1965 Cadillac Deville Base Hardtop 2-door 7.0l on 2040-cars

Auto blog

2020 Cadillac XT5 makes its official debut, adding a new engine and improved tech

The 2020 Cadillac XT5 is here, and it’s new in some significant ways. To start, it gets a slightly revised look. We got a preview of it a month ago when Cadillac revealed the car in China, but these are official U.S.-specific photos now.  YouÂ’re looking at pictures of the XT5 Sport and Premium Luxury here. We mention this because Cadillac is continuing in its “Y” trim strategy of offering a Luxury, Premium Luxury and Sport version of their cars with noticeable design differentiation between each one. The Sport gets a darker appearance package with the XT4-like grille, as opposed to the Premium Luxury that is set to emphasize bright trim (i.e. chrome).  WeÂ’re expecting a noticeable change in the driving experience for the 2020 XT5, as the new base engine is the 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder that debuted in the XT4. ItÂ’ll be making 237 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque in this application, just as it does in every vehicle GM is spreading it to. The 3.6-liter V6 is standard on the Sport (optional on Premium Luxury), and continues to make 310 horsepower and 271 pound-feet of torque. Both engines are paired with nine-speed automatic transmissions now — the V6 was paired with an eight-speed previously.  Cadillac has also spent some time with the suspension, giving the non-Sport trims “revised front struts and driveline enhancements to improve ride comfort and road isolation.” We like the sound of that. Then, the Sport trim is legitimately sportier than the Luxury trims. Cadillac has fitted its continuous damping control adaptive suspension, given it quicker steering, standard all-wheel drive and standard 20-inch wheels. All that should make it slightly more lively through the twisties. A smattering of tech updates are coming onboard for 2020. Cadillac added its rotary controller that lets you control the updated infotainment system via that device or through the touchscreen. Available wireless phone charging, revised USB ports and USB Type-C ports come on the 2020 XT5. Then youÂ’ll notice new interior color and trim gracing the interior surfaces, as well. Cadillac says there are more “authentic materials” than before, so hopefully that means less plastic. What Cadillac made no mention of in its release, is Super Cruise. ItÂ’s going to be coming to the recently revealed CT5 and CT4-V sedans, but Cadillac doesnÂ’t seem particularly keen to get it on the crossovers yet.

Submit your questions for Autoblog Podcast #326 LIVE!

We're set to record Autoblog Podcast #326 tonight, and you can drop us your questions and comments via our Q&A module below. Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes if you haven't already done so, and if you want to take it all in live, tune in to our UStream (audio only) channel at 10:00 PM Eastern tonight.
Discussion Topics for Autoblog Podcast Episode #326
Jeep Moab concepts

Teaching autonomous vehicles to drive like (some) humans

While I love driving, I can't wait for fully autonomous vehicles. I have no doubt they'll reduce car accidents, 94 percent of which are caused by human error, leading to more than 37,000 road deaths in the U.S. last year. And if it means I can fly home at night in winter and get safely shuttled to my house an hour-plus away — and not have to endure a typical white-knuckle drive in the dark with torrential rain and blinding spray from 18-wheelers on Interstate 84 — sign me up. Autonomous technology will also take some of the stress, tedium and fatigue out of long highway drives, as I recently discovered while testing Cadillac Super Cruise. AVs are also supposed to eventually help increase traffic flow and reduce gridlock. But according to a recent Automotive News article, as the first wave of AVs are being tested on public roads, they're having the opposite effect. Part of the problem is they drive too cautiously and are programmed to strictly follow the written rules of the road rather than going with the flow of traffic. "Humans violate the rules in a safe and principled way, and the reality is that autonomous vehicles in the future may have to do the same thing if they don't want to be the source of bottlenecks," Karl Iagnemma, CEO of self-driving technology developer NuTonomy, told Automotive News. "You put a car on the road which may be driving by the letter of the law, but compared to the surrounding road users, it's acting very conservatively." I get it that, like teen drivers, AVs need a ramp up period to learn the unwritten rules of the road and that a skeptical public has to be convinced of the technology's safety. But this is where I become less of a champion on AVs, since where I live in the Pacific Northwest we already have more than our share of overly cautious human drivers. Since moving here 12 years ago, I've found it's an interesting paradox that a region famous for its strong coffee, where you'd think most drivers would be jacked up on caffeine, is also the home to annoyingly measured motorists. As an auto-journo colleague living in Seattle so aptly put it: "People in the Pacific Northwest drive as if they have nowhere to go." If you drive like me and always have somewhere to go — and usually are in a hurry to get there — it's absolutely maddening.