GM Reveals 2013 Cadillac XTS

[FenwickHockey65]

2013 Cadillac XTS Introduces a New Formula for Luxury
Link to Press Release

November 16, 2011

LOS ANGELES – Cadillac unveiled the 2013 XTS today, the newest addition to the Cadillac luxury sedan lineup. It arrives in showrooms in U.S. and Canadian showrooms in the spring of 2012 as the most technologically advanced production car in the brand’s history.

Larger than the CTS, the new XTS delivers the space, elegance and dramatic presence that are Cadillac signatures, but with entirely new and technically advanced methods tuned for a new generation of luxury customers. It also marks the debut of CUE, a comprehensive in-vehicle experience that merges intuitive design with auto industry-first controls and commands for information and media control.

In addition to the CUE interface and connectivity, many other advanced technologies are integral to the new XTS. It will be the only luxury sedan with standard Magnetic Ride Control – the world’s fastest-reacting suspension. Advanced technologies that enhance vision and safety surround the driver are available as well.

Positioned directly above the centerpiece CTS family in Cadillac’s revamped lineup, the new XTS features a 3.6L direct injection engine and advanced all-wheel drive system, marking a shift to more-efficient performance in a spacious luxury sedan.

“The Cadillac XTS represents a new formula for luxury, driven by advanced technology,” said Don Butler, vice president of Cadillac Marketing. “XTS showcases the evolution of our Art & Science philosophy, merging the best technical ideas with the continued refinement of Cadillac design.”

Cadillac CUE is the highly customizable user interface that exemplifies XTS’ blend of advanced technology and artistic design. The heart of CUE, which stands for Cadillac User Experience, is the standard eight-inch (203 mm) screen in the “center stack,” the faceplate below the screen and the steering wheel controls. CUE features several industry firsts, including capacitive-touch control with proximity sensing, gesture recognition and natural voice recognition.

Available exclusively on the XTS is the 12.3-inch (312 mm) reconfigurable cluster. It features vibrant graphic displays showcased among four driver-selectable themes, ranging from minimal to extensive information. And while it is the prominent element in the XTS’ technological character, CUE is part of a more comprehensive and layered approach to the car’s design, capabilities and performance

“The more you look, the more layers you see in XTS,” said Butler. “They aren’t always apparent to the eye, but they build on one another in important ways to reinforce the car’s strength of design, comfort and driving experience.”

Highlights include:

• Advanced Haldex all-wheel-drive system with electronically controlled limited-slip differential
• Magnetic Ride Control, rear air suspension, HiPer Strut front suspension and Brembo brakes – all standard
• Standard 19-inch wheels and available 20-inch wheels
• Direct-injected 3.6L V-6 with lightweight features, including integrated cylinder heads/exhaust manifolds
• Capless fuel tank filler for easier, cleaner refueling
• Folding rear-seat headrests that enhance rear visibility
• Safety Alert Seat that vibrates to alert the driver
• Intervening braking system that lessens or avoids potential collisions
• Short- and long-range radar systems that support:

• Adaptive Cruise Control
• Front and Rear Automatic Brakes
• Rear Cross Traffic Alert.

The XTS is also the most-spacious Cadillac sedan, tailored to provide roominess in a more efficiently sized package. It offers more interior space than midsize luxury cars and comparable to full-size sedans, particularly in the rear seat area, where it has 40 inches (1,016 mm) of rear legroom. That’s about four more inches than the BMW 5 Series, and Mercedes-Benz E-Class and about two more inches than the Audi A6 – and comparable to larger sedans.

And when it comes to trunk space, the XTS is in a league of its own, with 18 cubic feet (509 L), exceeding both midsize and full-size competitors – more than Audi A6 and A8L, BMW 5 and 7 Series and Mercedes-Benz E- and S-Class. For XTS customers, the cargo advantage means room for five or more suitcases.

Technology reinforces multidimensional design philosophy

XTS’ hardware and spatial dimensions are the foundational layers that support a new level of surface detail. Multidimensional exterior and interior elements, including the grille, headlamps and new use of accent lighting, coalesce to give the XTS a presence and attention to detail unlike any Cadillac that has come before it.

“The XTS’ technology is woven into its design in ways that affirm the driving experience is of primary importance to a new generation of luxury customers,” said Clay Dean, design director and Cadillac brand champion. “This is the new expression of luxury at Cadillac and it shows in the multilayered details, authentic materials and unprecedented connectivity.”

CUE, for example, represents the pinnacle of technology, but it is being showcased using a subtle and sophisticated interior appearance that blends with other features to create a soothing and inviting feel. It offers more capability and driver-selectable choices than ever before from Cadillac, but the center stack has only seven buttons – three of them for the radio. That’s less than half the controls found on the center stack of the typical car.

“Technology helps the XTS deliver more with less,” said Dean. “Choreographed interior lighting and other unique features tailored to individual driver preferences complement CUE to create an exceptionally refined and advanced ambience.”

