Compare the2025 Cadillac XT4VS 2025 Dodge Hornet

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Fuel Economy and Range
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Towing
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Model Availability
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

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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 XT4 are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Hornet doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Cadillac XT4 has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Hornet doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.

Both the XT4 and Hornet have Rear Cross Traffic Alert, but the XT4 has Rear Cross Traffic Braking (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Hornet’s Rear Cross Traffic Alert doesn’t automatically brake.

Both the XT4 and the Hornet 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, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and available all wheel drive.

Warranty

The XT4 comes with a full 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck. The Hornet’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 14,000 miles sooner.

Cadillac’s powertrain warranty covers the XT4 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than Dodge covers the Hornet. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 6 years or 70,000 miles. Coverage on the Hornet ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

The XT4’s corrosion warranty is 1 year longer than the Hornet’s (6 vs. 5 years).

Reliability

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Cadillac vehicles are better in initial quality than Dodge vehicles. With 87 fewer problems per 100 vehicles, JD Power ranks Cadillac higher than Dodge.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2024 Auto Issue reports that Cadillac vehicles are more reliable than Dodge vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Cadillac 5 places higher in reliability than Dodge.

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the XT4 gets better mileage than the Hornet running its gasoline engine:

			MPG
XT4
	FWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	24 city/29 hwy
	AWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	23 city/28 hwy
Hornet
	AWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	21 city/29 hwy

An engine control system that can shut down some of the engine’s cylinders helps improve the XT4’s fuel efficiency. The Hornet doesn’t offer a system that can shut down part of the engine.

The XT4 FWD’s standard fuel tank has 4.7 gallons more fuel capacity than the Hornet R/T’s standard fuel tank (15.9 vs. 11.2 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups. The XT4 AWD’s standard fuel tank has 2.8 gallons more fuel capacity than the Hornet GT’s standard fuel tank (16.3 vs. 13.5 gallons).

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the XT4’s standard brake rotors are larger than those on the Hornet:

	XT4	Hornet
Front Rotors	12.6 inches	12.1 inches
Rear Rotors	12.4 inches	10.9 inches

The XT4’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the Hornet are solid, not vented.

The XT4 stops much shorter than the Hornet:

	XT4	Hornet
70 to 0 MPH	165 feet	177 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	109 feet	124 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the XT4 has larger standard tires than the Hornet (235/60R18 vs. 215/60R17). The XT4’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Hornet (245/45R20 vs. 235/40R20).

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the XT4 has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Hornet GT.

The XT4 has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The Hornet doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

Suspension and Handling

The XT4 has variable-assist power steering, for low-effort parking, better control at highway speeds and during hard cornering, and a better feel of the road. The Hornet doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the XT4’s wheelbase is 5.6 inches longer than on the Hornet (109.4 inches vs. 103.8 inches).

The XT4 Sport AWD handles at .89 G’s, while the Hornet GT pulls only .85 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The XT4 Sport AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.3 seconds quicker than the Hornet GT (26.3 seconds @ .66 average G’s vs. 27.6 seconds @ .62 average G’s).

For greater off-road capability the XT4 has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Hornet R/T (6.7 vs. 6.1 inches), allowing the XT4 to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

Chassis

The front grille of the XT4 (except with towing package) uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The Hornet doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The XT4 uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The Hornet doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

As tested by Car and Driver, the interior of the XT4 Sport AWD is quieter than the Hornet GT:

	XT4	Hornet
Full-Throttle	75 dB	76 dB
70 MPH Cruising	69 dB	73 dB

Passenger Space

The XT4 has 3.3 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Hornet (101.3 vs. 98).

The XT4 has .6 inches more front headroom, 2.4 inches more front legroom, .2 inches more front hip room, 1.3 inches more front shoulder room, .1 inches more rear headroom, 1.5 inches more rear legroom and .3 inches more rear shoulder room than the Hornet.

The front step up height for the XT4 is 2.8 inches lower than the Hornet (17” vs. 19.8”). The XT4’s rear step up height is 2.2 inches lower than the Hornet’s (17.5” vs. 19.7”).

Cargo Capacity

A low lift-over cargo hatch design makes loading and unloading the XT4 easier. The XT4’s cargo hatch lift-over height is 30.5 inches, while the Hornet’s liftover is 31.8 inches.

The XT4’s cargo area is larger than the Hornet’s in almost every dimension:

	XT4	Hornet
Length to seat (2nd/1st)	37.5”/67.4”	31.8”/62”
Max Width	50”	37.5”
Min Width	38.7”	37.5”
Height	26.6”	27”

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the XT4. The Hornet doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

Towing

Maximum trailer towing in the Dodge Hornet is limited to 2000 pounds. The XT4 offers up to a 3500 lbs. towing capacity.

Standard Trailer Sway Control on the XT4 uses the StabiliTrak® sensors to detect trailer sway, then uses individual brakes to counteract any swaying and help keep the tow vehicle and trailer steady. The Hornet doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

Servicing Ease

J.D. Power and Associates surveys of service recipients show that Cadillac service is better than Dodge. J.D. Power ranks Cadillac fifth in service department satisfaction. With a 50% lower rating, Dodge is ranked 27th.

Ergonomics

The XT4’s standard easy entry system glides the driver’s seat back, making it easier for the driver to get in and out. The Hornet doesn’t offer an easy entry system.

The XT4’s instruments include an oil pressure gauge and a temperature gauge - which could save your engine! Often ‘idiot lights’ don’t warn you until damage has been done. The Hornet has neither an oil pressure gauge nor a temperature gauge.

The XT4 offers an optional heads-up display that projects speed, tachometer 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 Hornet doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The XT4’s standard Keyless Access allow you to unlock the doors from any outside door handle, open the cargo door, and start the engine, all without removing the key from the pocket or purse. Keyless Enter-N-Go standard on the Hornet doesn’t offer a sensor on the rear doors, so you’ll have to reach a front handle to unlock the rear door.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the XT4 has a standard rear fixed intermittent wiper with a full on position. The rear wiper standard on the Hornet only has an intermittent setting, so in a hard rain visibility isn’t as good.

When the XT4 is put in reverse, both rearview mirrors tilt from their original position. This gives the driver a better view of the curb during parallel parking maneuvers. Shifting out of reverse puts the mirrors into their original positions. The Hornet’s mirrors don’t automatically adjust for backing.

The XT4’s standard rear and side view mirrors have an automatic dimming feature. These mirrors can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The Hornet offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

Both the XT4 and the Hornet offer optional heated front seats. The XT4 also offers optional heated rear seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the Hornet.

The XT4 offers optional massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the Hornet.

The Cadillac XT4 has a standard Homelink wireless remote control system for garage door operation and device management, conveniently located on the overhead console. Homelink® eliminates the need for separate garage door openers and associated risks of losing, breaking, or having dead batteries. Dodge charges extra for Homelink® on the Hornet.

The XT4’s available Automatic Park Assist can parallel park by itself, starting and stopping automatically, with the driver only responsible for switching from reverse to drive. The Hornet’s automatic parking system requires operating the brakes and transmission to safely park.

Model Availability

The XT4 is available in both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The Hornet doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.

Economic Advantages

Insurance will cost less for the XT4 owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the XT4 will cost $55 to $1075 less than the Hornet over a five-year period.

The XT4 will cost the buyer less in the long run because of its superior resale value. The IntelliChoice estimates that the XT4 will retain 52.41% to 53.95% of its original price after five years, while the Hornet only retains 51.34% to 51.35%.

Recommendations

The Cadillac XT4 outsold the Dodge Hornet by over two to one during 2023.