Cadillac has launched the new XT6, a large SUV that could prove a key model for troubled parent company GM, at the Detroit motor show.
The new eight-seater sits below the Escalade in the GM brand’s expanded SUV line-up, and takes styling cues from the recently launched XT4 small SUV – a machine that Cadillac does have plans to offer in the European market in the future.
Detroit motor show 2019 - all the news and updates
With the continued rise in popularity of large SUVs in America the XT6, which will be made in Tennessee and go on sale in the Spring, will be of huge importance to Cadillac. The firm's boss, Steve Carlisle, claimed that it will “accelerate the brand’s global growth.”
Parent company GM is undergoing a major restructure, which is set to include the closure of a number of plants with significant job losses. As with Ford, a key part of GM’s strategy is to focus its output for the US market on pick-up trucks (through its Chevrolet brand) and SUVs.
GM also offers Cadillac models in China, and the three-row XT6 would also fit well with the demand for larger SUV models in that country.
The new XT6 is powered by a 3.6-litre 310bhp V6 engine, with a nine-speed automatic gearbox. Standard models will be front-wheel-drive, with AWD available as an option. Sport models will gain an active twin-clutch AWD powertrain, along with an active Continuous Damping Control system.
The interior features an eight-inch infotainment touchscreen, which can be operated with a new-look rotary controller featuring a joystick-style jog function.
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