2013 Cadillac XTS Preview

Exterior Features

The 2013 Cadillac XTS is a full-size luxury sedan with front- or all-wheel drive. It comes standard with 19-inch aluminum wheels, capless fuel-filler system, and an 18 cubic-foot trunk, which Cadillac claims is larger than that of many competitors.

Interior Features

The new 2013 Cadillac XTS is equipped with standard leather seats, and the cabin is decorated with genuine wood and metal trim. Also standard is the CUE tablet-style infotainment system (see full description below).

Optional Features

The Cadillac XTS is available with optional 20-inch aluminum wheels, a polished finish for the standard and optional wheels, ambient LED cabin lighting, extended leather cabin treatment, Alcantara headliner, and ambient LED cabin lighting. An available 12.3-inch reconfigurable gauge cluster allows the owner to tailor the displays in four different ways.

Under the Hood

Breaking from Cadillac tradition, a direct-injected, 3.6-liter V-6 engine is the only one available for the 2013 XTS. Preliminary estimates from Cadillac indicate that the V-6 will make 300 horsepower and 264 lb.-ft. of torque, delivered to the front wheels through a 6-speed automatic transmission with TapShift manual control. An optional all-wheel-drive system features a rear electronic limited-slip differential that can split torque between the rear wheels as necessary, producing a torque-vectoring effect, Cadillac says.

Additional mechanical features include standard Magnetic Ride Control suspension dampers with HiPer Strut front and air rear suspension systems. Four-wheel-disc Brembo brakes are also included on every XTS.

Technology

The standard CUE infotainment system found in the new XTS features an 8-inch in-dash screen with capacitive touch controls that produce a subtle vibration when selected and activated. CUE also includes natural voice-recognition technology, and, like popular tablet computers, supports gesture recognition allowing the user to tap, flick, swipe, or spread information on the screen using his or her fingers. CUE also features a 3-D Navigation system with Doppler weather radar images, and Pandora Radio. It supports pairing with up to 10 different smartphones.

Cadillac says that because of CUE, there are only seven different hard-key buttons on the XTS's center dashboard panel, four of which control radio functions.

Fuel Economy

The Cadillac XTS's V-6 engine requires regular, rather than premium, fuel. Preliminary fuel economy estimates are as follows:

• XTS with front-wheel drive: 17/28 mpg (city/highway - no combined rating available)
• XTS with AWD: 17/27 mpg

Safety

The new 2013 XTS showcases numerous new safety technologies from Cadillac. Among the car's available safety-related features is a Safety Alert seat that vibrates on the left or right side to warn the driver of potential hazards. Additionally, the XTS can be equipped with adaptive cruise control with a Forward Collision Alert system, Automatic Collision Preparation, Front and Rear Automatic Brakes, lane-departure warning, Side Blind Zone Alert, and Rear Cross Traffic Alert systems. OnStar is standard, and includes Automatic Collision Notification and Emergency Services.