2020 Cadillac XT6 Nails It in Crash Tests
Cadillac’s newest SUV, the 2020 XT6, has been named a 2019 Top Safety Pick by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The SUV meets the agency’s crashworthiness and forward collision prevention standards for the higher Top Safety Pick Plus designation, but both sets of available headlights do not.
The XT6 earned good ratings — on a scale of good, acceptable, marginal or poor — in all six crashworthiness tests: driver-side small overlap front, passenger-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front and side, as well as roof strength and head restraint and seat evaluations. Both the standard and optional front crash prevention systems also earned the highest rating of superior on a scale of superior, advanced or basic.
Unfortunately for the Cadillac’s crash credentials, neither of its two available sets of headlights was rated high enough to earn the top award from IIHS. Both sets rated as acceptable (using the same scale as the crashworthiness tests) where a good rating is necessary for the Top Safety Pick Plus award.
To earn a Top Safety Pick Plus, a vehicle must earn a good rating in all crashworthiness tests and in headlight testing, as well as an advanced or superior rating for an available front crash prevention system. A Top Safety Pick designation allows for an acceptable rating in the passenger-side small overlap front crashworthiness test and in headlight testing.
For the XT6, this designation only applies to models built after October, when updates were made to the side curtain airbags to better protect the vehicle’s occupants during a crash. Competition is stiff among premium and luxury seven-seat SUVs: The 2019 BMW X5 is a Top Safety Pick Plus, while the 2020 Lexus RX and 2019-20 Infiniti QX60 are both Top Safety Picks.
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