Cadillac’s Super Cruise promises cutting-edge semi-autonomous driving, and the Cadillac’s 2019 XT4 has just been revealed before it goes on sale later this year. An obvious pairing? For now, Cadillac says, its newest crossover won’t offer its latest safety technology.
Cadillac spokesman Donny Nordlicht confirmed to Motor Authority that Super Cruise will not be available on the XT4 at launch. He left the door open for an arrival later in the model’s life cycle. Cadillac’s president, a visibly annoyed Johan de Nysschen, echoed Nordlicht’s comments, and said the cost of the technology prohibits its inclusion at the moment.
De Nysschen makes a fair point. Cadillac now charges $5,000 for Super Cruise on its flagship CT6 (although Magnetic Ride Control and four-wheel steering, both included in the Super Cruise package, likely account for a big chunk of that). The semi-autonomous system also requires the second priciest trim, the all-wheel-drive-only Premium Luxury, which starts at $66,290—even at that price, a $5,000 option is a big investment.
“Super Cruise will eventually make it into XT4,” de Nysschen told Motor Authority. “It’s part of what we do.”
De Nysschen explained that the XT4’s role is to drive new customers into showrooms and says Cadillac’s life cycle strategy dictates Super Cruise arrive later.
The move is still something of a head-scratcher, considering the amount of work General Motors has put into the technology. Motor Authority and several other websites have captured spy photos of camera- and sensor-laden XT4s testing. We tested the technology last year, and General Motors has talked about it for far longer. (We wrote about Super Cruise nearly six years ago, in 2012.)
General Motors has reams of data on Super Cruise, not to mention the lidar data it’s acquired on freeways across the U.S. It’s poured a tremendous amount of money and effort into development. A Super Cruise-equipped XT4 would compete better with the Volvo XC40 and XC60 and their available Pilot Assist system.
For now, the XT4 will have to wait.
