms of convenience features and infotainment, the Cadillac is on par with the Audi.

 2021 Cadillac XT4 SUV vs. 2021 Mercedes-Benz GLA

 The Mercedes Benz GLA does not prove to be much of a competition to the Cadillac XT4. The GLA is aging a bit and is also a bit lackluster to drive and while we cannot write home about the driving dynamics of the Cadillac, it is still a better pick than the Mercedes. But the GLA still has much better street credit despite the age when compared to the Cadillac.

 The Cadillac XT4 tries to be everything that its German rivals are but does not quite reach there. It is not the most powerful or the most exciting car in the segment and fails to deliver in terms of luxury as well. In fact, this small crossover SUV does not do much in establishing the luxury brand in this segment. Picking one of the rivals like the BMW X1 would be a much better choice than going for the Cadillac.