Technically, there are three drive modes – tour, sport, and AWD – but a smart driver-selectable AWD system adds a further layer of adjustability.

With the press of a button at any speed, you can switch from between front- and all-wheel-drive, as the dual-clutch rear differential allows the driveshaft to be seamlessly decoupled from the back wheels. It’s a great way to help save fuel (we saw just over 10 L/100 km during our 350 km journey), although it should be known that it can’t automatically revert to AWD if the front wheels begin to slip; the driver has to do this on his own. Best leave it in AWD in inclement weather, then.

Other more traditional AWD-isms exist here, too: there’s torque vectoring, and power can be distributed to the wheels that need it the most. Coupled with the optional adaptive suspension (which has been specifically tuned to work with the 20 in. wheels, and you can’t have one element without the other), the XT5 rides well, and while not necessarily feeling the sports car in the corners, does a good job of keeping things copasetic. The adaptive suspension has also been tuned to help reduce road noise, and coupled with a fairly slippery shape, it’s quiet inside the XT5, too.

As we mentioned before, the Cadillac brass on-hand at the launch spent a lot of time comparing their latest opus to what’s being offered from the Germans. That’s a pretty gutsy call, as the Germans have managed to take their luxury sedan knowledge and apply it to their small crossovers.

They didn’t spend too much time talking about the Japanese luxury brands, however. That doesn’t change the fact that in this writer’s opinion, I’d be quicker to liken the XT5 to something like the Acura RDX or Infiniti QX50. It’s not quite as zippy as something from Germany, but it does well to pair a well-tuned chassis to a powertrain that’s probably powerful enough for most, and un-invasive at the same time. Sprinkle in some pretty advanced tech features, and you have a vehicle that has what it takes to fill the big pair of shoes left by the outgoing model.

Pricing: 2017 Cadillac XT5
Cadillac XT5 Base FWD: $45,100
Cadillac XT5 Luxury FWD: $49, 250
Cadillac XT5 Luxury AWD: $52,120 for AWD
Cadillac XT5 Premium Luxury AWD: $59,830
Cadillac XT5 Platinum AWD: $68,595

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