2004 Cadillac SRX

2004 Cadillac SRX 2004 Cadillac SRX
First Drive Review

Plenty of folks are still struggling with the notion of a Cadillac truck. Now comes a Cadillac wagon--well, a tall wagon--called the SRX. What's next, the Montreal Expos play 22 home games in Puerto Rico?

American sensibilities being what they are, the SRX won't, of course, be sold as a wagon but as a light-duty luxury SUV. When this program got under way, Cadillac fingered as its competition the Lexus RX300, the Acura MDX, and the BMW X5. Since then, other bogeys have coalesced: the Lexus GX470, the Lincoln Aviator, and now Infiniti's lightning-quick FX45.

The SRX is proudly passenger-car based, with its unibody riding atop GM's Sigma platform, same as the Cadillac CTS. In this case, though, the wheelbase has been stretched to 116.4 inches--more than a foot longer than the RX300's and 9.5 inches longer than the upcoming RX330's. When it arrives in showrooms in September, the SRX will be offered only with a 4.6-liter V-8. A twin-cam V-6--3.6 liters, 260 horses--comes three to six months later.

This latest Northstar V-8 is 80 percent new, reworked principally so it could be mounted longitudinally. Now it boasts variable valve timing and a forged-steel crankshaft said to be 1.3 decibels quieter in the 3000-to-5000-rpm range. With 10.5:1 compression, it whips out 315 horses at 6400 rpm--15 more than the beefiest Northstar of yore. It is an engine the SRX shares with the upcoming XLR sports car--quite an honor. The V-8 is mated to an equally new five-speed automatic--made in France, no less--that includes sport and manumatic modes.

Two SRX flavors are offered: full-time all-wheel drive--with a 50/50 torque split--or rear-drive only. Either way, you get anti-lock brakes, traction control, brake assist, and StabiliTrak as standard fare. Beyond GM's MagneRide active shocks, notable options include a third-row seat suitable for a pair of disciplined, malleable children--perhaps your neighbor's. At the push of a button, that seat folds flat in 19 seconds. You can even order an "UltraView" sunroof so large that it subjects second-row passengers to the elements. That middle seat, by the way, may be the best in its class--generous leg- and headroom, space for your feet under the front seats, firm thigh support, cushions two inches taller than in the front. You could spend all day back there.

On Virginia's smooth roads, we drove four hand-built SRX mules camouflaged in zebra stripes. They drew more civilian attention than if the cars had been left naked. What you notice first is that the SRX is easy to climb into. The front seats are 3.6 inches closer to the pavement than those in an X5, five inches lower than an Explorer's. You'll also notice that the windshield is the size of a passenger car's and is relatively close. It all imparts the sensation of sitting in a car, not an SUV.

Our test mules demonstrated low-speed steering effort that was a tick high, though it lightened satisfactorily above 15 mph and remained progressive and linear thereafter. Tracking was great, turn-in good, though the latter didn't feel as sharp as the RX300's or MDX's. Plus, we wouldn't object if the steering telegraphed road textures a little more directly.

Under wide-open throttle, the new Hydra-Matic 5L50-E transmission is a gem, shifting gently, almost serenely, at 6450 rpm. Such upper-register antics are accompanied by a sonorous exhaust wail, an animal-like aria of valves and cams that will never be mistaken for anything but a V-8. Below 4000 rpm, though, there's almost no exhaust note at all. Idle quality is superb--think Japanese V-6. Initial throttle tip-in is a trifle mushy, but beyond 2000 rpm the revs accumulate with astonishing snap. Cadillac says the SRX V-8 will nail 60 mph in 7.2 seconds. Judging by the SRX's stated power and weight, however, we expect to see times in the six-second range.