XT5

Make
Cadillac
Segment
SUV

Last week's reveal of the refreshed 2020 Cadillac XT5 came at a critical time for GM's luxury automaker. The XT5 has now fully adopted the exterior styling found in the smaller XT4 and larger XT6. Therefore, Cadillac's luxury crossover lineup is now complete. Luxury crossovers, as we all know, are not only popular these days but also very profitable. As is typically the case with mid-life facelifts, there are some changes to XT5 pricing for the new model year, but CarsDirect has discovered these changes are actually kind of confusing. How so?

The 2020 Cadillac XT5 is both cheaper and more expensive than last year. We'll explain. Order guides indicate the 2020 XT5 will carry a starting price that's $2,400 more ($42,960) than in 2019, but higher trim levels will be up to $5,900 more affordable. This is made possible due to, for starters, trim level simplifications. For 2020, only three XT5 trims will be offered: Luxury, Premium Luxury, and Sport.

The base XT5 has been dropped while the top-of-the-line Platinum has been turned into a package that can be tacked on to the latter two trims. The 2020 XT5 Luxury begins at $45,090 - $2,400 more than a base 2019 XT5, but is still $4,400 less than the 2019 XT5 Luxury. Sounds pretty good, right? Depends. The XT5 Luxury will no longer offer the 310-hp V6, but rather the new turbocharged 2.0-liter with 237 horsepower.

Those who desire the V6 will need to upgrade to the Premium Luxury, and the V6 is still a $1,000 option here. A 2020 XT5 with a V6 now costs at least $50,790, thus making V6-powered XT5 $8,100 more expensive than last year when buyers could get the V6 in base trim. The 2020 XT5 Sport, meanwhile, will only be offered with the V6 and it begins at $50,090. Adding the optional Platinum Package could easily increase the price up to $65,540.

Bear in the mind the larger 2020 XT6 Sport (starting price $58,090) can get as high as $68,000 with the Platinum Package. Part of the pricing question boils down to this: how much is the optional V6 worth to you? If you must have it, considering buy a 2019 XT5. And then there's this fact: the pricing difference between the most expensive XT4 and the cheapest XT5 will increase by $1,800 for 2020. In 2019, it was only a $100 difference.

Depending on what options are most important to buyers, the 2020 Cadillac XT5 could wind up either being cheaper or more expensive than last year.