2017 Cadillac XT5: Car Seat Check
CARS.COM — When Cadillac redesigned its midsize luxury SUV for 2017, the SRX became the XT5 and got new bones and a new body. When last we Car Seat Checked the five-seater for the 2012 model year, we had some difficulties accessing the Latch system, which hampered the installations of our convertible and infant-safety seats. We’re pleased to report that Cadillac has eliminated those difficulties entirely — though the XT5 still fell just short of a perfect score.
How many car seats fit in the second row? Two
What We Like
- The two sets of Latch anchors in the outboard seats sit just within the seat bight, and the three top tether anchors are halfway down the seatback. Both have ample clearance for an easy connection.
- The convertible seat fit well in both the rear- and forward-facing positions, with the front passenger seat moved all the way back for the former and the head restraint raised for the latter. Both seats installed easily.
- The infant seat installed easily using its hooklike connectors, with no space issues for the front passenger.
What We Don’t
- While the booster seat fit well with the head restraint raised, the belt buckles are on floppy stalks, which will likely make it difficult for children to buckle-up independently. When we tested the SRX, the buckles were on stable stalks, which was one plus of the previous version.
Grading Scale
A: Plenty of room for the car seat and the child; doesn’t impact driver or front-passenger legroom. Easy to find and connect to Latch and tether anchors. No fit issues involving head restraint or seat contouring. Easy access to the third row.
B: Plenty of room. One fit or connection issue. Some problems accessing third row when available.
C: Marginal room. Two fit or connection issues. Difficult to access third row when available.
D: Insufficient room. Two or more fit or connection issues.
F: Does not fit or is unsafe.
About Cars.com’s Car Seat Checks
Editors Jennifer Geiger, Jennifer Newman and Matt Schmitz are certified child safety seat installation technicians.
For the Car Seat Check, we use a Graco SnugRide Classic Connect 30 infant-safety seat, a Britax Marathon convertible seat and Graco TurboBooster seat. The front seats are adjusted for a 6-foot driver and a shorter passenger. The three child seats are installed in the second row. The booster seat sits behind the driver’s seat, and the infant and convertible seats are installed behind the front passenger seat.
We also install the forward-facing convertible in the second row’s middle seat with the booster and infant seat in the outboard seats to see if three car seats will fit; a child sitting in the booster seat must be able to reach the seat belt buckle. If there’s a third row, we install the booster seat and a forward-facing convertible. To learn more about how we conduct our Car Seat Checks, go here.
Parents should also remember that they can use the Latch system or a seat belt to install a car seat, and that Latch anchors have a weight limit of 65 pounds, including the weight of the child and the weight of the seat itself.
