2010 Cadillac SRX: changing perceptions

Gary Grant ⋅ New car reviews ⋅ 2010, cadillac, cuv, srx, suv, turbo ⋅ No comments

Cadillac is one of those brands that everyone, regardless of background, has a long standing perception of. Throw away what you thought before, because the 2010 SRX ain’t your Zaidy’s Caddy!

First things first: The all new 2010 SRX is sexy as hell. From the knife edged body lines, well placed bling and jewel like exterior lamps, everything about the exterior looks hot. Inside, quality leather surfaces abound, broken up only by pearled chrome and real polished wood. The look is elegant yet sporty and certainly modern. Much attention has been paid to lowering ambient noise levels and it shows. Even with a football field sized glass sunroof, the SRX is nearly silent at highway speeds.

Reaching highway speeds in our tester was a breeze thanks to the optional 2.8l turbo V6 that produces 300 horsepower and 295 ft/lb of torque. A super smooth 6 speed automatic sends power to all four wheels when needed. Government test ratings shows this combination delivers combined city/highway fuel economy of 11.6 l/100 km. On our road trip, we manage to eek out 12.2 l/100. While that number isn’t too far off the ratings, it should be pointed out that we had the SRX fully loaded with 5 people and a full cargo area and we were traveling well above the speeds that the tests are recorded at. Given the level of performance and the type of driving, I was rather happy with the fact that we had well over 600 km from a single tank.

The down side to this performance and economy is that the 2.8 turbo is only allowed to drink premium fuel. Not too big a deal south of the border where premium isn’t too much more expensive than regular, but here in Ontario there is often a 20 percent or higher price difference.

Dual zone heater controls and heated front seats ensure that passengers are comfy in any weather Ontario can throw at us. Front and back seat passengers are treated to every technological toy know to motoring kind. From the vanishing lcd screen to the navi to bluetooth and XM Satellite radio, driver and front seat passenger are well looked after. The highlight for the kids has to be the big dual lcd monitors for the dvd player.

The back seat has one major flaw if your family includes 3 kids. The 2 cupholders reside in the fold down center armrest, meaning that a road tripping family of 5 doesn’t have any cupholders in the back. If you’ve only got 2 kids, you’re good.

As I’m one of the few who really cares about the U part of the S/CUV equation, namely Utility, I can’t get over how cool the SRX’s cargo area is. A U shaped aluminum track is embedded in the cargo area floor. This track provides for movable tie down points to keep your stuff from floating around. An optional cross bar barrier separates the space to keep large objects upright. There is also more storage space hidden beneath the floor.

Pricing for a front wheel drive SRX in Canada starts at $41,575 while our tester, a premium package with every toy imaginable rang in at $62,770. To put that into perspective, the 300 horsepower BMW X5 starts at $62,800 and climbs to $69,590 when all of the same options are added in. Some may think the X5 buyer is a lofty target, but both vehicles offer many of the same attributes.

Grandma and Grandpa used to float their Caddy down to Florida for the Winter, showing off their style to the shuffle board set. Modern Grandparents are a whole bunch cooler than that and so are Modern Cadillacs. The SRX is so good that buyers are likely going to be folks who might have never stepped foot in a GM store. Perhaps they have been loyal to the European brands. Times have changed in the car industry and so have the vehicles. Buyers of the traditional upscale imports might be surprised when they slide behind the wheel of the SRX. They might even find themselves driving off in their own Caddy.