Just start touching stuff. Get inside the XTS V-Sport Platinum and touch the padded dash trim near the front passenger, feel the headliner, or run your fingers along the lower ends of the door panels. The Cadillac’s interior, while not perfect, is a good match for luxury sedans from top-tier premium brands. Not many XTS competitors have as much interior space, but there’s more to luxury than just interior space and high-quality materials. We spent some time with a 2018 Cadillac XTS V-Sport—a model only offered in top-of-the-line Platinum trim—to see how much of the car’s $73,840 MSRP is earned inside.
Looking for test numbers on the 410-hp, all-wheel-drive XTS V-Sport? Read our First Test review here.
The Platinum Experience
When you splurge for an XTS Platinum with either V-6 engine, Cadillac upgrades the interior with a microfiber suede headliner, leather on the dash, and semi-aniline leather seats. Most surfaces feel soft and appropriately rich; one minor exception is the back of the interior door pulls. That out-of-sight area—where you’ll grab when you close the door, feels just average in an interior that’s appreciably upgraded elsewhere.
Wheely Good Details
Once you’re situated, look at the steering wheel. Specifically, notice how the silver trim that starts at the bottom of the steering wheel’s bottom spokes wraps around to the outer edge of the buttons and then across the back edge of the airbag cover.
I’m also a fan of the way the wood trim on the center console is mirror matched, with the wood on the left side at a diagonal angle pointing toward the left and the same arrangement on the right side. It’s an upscale detail also seen on Volvos and a few other luxury brands.
What a Cluster
Higher XTS trims include a digital instrument cluster that’s displayed on a 12.3-inch screen. Although it’s not quite as easy to change info displays as it is Audi’s digital instrument cluster, I was impressed by the differentiation among each of the Cadillac’s three design themes. Lots of customization is available within those modes—my favorite is the following distance indicator that measures distance in seconds (it’s also found in other GM cars). Another V-Sport-specific design theme has a stylized tachometer in the center. It looks cool, but don’t kick the gear shift stalk into manual with that cluster display on at night, as the black background switches to a bright white. It would also be great if the map in the center of one of the other display modes allowed you to zoom in and out, but overall, I would appreciate this system as an owner.
Calming Light
What the 2018 XTS’ ambient lighting lacks in customizability, it makes up for in elegance. The simple system appears on the doors and the dash, and is included on most trims.
Style Versus Functionality—What Do You Want?
The Cadillac features capacitive-touch controls, which means your finger will feel feedback as you use some of the buttons. The 8.0-inch touchscreen above the HVAC and volume controls isn’t as big as screens in other cars, and it isn’t mounted as high on the dash for optimal visibility. The tradeoff is that on our XTS Platinum model, leather stitching stretches up the relatively low dash.
With sculpted silver trim pieces against a piano black background, it’s a slick layout. That’s especially true before you turn the car on, when the button labels have yet to illuminate. Even though the volume slider is easy to use—slide your finger on the control from left to right to increase volume—nothing beats a good volume knob. In fact, I wish the car had knobs for the temperature controls as well, but adding such controls would mess with the interior’s current aesthetic.
The Genesis G80 is another quick luxury sedan that’s also large inside. That car’s interior has a more forgettable design, but it’s filled with high-quality materials and plenty of control knobs. If you’re considering the Cadillac, decide how much functionality you’re willing to sacrifice for that cool look and the hidden center-stack compartment.
Get Comfortable Back There
The XTS probably has more rear-seat room than most of the cars you’re considering. It’s spacious, and the Platinum model includes rear-seat controls not only for the heated outboard seats and rear air vents, but for the radio and rear sun shade, too. The two USB outlets aren’t located in a small storage compartment in the central armrest (the perfect location, as in a Mazda CX-5), but under the rear vents and rear HVAC controls. We like the idea of having radio controls in the back seat, but maybe a future XTS can use a bigger and higher-res screen that shows more characters before cutting off.
The Platinum models have a standard rear sunshade with manually operated rear side window shades. Also available on the Premium Luxury trim, those features are appreciated, though the rear sunshade doesn’t fully cover the rear windshield.
Oh, That Trunk
One of the XTS’ biggest advantages is its 18.0 cubic foot trunk. It’s bigger than any other Cadillac sedan’s and plenty of other luxury sedans, too. If that’s important to you, definitely consider the XTS. The car’s trunk-open feature conveniently opens the trunk lid all the way up, but without an available power-closing option, closing it with the handle built into the inside of the lid is a little awkward. Skip the interior handle and close it from the top of the trunk. Between the high trunk lid and the thick C-pillars, rear visibility isn’t good, but I appreciate how the rear outboard headrests can fold down when not in use.
So, Go Platinum?
Finished in the Platinum’s available Maple Sugar interior color, the XTS’ interior makes a good first impression. That’s followed up by the mirror-matched wood trim all over the center console and soft trim pieces almost everywhere. The interior controls look great but aren’t as easy to use as in other cars, and that’s where buyers need to determine the importance of style in their new-car purchase—you’ll use these controls every day. The XTS looks good inside but lacks the exterior proportions that you’d expect of a car with a price of around $70,000. If that, the lack of control knobs, the low touchscreen, and the poor rear visibility don’t bother you, an XTS Platinum could make sense if you’re set on a Cadillac or if you want a luxury sedan with a large trunk.
Read our First Test review here.
The post 2018 Cadillac XTS V-Sport Interior Review: The Details appeared first on Motor Trend.
from Motor Trend https://ift.tt/2s8I1f2
No comments:
Post a Comment