This 2017 Cadillac XTS popped up on Marketplace this morning for sale down near Akron. Just 69,000 miles on her, with an asking price of $12,500. Clean title, too. Such a deal, no?
My wife hates these cars, so there's no point in me even inquiring about it. Plus. it's an almost-ten-year-old Cadillac with a questionably reliable engine and fussy suspension. A Lexus ES or Acura RLX, this redhead ain't.
Amazingly, I've never blogged about one of these, so today I right that wrong. C'mon, dress like you're headed to the golf course and dinner afterward, and let's kick the tires on the last of the "old-school, new-school" Cadillacs.
These cars were never really meant to be long-timers in the Cadillac portfolio. Introduced for 2013 to replace the long-in-the-tooth DTS and STS, the XTS was something of a bridge between Cadillac's old-school front-wheel-drive luxury sedans and the newer generation of cars Cadillac was developing. It was the natural car for DTS loyalists to trade up to.
Built from 2012 through 2019 for the 2013 through 2019 model years, the Cadillac XTS was notable for being a large Cadillac without a V-8 engine. In fact, a V-8 wasn't even optional. GM's "High-Feature" 3.6-liter V-6 was stuffed between the front wheels, making 304 horsepower in naturally aspirated form, while the optional twin-turbocharged version in the V-Sport made 410 horsepower. The V-Sport came exclusively with all-wheel drive.
Why someone who'd have a proclivity to be drawn to this car would need that much scoot is debatable; I'm glad they did, though. This particular car, unfortunately, more like fortunately, has the naturally aspirated 3.6-liter V-6. I say that knowing this has probably spent most of its obviously very conservatively driven life being under stressed. The lack of twin turbos means there's less hardware to eventually go wrong, too.
Contemporary reviews of the XTS were generally pretty benign. Targeted largely at the DTS crowd, it was reasonably proficient at providing its driver and passengers with a stylish, spacious and comfortable cabin and a smooth, quiet ride. The brakes were also well regarded. The car was never intended to be a sports sedan; comfort was its primary mission. Contemporary reviews emphasized its spacious, quiet and comfortable nature, while noting that outright acceleration wasn't a particular strength of the naturally aspirated car.
Although, a zero-to-sixty time of 6.6-seconds is more than ample. Batton down the golf clubs.
Although the complexity of its electronically controlled adaptive suspension scares me. I'm not going to find replacement parts for that stuff on the cheap when the time comes. And you know that time will come.
The jury's out as well on the long-term reliability of the "High-Feature" V-6. Let's just say it doesn't have the bulletproof reputation of GM's old 3800 V-6 Series II or III, and I'm not sure I'd want to bet the farm on one making it to six-digit mileage without some expensive drama along the way. Best that can be said is at least it doesn't have a Northstar V-8.
Still, for the money, if my wife were so inclined—and again, I don't even need to ask her—we could do worse.
Cadillac discontinued the XTS after the 2019 model year. The rear-wheel-drive CT6 debuted for 2016 and occupied a position above the XTS in Cadillac's lineup, with the two cars sold alongside each other for several years. The XTS remained Cadillac's big front-wheel-drive sedan for the rest of its run.
Cadillac pulled the plug on the CT6 after the 2020 model year. Since then, the somewhat smaller CT5 and compact CT4 have carried Cadillac's traditional sedan torch. As of the 2026 model year, both are still in the lineup, although the sedan side of Cadillac's business has certainly become a much smaller part of the company's portfolio.
