Back in April, when we first spotted Cadillac’s upcoming three-row crossover during testing, the prototype featured heavy padding over the rear-side windows and the C- and D-pillars. Even the tailgate window had foil on it.
Fortunately, the Cadillac XT6 has ditched that padding for tight-fitting camo and now features a clean rear window as well. This allows us a clearer look at the way the rear-side design is coming along. The third side windows are quite big, but they need to be if Cadillac wants third-row passengers to be comfortable. The rear doors are chunky as well to allow good access to the third-row.
Both the C- and D-pillars are forward leaning, but the D-pillars are more inclined towards the front. That gives the XT6 a dynamic look, as does the roofline which starts to descend towards the rear as it passes the C-pillars. We can also spot a sizable roof spoiler which serves two purposes: it increases downforce at high speeds and houses the wiper.
Seen from the side, the XT6 seems very large. It’s clearly longer than the XT5 but it’s not expected to be quite as long as the Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enclave platform brothers.
The front end has a bit less camouflage too, which means we can better guess the design of the front bumper and grille hiding under the front fascia mesh. As for the headlights, while they appear to be more horizontal than on the CT6 and XT4, they’re still attached to Cadillac’s signature vertical lighting treatment. The tiny lights shining from under the camouflage in the lower part of the bumper certainly seem to suggest that.
Finally, the rear end features a massive glass and vertical taillights that seem to extend horizontally to both sides at the top — unless Cadillac is playing a trick on us viewers and disguises the taillamps’ shape.
Since it will share the long-wheelbase version of the C1XX architecture with the Traverse and Enclave, the XT6 is expected to offer a similar standard engine. Both the Enclave and Traverse are powered by a 3.6-liter V6 that produces 310 hp (231 kW / 314 PS) and 271 lb-ft (367 Nm) of torque. The unit is linked to a nine-speed automatic transmission that can be paired to an optional all-wheel-drive system. Rumor has it a turbocharged version and a plug-in hybrid are also in the cards.
According to recent reports, the Cadillac XT6 might debut at the 2019 Detroit Auto Show. The sooner the better, given that there’s a huge gap between the XT5 and Escalade that GM needs to fill.
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