Compare the2023 Cadillac XT5VS 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Environmental Friendliness
Transmission
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

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The XT5 Premium Luxury/Sport’s optional pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Grand Cherokee doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the XT5 are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Grand Cherokee doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The XT5 Premium Luxury/Sport offers optional Reverse Automatic Braking that uses rear sensors to monitor and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a rear collision. The Grand Cherokee doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

A passive infrared night vision system optional on the XT5 Premium Luxury/Sport helps the driver to more easily detect people, animals or other objects in front of the vehicle at night. Using an infrared camera to detect heat, the system then displays the image on a monitor in the dashboard. The Grand Cherokee doesn’t offer a night vision system.

The XT5’s standard lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane and gently nudges the vehicle back towards its lane. A lane departure warning system costs extra on the Grand Cherokee.

The XT5 Premium Luxury/Sport offers an optional Surround Vision to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Grand Cherokee only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.

Both the XT5 and the Grand Cherokee have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, daytime running lights, rearview cameras, available all wheel drive, blind spot warning systems and rear cross-path warning.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Cadillac XT5 is safer than the Jeep Grand Cherokee:

	XT5	Grand Cherokee
OVERALL STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
Neck Injury Risk	24%	28%
Neck Stress	188 lbs.	201 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	287	298
Chest Compression	.6 inches	.7 inches
Neck Stress	155 lbs.	170 lbs.
Neck Compression	53 lbs.	122 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	22/17 lbs.	314/94 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

A significantly tougher test than their original offset frontal crash test, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety does 40 MPH small overlap frontal offset crash tests. In this test, where only 25% of the total width of the vehicle is struck, results indicate that the Cadillac XT5 is safer than the Grand Cherokee:

	XT5	Grand Cherokee
Overall Evaluation	GOOD	MARGINAL
Restraints	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Head Neck Evaluation	GOOD	GOOD
Head injury index	129	172
Peak Head Forces	0 G’s	0 G’s
Steering Column Movement Rearward	0 cm	5 cm
Chest Evaluation	GOOD	GOOD
Hip & Thigh Evaluation	GOOD	GOOD
Femur Force R/L	.3/.6 kN	4.9/2.3 kN
Hip & Thigh Injury Risk R/L	0%/0%	3%/0%
Lower Leg Evaluation	GOOD	MARGINAL
Tibia index R/L	.41/.29	1.06/.54

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Cadillac XT5 is safer than the Jeep Grand Cherokee:

	XT5	Grand Cherokee
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	12 inches	13 inches

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

Instrumented handling tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and analysis of its dimensions indicate that the XT5 is 1.8% to 3.5% less likely to roll over than the Grand Cherokee.

For its top level performance in all IIHS frontal, side, rear impact and roof-crush tests, and its standard front crash prevention system, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the XT5 the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2017, a rating granted to only 203 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Grand Cherokee was not even a “Top Safety Pick” for 2016.

Warranty

The XT5 comes with a full 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck. The Grand Cherokee’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 14,000 miles sooner.

Cadillac’s powertrain warranty covers the XT5 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than Jeep covers the Grand Cherokee. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 6 years or 70,000 miles. Coverage on the Grand Cherokee ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

The XT5’s corrosion warranty is 1 year longer than the Grand Cherokee’s (6 vs. 5 years).

Reliability

For smoother operation, better efficiency and fewer moving parts, the engines in the XT5 have an overhead cam design, rather than the old pushrod design of the 5.7 V8 in the Grand Cherokee.

To reliably power the ignition and other systems and to recharge the battery, the XT5 has a standard 170-amp alternator. The Grand Cherokee’s standard 160-amp alternator isn’t as powerful.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Cadillac vehicles are more reliable than Jeep vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Cadillac above average in long-term dependability. With 24 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, Jeep is rated below average.

Engine

The XT5’s optional 3.6 DOHC V6 produces 15 more horsepower (310 vs. 295) and 11 lbs.-ft. more torque (271 vs. 260) than the Grand Cherokee’s standard 3.6 DOHC V6.

As tested in Motor Trend the Cadillac XT5 V6 is faster than the Jeep Grand Cherokee V8:

	XT5	Grand Cherokee
Zero to 60 MPH	6.4 sec	6.6 sec

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the XT5 gets better mileage than the Grand Cherokee:

			MPG
XT5
	FWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	22 city/29 hwy
	AWD	3.6 DOHC V6	18 city/25 hwy
		2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	21 city/27 hwy
Grand Cherokee
	RWD	3.6 DOHC V6	19 city/26 hwy
	AWD	3.6 DOHC V6	18 city/25 hwy
		5.7 OHV V8	14 city/22 hwy

Regardless of its engine, the XT5’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. If the conditions warrant or the driver wishes, the system can be manually disabled at any time for the duration of a trip. Jeep only offers an automatic engine start/stop system on the Grand Cherokee V6.

