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On the highway the SRX delivered a solid, not doggy effort from 30 to 60 to 90+ mphwith agility. The suspension handled capably with a tight turning radius and little tire or wind noise transfer into the cabin. While body roll is not significant on a 4wd/AWD crossover, I did run the SRX through some switchbacks at 20-30mph and expected at least some over-steer if not wheel kick, neither was noticeable. Acceleration 0-60 is lagging, from 1st to second is admirable, considering the rig weighs in at over 4000 lbs., 4400 to be exact in the AWD. Inside the air conditioning blew full blast when I hit the gas hard and the outside temp hovered around 100. The typical C pillar blind-spot was evident, as it is in all SUV’s, but the view is enhanced by the panoramic moon-roof which shed a lot of light into the cabin and back hatch.
From the driver’s seat the steering wheel offers adjustable pedals but no power tilt and telescope-memory settings ? The wheel controls are limited to stereo mode, volume, blue-tooth and cruise. Navigation, temperature and all the other tuning tools are buried low on the center console, which makes it impossible to keep your eyes on the road. NOTE: Do your adjustments before driving away.
The pop-up touch-screen command center video display is clever, and easy to see, and remarkably unobtrusive to the driver’s view. However, I found the large, black, mounting fixture for the rear view mirror made the windshield feel small and disproportionately slanted. (Guest test drivers did not find the rear view mirror as annoying as I did.) The rear hatch activation button allowed me to control the lift-gate to a ¾ or full opening, but I found myself reaching up towards the moon-roof switches instead of down to the driver’s door, where the lift-gate button is located. NOTE: The SRX lift-gate makes no NOISE, emits NO ALARM when opening or closing.
The 10 speaker BOSE ® stereo provided great surround sound from the radio, iPod and CD, even the Navigation voice sounded rich in French. Interior lighting at night leaves much to be desired. The bright white gauges are three dimensional and easy on the eye, but the center console control buttons are mere lit specs not easily adjusted without the use of the map reading overheads.
This is NOT a 7 passenger ride. Four passengers would make a long trip easily, but the fifth seatbelt in the rear would require a very thin person, or child booster seat. The second row affords two grown adults a comfortable reclining bucket seat with sizable armrest, DVD screen in each headrest/seat, hot/cold vents, audio ports and cup-holders. A pass-through from the rear hatch accommodates skis and long items without giving up a chair to the 60/40 fold-down option.
All-in-all I liked the SRX for the money, it packs lots of features onto a reasonable size frame. The 18” wheels and tires look decent and handle well. The 3.0L 265HP keeps the fuel economy at 18/23 reasonable, although it would have been a homerun with the HYBRID technology from the Escalade.
LIKES: Styling, interior space, paint, features.
DISLIKES: Rearview Mirror mount, 0-60, control buttons on center console too low.
COMPETITION: Acura MDX, Lexus RX450, Infiniti FX45, BMWx6, MB350
Of note: A TURBO is coming March 2010. Needs some lease or finance options to compete with the imports.
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Sarah Lee is an automotive executive with 20+ years of experience. She writes about Cars, and is a staunch consumer advocate on car related subjects. Her company: MY CARLADY is a car buyer’s service committed to getting you the best deal on your next new or pre-owned vehicle. You can reach her at www.mycarlady.com
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2010 CADILLAC SRX TEST DRIVE REVIEW