The XTS’ surface details also convey a more-nuanced design philosophy, with elements that support the long, sleek proportion that is a welcome return to Cadillac. They bring forward more beauty and elegance with refined, graceful forms and surfaces working harmoniously with established Cadillac linear forms. It is a car that conveys the next step in Cadillac form and surface vocabulary.

“It is a bold, elegant design and also very efficient in the ways it encompasses passengers and cargo,” said Dean. “It’s a new proportion for Cadillac and a new era in luxury.”

The XTS Platinum is the fullest expression of Cadillac’s multidimensional philosophy, with features that include a chrome/satin-chrome grille finish, polished 20-inch aluminum wheels with chrome inserts, a fully wrapped leather interior with Alcantara headliner and more.

Advanced safety features based on ‘control and alert’ strategy

The XTS’ technology fundamentally supports a suite of advanced safety features, based on a “control and alert” strategy that extends the vision around the vehicle. It helps drivers identify potential crash situations and even intervenes when a crash threat appears more imminent, employing layers of visual, audible and tactile (vibration) alerts, depending on the alert feature.

The alerts are designed to identify obstacles with sufficient warning to give the driver time to react and make changes – including the Safety Alert Seat feature, which vibrates either the left or right side of the driver’s seat cushion, depending on the location of the impending concern. The intervening features, including Automatic Collision Preparation, take over if the threat appears more immediate or the driver does not react to previous alerts.

Two levels of control-and-alert protection are offered in the XTS’ Enhanced Safety Strategy (ESS) packages.

ESS I includes:

• Lane Departure Warning
• Forward Collision Alert
• Safety Alert Seat
• Side Blind Zone Alert
• Rear Cross Traffic Alert
• Reflected LED display.

ESS II includes all ESS I content plus:

• Head-up display (in color)
• Front and Rear Automatic Brake
• Adaptive Cruise Control
• Automatic Collision Preparation

XTS also features OnStar as standard. OnStar service also includes myCadillac and OnStar myLink mobile apps, whichoffer vehicle information and OnStar services via the customer’s smartphone.

AWD and Magnetic Ride Control support new driving experience

A layered approach to the driving experience relies on new and established technologies – all rooted in a stiff structure. The body is infused with strategically placed ultra-high-strength steel for strength and crash protection and serves as the foundation for the advanced-chassis system.

A smart Haldex all-wheel-drive system – with an electronic limited-slip differential that splits torque between the rear wheels – complements an advanced HiPer Strut front suspension and standard Magnetic Ride Control real-time damping to give the XTS sure-footed, confident and comfortable ride and handling traits. A linked H-arm design with “air springs” comprises the rear suspension.

HiPer Strut is based on the MacPherson strut front suspension design and features dual-path top mountings that separate the transfer of spring and damper loads to the body structure. It improves ride-and-handling characteristics in four significant ways:

• Provides more linear and communicative steering through improved camber control
• Improves impact isolation on bumps and rough surfaces
• Reduces torque steer
• Improves vehicle sensitivity to tire irregularities and wheel imbalance.

Magnetic Ride Control delivers precise body motion control – “reading” the road every millisecond and changing damping in just five milliseconds. It replaces conventional mechanical-valve shocks with electronically controlled shocks filled with a magneto-rheological fluid containing minute iron particles. Under the presence of magnetic charge, the iron particles align to provide damping resistance almost instantly.

StabiliTrak electronic stability control is standard on all models, along with variable-effort steering and Brembo four-wheel disc brakes with four-channel antilock brakes – all features that add important layers of control to the driving experience. Like Magnetic Ride Control, XTS borrows the Brembo braking technology from Cadillac’s V-Series of high performance models.

Horsepower for the XTS comes from an advanced 3.6L V-6 that’s known by its “LFX” engine code. It is rated at an estimated 300 horsepower (224 kW). Lightweight features help reduce overall weight for greater efficiency and a more favorable front-to-rear weight balance. Examples include a composite intake manifold saves approximately 5.5 pounds (2.5 kg) over the weight of a comparable aluminum intake and an integrated cylinder head/exhaust manifold design that saves approximately 13 pounds (6 kg) per engine.

The LFX engine is matched with the Hydra-Matic 6T70 six-speed automatic transmission with tap-shift control.

The XTS will begin production in Oshawa, Ontario in spring 2012.

Photography

[huggercamaro21]

That interior needs to be in the camaro

[SlowSS]

I like it!

[CamaroSkooter]

The real question: Will they make a -V version?

[FenwickHockey65]

Originally Posted by CamaroSkooter

The real question: Will they make a -V version?

No. Cadillacs will come in either V-series or Platinum, and XTS has a Platinum model.

[toesuf94]

Sounds like a heavy car for only 300 horses...I bet Ford announces the "new Lincoln" with 650 Horses now.

Pretty Cadillac though. Cannot wait to see one in person.

[FenwickHockey65]

Originally Posted by huggercamaro21

That interior needs to be in the camaro

Too expensive. MyLink will have to do...if Camaro ever receives it.

[cab2g]

That interior is really nice.

[DuhKoDuh]

loooks like a honda or toyota on the outside!

[Captain Awesome]

Is the engine mounted correctly, or is it sideways?

[cab2g]

I bet its front wheel drive... The DTS was FWD

[FenwickHockey65]

Originally Posted by Captain Awesome

Is the engine mounted correctly, or is it sideways?

Transverse mount.

And FWD with optional torque-vectoring Haldex AWD.

[8cd03gro]

I love the interior and the features, but the exterior is very "ho-hum" to me. I think it's the wheels that are really bothering me. The awd system is very appealing.

[flht99b]

My wife has been awaiting the XTS arrival. After seeing these pictures and reading the specs I don't believe she will give up her '06 black on black DTS Performance sedan for an XTS, at least not until she sees it in person and gets to take it for a ride.
Ed M.

[cab2g]

Originally Posted by flht99b

My wife has been awaiting the XTS arrival. After seeing these pictures and reading the specs I don't believe she will give up her '06 black on black DTS Performance sedan for an XTS, at least not until she sees it in person and gets to take it for a ride.
Ed M.

If it makes you feel any better, I've sat in both a fully loaded 2011 CTS and 2011 DTS and the CTS's interior is far superior to the DTS in materials used and in technology... The CTS also has a higher HP engine, which really surprised me. But anyway, I think the XTS looks like a HUGE upgrade over the DTS and the current CTS.

[FenwickHockey65]

The XTS, while not the true flagship (a RWD 7-series/S-class competitor is on the way), definitely ushers in a new era for Cadillac interiors. Expect similar interior treatments for the ATS and 2013 SRX.

[Black5thgen]

It just doesn't look like a Cadillac to me.

[DGthe3]

It should do its job fairly well. FWD won't be too much of a barrier though ... most people don't know what wheels are powering their car, and even fewer know what the advantages and disadvantages are of the different configurations. Same thing with the power of the engine. For the most part, the 3.6 will do an adequate job. Enthusiasts will be wanting more, but ~13lb/hp isn't bad for a big luxury sedan that isn't trying to be a high performance car. Although I do think that a turbocharged V6 or possibly an e-assist hybrid V6 powertrain would be a welcome upgrade on an upper level trim for this car.

[FenwickHockey65]

Twin-turbocharged V6 is on the way.

[Captain Awesome]

Originally Posted by FenwickHockey65

Transverse mount.

And FWD with optional torque-vectoring Haldex AWD.

Ok. Cross that one off the list.

Same reason I can't stomach a Traverse or Equinox.

[Shifty 6]

When I first saw the interior shot of the instruments I thought "Guys the Simpson's is coming on hurry up!" " here just put these in, I don't want to miss the opening credits"

After seeing the video, I was pretty impressed. No one will ever leave it on that particular screen unless the just drank some poison and need to induce vomiting, but the rest looks really good. I would be very interested in seeing the actual quality of the materials i.e. the seats and dash.

I hope the car is as advertised. So far it looks like a winner. The little details will make this car a big hit.

[flht99b]

Originally Posted by cab2g

If it makes you feel any better, I've sat in both a fully loaded 2011 CTS and 2011 DTS and the CTS's interior is far superior to the DTS in materials used and in technology... The CTS also has a higher HP engine, which really surprised me. But anyway, I think the XTS looks like a HUGE upgrade over the DTS and the current CTS.

Take a CTS and a DTS performance sedan for a trip like we have. The DTS Performance sedan wins hands down when you spend hours on the road. I don't believe the DTS has been available with the higher output Northstar 4.6 my wife's car has for a couple of years now. Yeah, the DTS was really just an upgraded Aurora but it is a great road car, quiet, comfortable and with the higher output 4.6 Northstar, goes pretty good.
Ed M.

[motorhead]

Not feeling this one at all. Why Front wheel drive? Interior is nice ,but the outside looks like all the other foreign luxury full size cars with a caddy grill.

[FenwickHockey65]

Originally Posted by motorhead

Not feeling this one at all. Why Front wheel drive? Interior is nice ,but the outside looks like all the other foreign luxury full size cars with a caddy grill.

It's essentially a stop-gap measure until the RWD Omega Cadillac.

GM had a few choices...keep the outdated DTS in the lineup looking completely out of place next to modern Cadillacs like the upcoming ATS and CTS lineup...kill the DTS and leave a gap at the top of the sedan lineup...or build an interim sedan on one of their best platforms with interior amenities and technology worthy of the Cadillac nameplate until the proper flagship is ready.

[DGthe3]

Originally Posted by motorhead

Not feeling this one at all. Why Front wheel drive? Interior is nice ,but the outside looks like all the other foreign luxury full size cars with a caddy grill.

Probably because they had an available platform of that size which was FWD and the majority of buyers don't really care (if they even know) whether their car is FWD or RWD.