Environmental Friendliness

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Cadillac XT5 higher (6 to 7 out of 10) than the Jeep Grand Cherokee (3 to 7). This means the XT5 produces up to 24.5 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Grand Cherokee every 15,000 miles.

Transmission

A nine-speed automatic is standard on the Cadillac XT5, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only an eight-speed automatic is available for the Grand Cherokee.

Tires and Wheels

The Cadillac XT5’s wheels have 6 lugs for longer wheel bearing life, less chance of rotor warping and greater strength. The Jeep Grand Cherokee only has 5 wheel lugs per wheel.

Suspension and Handling

The XT5 offers an available driver-adjustable suspension system. It allows the driver to choose between an extra-supple ride, reducing fatigue on long trips, or a sport setting, which allows maximum control for tricky roads or off-road. The Grand Cherokee’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.

The XT5 AWD handles at .84 G’s, while the Grand Cherokee Summit 4x4 pulls only .72 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The XT5 executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.8 seconds quicker than the Grand Cherokee Summit 4x4 (27 seconds @ .65 average G’s vs. 28.8 seconds @ .59 average G’s).

Chassis

The Cadillac XT5 may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 600 to 900 pounds less than the Jeep Grand Cherokee.

The front grille of the XT5 2.0 Turbo uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The Grand Cherokee doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

Passenger Space

The XT5 has .9 inches more front legroom and .4 inches more rear legroom than the Grand Cherokee.

The front step up height for the XT5 is 2 inches lower than the Grand Cherokee (18.5” vs. 20.5”). The XT5’s rear step up height is .8 inches lower than the Grand Cherokee’s (20” vs. 20.8”).

Cargo Capacity

A low lift-over cargo hatch design makes loading and unloading the XT5 easier. The XT5’s cargo hatch lift-over height is 30.9 inches, while the Grand Cherokee’s liftover is 32.4 inches.

The XT5’s cargo area is larger than the Grand Cherokee’s in almost every dimension:

	XT5	Grand Cherokee
Length to seat (2nd/1st)	41.5”/75”	38.5”/74.2”
Max Width	51”	47.6”
Min Width	41.6”	41.7”
Height	30”	33.5”

Pulling a handle automatically lowers the XT5’s rear seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Grand Cherokee doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

To make loading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the XT5 Premium Luxury/Sport’s liftgate can be opened and closed just by kicking your foot under the back bumper, leaving your hands completely free. The Grand Cherokee doesn’t offer a hands-free gesture to open its liftgate, forcing you to put cargo down if your hands are full.

Servicing Ease

J.D. Power and Associates surveys of service recipients show that Cadillac service is better than Jeep. J.D. Power ranks Cadillac second in service department satisfaction. With a 46% lower rating, Jeep is ranked 26th.

Ergonomics

The XT5 Premium Luxury/Sport offers an optional heads-up display that projects speed, tachometer, warning and navigation instruction readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Grand Cherokee doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The XT5’s power parking brake sets with one touch and releases with one touch or automatically. The Grand Cherokee’s parking brake has to be released manually.

The XT5’s front and rear power windows all lower with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside of the car. The Grand Cherokee’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to open them fully.

On a hot day the XT5’s driver can lower all the windows from a distance using the keyless remote. The driver of the Grand Cherokee can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

To help drivers avoid possible obstacles, the XT5 has standard cornering lights to illuminate around corners when the turn signals are activated. The Grand Cherokee doesn’t offer cornering lights.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Cadillac XT5 Premium Luxury/Sport has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. The Grand Cherokee doesn’t offer wireless personal charging.

The XT5 Premium Luxury/Sport’s optional Automatic Park Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting and stopping automatically, with the driver only responsible for switching from reverse to drive. The Grand Cherokee’s automatic parking system requires operating the brakes and transmission to safely park.

Economic Advantages

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the XT5 is less expensive to operate than the Grand Cherokee because typical repairs cost less on the XT5 than the Grand Cherokee, including $21 less for front brake pads, $76 less for a starter, $98 less for a fuel pump and $76 less for front struts.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends the Cadillac XT5, based on reliability, safety and performance.