Cadillac is late to the party with a compact-sized crossover SUV. The mid-size XT5, which replaced the aging SRX, debuted last year, but Cadillac still has nothing to directly compete with the Lincoln MKC (which will probably be its closest rival), Lexus NX, Audi Q3, BMW X3, Mercedes GLC, Acura RLX, Infiniti QX30, or Land Rover Evoq.

That will change next year, or in 2019 (though the release-date has not been announced yet) with the upcoming XT3 (a larger, 3-row XT7 is also in the works). Here are some preliminary spy-shots. I'm a firm opponent (always have been) of the bra-and-tape nonsense in covering up prototype vehicles in testing.......but that's just the way that the industry works, like it or not, so we're stuck with it.

 

I'm really interested to see this new model. The camo is so heavy one cannot tell much of anything except the basic overall shape which looks like every other compact CUV. If Caddy waits til 2019 to release this it will be too late for my next vehicle. I noticed that they were blurring what looked like a Euro plate. Does Caddy do development in Europe?

 

Well, in the last few decades, Cadillac has used some Opel (and former Saab)-based platforms. And they have used the Nurburgring, and some other German facilities, in testing.

 

Should be a decently styled little ute. That said, I'm still not a fan of the CT? and XT? nomenclature.

 

Yes, alphabet-soup for the vehicle names seems to the marketing scheme of some manufacturers. I have found, though, that, unlike the case with E-shifters and MMI/I-Drive-like devices, the more you speak and use those alphabet-soup terms, the easier and more natural-like they become.

 

Memorizing their nomenclature isn't an issue for me. Just not a fan of the names. I much preferred CTS, STS, SRX etc.., like Infiniti G, M, FX.. all of them had personalities. Now they're not as distinctive IMO.

just my $0.02

 

With the market loving utes and the base demographic not really caring about what they look like as long as theyre a caddy, this will sell well.

However, personally the "hunchback of notre dame" look that the XT5 and by deduction this Xt3 has, I think no one in the established players of luxury should be too concerned with. All eyes are currently on the XC60 launching quite soon, which with the looks and kit will soon be taking the lunch money of the Q5, X3, GLC, and by some accounts the NX (The NX rings in cheaper but offers reliability and value thats unmatched by even the XC60).

 

So what chassis will GM use for the XT3? I assume it will be the same chassis/engine as the Equinox, which would be disappointing. GM/Cadillac spent billions of dollars developing the excellent Alpha chassis(CTS and ATS), its a shame they didn't design the XT5 to use this same chassis.

 

Probably apples and oranges. The CTS and ATS were designed to sport-sedan standards. The XT5 will be a much more utilitarian crossover SUV. I would not expect it to ride or handle like a CTS or ATS.....and, besides, the ATS, in spite of its super-sharp handling, has been criticized by even some in the auto press for its quite-stiff ride. That just wouldn't work in the XT3, which is going to have to compete with reasonably smooth-riding rivals.

 

You will recall that Cadillac's first crossover, the mid-size SRX, was built on the RWD Sigma platform that it shared with the CTS and STS; it did not sell. So when it came time for the second generation, it was switched to a FWD platform, where it has stayed into the third generation (as the XT5).

 

The reason the 1st gen SRX didn't sell was the styling, both inside and out. Looked kind of wagony and was a bit oddly proportioned, I've talked to several women who thought it looked like a hearse. Personally I liked it, a lot more than the 2nd gen SRX. Although where it really fell apart was the interior, it had that same ugly and very cheap feeling design from the early 2000's CTS sedan. I've driven one of them, it was actually fun, the Northstar V8 had a lot of power, handled great, rode nice as well.

I'd say it wasn't the chassis that led to low sales numbers, it was the styling and interior quality(or lack thereof). I know Cadillac went the easy way for more sales in the 2nd gen and copied the Lexus RX formula, use a transverse V6 configuration that's cheap to make because it shares the same chassis as half of the other cars you make.

Anyways, I just hope GM doesn't screw the pooch with the upcoming XT3. I could see them making it a Buick Encore/Chevy Trax(both crap cars IMO) in Cadillac drag, a modern Cimmarron if they go that route IMO.

 

not sure the point of the video, it shows NOTHING.

 

Well, it shows as much as Cadillac wants us to see. That's just the automakers for you. They are the ones taping up their cars like mummies, not the people making the video.

 

Could this be something other than a Cadillac? The headlights look to have LED DRL's with a slight curve that don't follow Cadillac's current design language of vertical DRL's. Or is that just part of the camo?

 

So why bother with the video?