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2020 Cadillac XT6 Sport Drivers' Notes | We have many mixed opinions

The 2020 Cadillac XT6 is Cadillac’s long-awaited answer to the numerous three-row luxury crossovers that have been on sale for years. It is not a shrunken Escalade. Instead, GM decided to pull one of its other well-used platforms for duty, with the XT6 being most similar to the GMC Acadia underneath. That means the Cadillac is rolling with similar running gear, too. Under the hood is a 3.6-liter V6 making 310 horsepower and 271 pound-feet of torque, mated to a nine-speed automatic transmission. Front-wheel drive is standard, but our Sport model has an upgraded all-wheel-drive system. It also has some other special mechanical bits to make it better than the standard XT6. For example, the Sport trim has continuously variable dampers that stiffen in Sport mode. That upgraded all-wheel drive system adds twin clutches on the axles to facilitate torque vectoring. And the steering ratio is changed to 15:1, as opposed to the 16:1 ratio used on Premium Luxury trim models. This XT6 Sport also features some exterior and interior finishes not seen on other XT6 models. Black trim dominates outside, headlined by a large, black mesh grille. Then on the inside, we get real carbon fiber trim. There are plenty of cool features like CadillacÂ’s Night Vision and the rear camera mirror, but Super Cruise still isnÂ’t available as an option on this Cadillac. GM has promised a wider adoption of Super Cruise for its lineup in the future, but weÂ’re not there yet. Before options, our XT6 Sport came in at $58,090, including the $995 destination charge. The $3,700 Platinum package adds semi-aniline leather seats, a suede headliner and premium carpeting throughout the cabin. A $2,350 Enhanced Visibility and Tech package brings us the eight-inch instrument cluster digital display, a head-up display, rear camera mirror, rear pedestrian alert and an automatic parking assist feature. Then, a $1,300 Driver Assist package adds adaptive cruise control and enhanced automatic emergency braking, including rear braking. Our car also has the $750 Comfort and Air Quality package, which adds heated rear seats, cooled front seats and an air ionizer for the cabin. The pretty Red Horizon Tintcoat costs $1,225, and the fancy Night Vision option adds another $2,000. That brings us to our grand total of $71,190.

Tesla leads and Infiniti bleeds in Consumer Reports' satisfaction survey

According to Consumer Reports, Tesla owners are more likely to rave about their vehicles than any other brand. And we're not surprised — Tesla has performed very well in past customer satisfaction surveys, despite the fact that the electric cars themselves tend to have more problems than most other automobiles. Second place went to Lincoln, which interestingly had a higher cumulative score than Tesla in individual category measurements like comfort and storage space. Ram, a truck-only brand, rounded out the top three. The consumer-focused magazine bases its owner satisfaction score on responses to a very simple question: Would you buy this exact car again? The higher percentage of owners who answer "definitely yes" to that question, the higher the satisfaction score. Further breakdowns are scored for other parts of the ownership experience, which is why brands that rank poorly in Consumer Reports' own reliability charts — like Tesla and Lincoln, for example — can still earn top marks for satisfaction. The lowest-ranked brands for satisfaction are Cadillac, Nissan and Infiniti. Interestingly, Cadillac performed better than average in Driving and Comfort and middle-of-the-road in the In-Car Electronics and Cabin Storage, but like most other brands, scored poorly in Value. In fact, only Subaru, Mazda and Volkswagen scored better than average in Value. Nissan and especially Infiniti earned comparatively low marks across the board to go along with the bottom-of-the-barrel satisfaction score. Here's the full list of automakers from Consumer Reports' satisfaction survey, ranked in order from best to worst: Tesla Lincoln Ram Chrysler Subaru Hyundai Porsche Dodge Mazda Toyota Kia Mini BMW Ford Audi Honda Volvo Volkswagen Lexus Jeep GMC Chevrolet Mercedes-Benz Buick Cadillac Nissan Infiniti It's worth diving into the individual category scores in addition to the official finishing order for a full look at the results. For instance, despite the fact that automakers like Lincoln and Ford use similar infotainment systems, their In-Car Electronics scores don't quite match up. Also, some automakers have full lineups with multiple cars, trucks and SUVs while others offer just a couple of nameplates. Head on over to Consumer Reports for all the details. Looking for a reliable car, truck or SUV? Check out the top 10 vehicles that owners keep the longest.

2013 North American Car and Truck/Utility of the Year finalists announced [w/poll]

2012 is almost in the books and automakers are spending December gearing up for the 2013 auto show season, which tips off next month at the Detroit Auto Show. Traditionally, the latter opens up with the announcement of the North American Car and Truck/Utility of the Year awards, and this year figures to be no different.
But up until this moment, we didn't know which six vehicles would be parked ahead of the stage as finalists, with executives and engineers waiting for the winners to be disclosed. Whittled down from October's "short list" of nominees (11 cars and 10 truck/utility vehicles), the finalists are as follows:
2013 North American Car of the Year: