Overview
During my misspent youth, back in the 1950s and 1960s, I used to joke with my friends that someday Cadillac would build a station wagon. Of course, back then all that Cadillac built was big hardtops, sedans and convertibles--with lots of fins, lots of chrome and lots of wheelbase. "Station wagon" wasn't part of the Cadillac lexicon, unless you were talking about a custom-built hearse.
Four decades later, and while I'm now misspending my middle-age years, it has finally got around to building a station wagon, the 2004 Cadillac SRX. Yes, the big Cadillac Escalade might technically qualify as a wagon, but let's face it, the Escalade is a truck. And while guys and gals who work for Detroit's marketing departments call transporters like the new SRX a sport utility vehicle, a sport wagon, a crossover--or almost anything but a station wagon--the SRX is basically a state-of-the-art mommymobile.
Excellent pickup; balanced ride; spacious rear seats Front bumper almost flush with grill; cramped space around driver's feet; high beltline cuts down on visibility; interior not up to near-luxury standards; one-piece tailgate ]]>
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The SRX is another example of Cadillac's "Art and Science" design, with chiseled edges and hard surfaces. It bears a close resemblance to the Cadillac CTS sport sedan, which is not too surprising, because both are built off the same Sigma platform. Unlike the current CTS, which has rear-wheel drive, the SRX is available in all-wheel-drive as well as rear-wheel-drive configurations.
SRX buyers also have two engine choices: a brand-new, 3.6-liter V-6 and a new version of Cadillac's DOHC Northstar V-8. Both motors have four valves per cylinder and variable valve timing, and are mounted longitudinally. The Northstar V-8, the engine in the tester for this article, pumps out 320 horsepower and 315 foot-pounds of torque. That is enough to give the 4,442-pound AWD version an estimated 0-60 time of 6.7 seconds.
According to
The tester with the 4.6-liter V-8 was a preproduction model, but the bottom-line sticker of an identically equipped production SRX is $54,140. The math: a $46,300 base price for the V-8 SRX, plus $7,145 for Cadillac's luxury performance package (all-wheel drive, magnetic ride control, DVD navigation with an in-dash six-CD and eight8-speaker Bose audio system, and high-intensity discharge lamps) and a $695 destination charge. Only a few significant options were missing from the tester: A third-row seat adds $1,000, and the sunroof option is either $1,800 or $2,400, in which the pricier version includes a sunroof over the third-row seat.
From The Driver's Seat | Should You Buy This Car? | Specs
From The Driver's Seat
The SRX is only slightly taller than a conventional sedan, and it rides and handles like a sport sedan rather than a big SUV. The AWD model has a 52%/48% front/rear weight distribution and aluminum suspension components to reduce unsprung mass. The five-speed transmission, which has adaptive programming, was right on the money with its shifts. You can also row through the gears on your own.
The preproduction tester was rock solid, except for a bit of driveline lash, but one could trust that this minor bug will be absent in production models. The SRX is the kind of vehicle that's equally fun to ride on twisty rural roads or for hours on a mindless interstate. I do wish, however, that the steering, which is electronically assisted in the SRX, was a tad tighter and gave a little more road feel. As with a luxury sedan, wind noise is insignificant at highway speeds; ditto for the engine, unless it is really flogged.
I've been critical of the seats in many GM vehicles, but the Cadillac people pretty much got it right in the SRX. The front seats are very comfortable and provide decent lateral support. The first-row passenger seats are also excellent; the seat cushions have just the right angle, so that passengers' knees seem ideally positioned relative to their torsos. Foot room is more than ample in the second row.
Both V-6 and V-8 versions of the SRX have meatier tires in the rear than in front. The V-8 tester had Michelin XSE all-weather 235/60 by 18 up front and 255/55 by 18 in the rear.
What's not to like? A couple of flaws detract from a unique and exiting package. Visibility is one issue: With its high beltline and relatively low roofline, the side visibility is less than ideal. It isn't a lot of fun inching the SRX down a tight, urban one-way street, in which cars are parked on either side.
The interior of the SRX is another disappointment. The imitation wood-grained inserts in the central area of the instrument panel and in the center console are in tune with Cadillac luxury, but the door panels are on the austere side, and could be equally at home on a rental Chevrolet. The dashboard is covered with a black, dimpled, rubbery plastic. While the new VW Beetle has similar material, it looked better on the Bug. Here it seems overdone and a bit tacky.
The driver's leg space is cramped, which is something this vehicle inherited from its CTS sibling. This may be fine for younger buyers willing to make such accommodations in a sporty sedan, but drivers past their 20s--in other words, the likely age demographic for the SRX--may not be quite as willing to put up with a crammed cockpit in a $54,000 SUV. Spend two minutes in the driver's seat of a new Lexus RX 330 crossover, for example, and you'll immediately see the difference in legroom and interior fit and finish.
Even though I didn't run the navigation system of the SRX through a full shakedown, it was clear that the map display is not as detailed as those in some other vehicles. For example, in my suburban Jersey neighborhood, the map display of
The buttons and switches in the center of the SRX's dashboard felt appropriate for a luxury vehicle, but the switches on the front doors for the mirrors and windows felt as if they came out of GM's standard parts bin. The hood release and the parking brake release--located in the lower left-hand side of the instrument panel--are too close together, and it is easy to confuse one for the other. And the multifunction stalk on the right-hand side of the steering column--for the front and rear windshield wipers--also deserves a big Bronx cheer. This complaint doesn't apply just to Cadillac or GM, as lots of new vehicles are guilty of "stalking" their owners.
The tester didn't have the optional third-row seats, which bumps up the passenger capacity from five to seven, but it did have the optional cargo package that's available on vehicles with just two rows of seats. This cargo option has three separate compartments below the floor. These spaces are large enough to store a small laptop bag, emergency supplies or other odds and ends. The compartment closest to the tailgate has cushioned hinges.
When the second row seats are folded, the SRX has an ample 69.5 cubic feet of cargo space. But why does a $54,000 wagon come with a one-piece tailgate?
One big gripe about the exterior of the SRX: GM carried over the nearly flush front bumper of the SRX show car to the production models. There's less than an inch of space between the edge of the front bumper and the center grill on the SRX. Maybe I'm wrong, and GM has special reinforcements behind the front bumper on the SRX, but it sure seems as if even the slightest love tap from another car could cause serious damage to this car's grill.
Overview | Should You Buy This Car? | Specs
Should You Buy This Car?
A lot of today's light trucks sell more on looks and image rather than practicality. How sensible a choice is a Hummer H2, unless you are going to start your own war or do serious off-road driving? Few passenger vehicles are as practical as a Chrysler minivan for carrying human or material cargo, but a minivan is no match for the in-your-face looks of a Cadillac Escalade or
The new Lexus RX330 from
Luxury crossovers available with three rows of seats include the Acura MDX and the Volvo XC90. Though both of these vehicles have received widespread praise, neither one of them is available with a V-8. The only other crossover offering a V-8 is the stylish Infiniti FX45, but it isn't available with a third row of seats.
Overview | From The Driver's Seat | Specs
Specs
Manufacturer contact: Cadillac Division of General Motors, www.cadillac.com/
MSRP: $54,140, includes $695 destination fee
Color options: black raven, blue chip, cashmere, light platinum, moonstone, red line, silver green, silver smoke, white diamond
Suspension type: front, independent; rear, independent
Acceleration: 0-60 mph: 6.7 seconds (estimated)
Engine type: double overhead camshaft 4.6-liter all-aluminum V-8
Horsepower: 320 @6,400 rpm
Torque: 315 foot-pounds @4,440 rpm
EPA mileage: city, 16; highway, 20 (preliminary)
Overview | From The Driver's Seat | Should You Buy This Car?