Compare the2023 Cadillac XT5VS 2023 GMC Terrain

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Towing
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 Terrain doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Cadillac XT5 are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The GMC Terrain doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.

The Cadillac XT5 has a standard driver’s side knee airbag mounted low on the dashboard. The knee airbag helps prevent the driver from sliding under the seatbelts or the main frontal airbag; this keeps the driver better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. A knee airbag also helps keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Terrain doesn’t offer knee airbags.

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 Terrain 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 Terrain doesn’t offer a night vision system.

Both the XT5 and the Terrain have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, available all wheel drive, blind spot warning systems, around view monitors 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 GMC Terrain:

	XT5	Terrain
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	147	159
Neck Stress	188 lbs.	190 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	287	376
Chest Compression	.6 inches	.6 inches
Leg Forces (l/r)	22/17 lbs.	264/236 lbs.

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

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Cadillac XT5 is safer than the GMC Terrain:

	XT5	Terrain
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Chest Movement	.9 inches	1.1 inches
Abdominal Force	151 lbs.	195 lbs.
Hip Force	184 lbs.	357 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	183	288
Spine Acceleration	43 G’s	55 G’s
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	12 inches	13 inches
Spine Acceleration	39 G’s	40 G’s

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 1.3% to 1.6% less likely to roll over than the Terrain.

Warranty

The XT5 comes with a full 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck. The Terrain’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 GMC covers the Terrain. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 6 years or 70,000 miles. Coverage on the Terrain ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

The XT5’s 6 year corrosion warranty has no mileage limitations, but the corrosion warranty on the Terrain runs out after 100,000 miles.

Reliability

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the XT5 has a standard 730-amp battery. The Terrain’s 700-amp battery isn’t as powerful.

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it’s being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the XT5’s reliability 31 points higher than the Terrain.

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 GMC 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, GMC is rated lower.

Engine

The XT5’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder produces 60 more horsepower (235 vs. 175) and 55 lbs.-ft. more torque (258 vs. 203) than the Terrain’s 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder. The XT5’s optional 3.6 DOHC V6 produces 135 more horsepower (310 vs. 175) and 68 lbs.-ft. more torque (271 vs. 203) than the Terrain’s 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder.

Fuel Economy and Range

An engine control system that can shut down some of the engine’s cylinders helps improve the XT5’s fuel efficiency. The Terrain doesn’t offer a system that can shut down part of the engine.

The XT5 FWD’s standard fuel tank has 4.5 gallons more fuel capacity than the Terrain FWD’s standard fuel tank (19.4 vs. 14.9 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups. The XT5 AWD’s standard fuel tank has 6.1 gallons more fuel capacity than the Terrain AWD’s standard fuel tank (21.7 vs. 15.6 gallons).

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the XT5’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Terrain:

	XT5	Terrain
Front Rotors	13.6 inches	11.8 inches
Rear Rotors	12.4 inches	11.3 inches

The XT5’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the Terrain are solid, not vented.

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the XT5 has larger tires than the Terrain (235/65R18 vs. 225/65R17).

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the XT5 has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Terrain SLE/AT4. The XT5’s optional 20-inch wheels are larger than the 19-inch wheels optional on the Terrain.

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

Suspension and Handling

The XT5 has standard front and rear stabilizer bars, which help keep the XT5 flat and controlled during cornering. The Terrain’s suspension doesn’t offer a rear stabilizer bar.

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 Terrain’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the XT5’s wheelbase is 5.2 inches longer than on the Terrain (112.5 inches vs. 107.3 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the XT5 is 2.5 inches wider in the front and 2.3 inches wider in the rear than on the Terrain.

The XT5 AWD handles at .82 G’s, while the Terrain Denali AWD pulls only .79 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The XT5 executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Terrain Denali AWD (27 seconds @ .65 average G’s vs. 27.5 seconds @ .64 average G’s).

For greater off-road capability the XT5 has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Terrain SLE (7.8 vs. 6.9 inches), allowing the XT5 to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

Passenger Space

The XT5 has .3 inches more front legroom, 1.7 inches more front hip room, 1.1 inches more front shoulder room, 3 inches more rear hip room and .7 inches more rear shoulder room than the Terrain.

Cargo Capacity

The XT5 has a larger cargo volume than the Terrain with its rear seat up (30.2 vs. 29.6 cubic feet).

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the XT5. The Terrain doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

Towing

Maximum trailer towing in the GMC Terrain is limited to 1500 pounds. The XT5 offers up to a 3500 lbs. towing capacity.

Servicing Ease

The XT5 uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Terrain uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

J.D. Power and Associates surveys of service recipients show that Cadillac service is better than GMC. J.D. Power ranks Cadillac second in service department satisfaction. With a 27% lower rating, GMC is ranked 15th.

Ergonomics

The XT5’s front power windows open or close 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 Terrain’s front passenger window doesn’t close automatically.

The XT5 Premium Luxury/Sport’s standard wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically according to the amount of rainfall on the windshield. The Terrain’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

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

The XT5 has a standard dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won’t have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. Dual zone air conditioning costs extra on the Terrain.

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 Terrain Denali’s automatic parking system requires operating the brakes and transmission to safely park.

Economic Advantages

Insurance will cost less for the XT5 owner. The Car Book by Jack Gillis rates the XT5 with a number “8” insurance rate while the Terrain is rated higher at a number “10” rate.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the XT5 is less expensive to operate than the Terrain because it costs $27 less to do the manufacturer’s suggested maintenance for 50,000 miles. Typical repairs cost much less on the XT5 than the Terrain, including $86 less for a muffler, $115 less for front brake pads, $44 less for a starter, $36 less for fuel injection and $382 less for a fuel pump.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends the Cadillac XT5, based on reliability, safety and performance. The GMC Terrain isn't recommended.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the XT5 second among midsize premium suvs in owner reported satisfaction. This includes how well the vehicle performs and satisfies its owner’s expectations. The Terrain isn’t in the top three in its category.