Buffalo, NY — The 2021 Cadillac XT4 is here in a few trim levels but does it live up to the Cadillac brand that evokes thoughts of utmost quality? It’s the brand that General Motors will spare no expense in developing and producing. 

We only have a few minor changes for this model carry-over year, starting with the luxury trim level. It now features a standard power rear liftgate, along with the option of leather interior. Not huge changes but still good little tweaks for those looking at the competition from Lexus, Volvo, BMW, Audi or even Mercedes-Benz. 

Under the hood is a 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine that’s good for 237 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque. Power delivery is put down to the front wheels (an all-wheel drive option is available on all trim levels) through a nine-speed automatic transmission. While it could certainly benefit from quite a bit more power, it’s not completely gutless with a 0-60 time of roughly 7.6 seconds. Not spectacular but not bad for its class segment. The EPA gives an economy rating of 24 around town, up to 30 on the highway for a combined average of 26 miles per gallon. 

Seating is very comfortable for those up front, with the driver enjoying an 8-way power-adjustable seat and the passenger getting a six-way. Additionally, the front seats include a lumbar massage, which is great on those extended road trips. If you want those seats ventilated,  you’ll have to move to either the Premium or Sport trim level. Rear seating is very comfortable and in fact features a class-leading 39.5-inches of legroom – if you want, you can also opt for heated rear seats as well. 

As far as tech goes, we have the same 8-inch infotainment screen that feeds a seven speaker Bose audio system and has native support for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The audio fidelity of the Bose system is on-point and does an exceptional job of delivering clean-sounding audio playback. Additional tech features a 4G LTE wifi hotspot, wireless charging and a driver’s heads-up display. 

On the road, we found that the XT4 handled rather average for its class with a surprisingly noisy engine – very not Cadillac like. It’s not that the handling is bad, however, it’s not what we’ve come to expect from the rest of Cadillac’s line-up. 

Safety, like most cars these days, is paramount with Cadillac and this XT4 has forward collision warning with active braking, blind spot monitoring, a rear HD camera, rear parking assist, front pedestrian warning, lane change alert with side blind zone and cross rear traffic alerts. The NHTSA gives it a 5-star crash rating and Cadillac provides a 4-year / 50,000 mile warranty. 

Pricing: $35,795-$42,495 – price as tested was $48,935

Car Coach Rating:

Performance: 8
Handling: 7
Safety: 7
Visibility: 7
Seating Comfort: 8
Technology: 9
Features / options: 8
Design: 9
Quality: 9
Value and Cargo storage: 8

Total Car Coach Score: 80

Watch the video review. We show you everything you need to know, score it in 10 categories with Car Coach Reports ratings before you go for a test drive. If you have additional questions, put them in the comments below and I’ll be happy to answer.

Follow our team:
Al Vazquez – www.youtube.com/user/famaus“>www.youtube.com/user/famaus
Javier Mota – www.youtube.com/user/autosjaviermota“>www.youtube.com/user/autosjaviermota
Paul Brian – Social Media @thePaulBrian
“LAUREN FIX’S GUIDE TO LOVING YOUR CAR” Book –    amzn.to/3ifDi3j