LAKE FOREST - James R. Vurpillat, director of international marketing for Cadillac, said Lexus better watch out.

Cadillac will challenge the current sales leader in the luxury crossover market, the Lexus RX 350, with the 2010 SRX.

 

“Until now that market has been dominated by one competitor,” Vurpillat said. He vowed that dominance soon would change. The change would come by aggressive marketing, pricing and cost of ownership.

 

To that end, Vurpillat recently hosted a group of automotive media personnel for a day in Chicago’s North Shore environs, with lunch included at downtown Lake Forest’s Southgate Café. The media got to drive a 2010 SRX through upscale neighborhoods as well as busy commercial districts along Route 41 and a stretch of Interstate 94.

 

The marketing of the 2010 SRX is by zip code with the pricier communities getting more attention. “We know where our market is and Lake Forest is typical of it,” he said. Besides Chicago (12 dealers in urban area) and other parts of the Midwest, major markets for Cadillac in the United States are in the retirement states of Florida and Arizona. The demographics continue to show that this luxury nameplate of General Motors appeals, as it has in the past, to a wealthy but older clientele.

 

Perhaps younger buyers will take note of the 2010 SRX. Entry price for a front-wheel-drive 2010 SRX is $34,155 compared to the $37,700 of a Lexus RX, he said. For 2010, there are seven models of the SRX ranging up to $47,540. The hybrid model of the RX runs about $42,900.

 

“As far as fuel economy is concerned, the SRX uses unleaded regular and the Lexus RX uses premium fuel,” Vurpillat noted. “That gives us an advantage.”

 

The five-passenger, four-door SRX has all sorts of power (and memory) features including a rear liftgate that can be programmed to open to a certain height. This helps shorter people hit the close button on the bottom of the liftgate when it comes time to close it. Side bolsters for the driver’s seat are also on the list of power features.

 

The dual overhead cam, 24-valve, direct injection 3-liter, 265-horsepower engine is mated to a six-speed shiftable automatic transmission. Shifts were seamless and loaded toward the lower end of the speed cycle. A 300-horsepower, 2.8-liter turbo V6 is coming as an option engine this fall. Towing capacity is 3,500 pounds.

 

The SRX taken out for an afternoon drive ran on 20-inch wheels, but 18-inchers with P245 tires are standard on the $34,000 to $40,000 models. It is a quiet vehicle with lots of head and leg room. With the help of laminated window glass and extensive sound-proofing, exterior noise is virtually nonexistent in the cabin.

 

Unnoticed but part of the SRX package is an electronic suspension system, a mechanical center differential and a center and rear limited slip differential. The all-wheel-drive version of the SRX can send power from front to rear wheels and also from side to side. If, for example, the left rear tire has the grip, that is where most of the drive power will go.

 

The interior and exterior has been redesigned for 2010 to appeal to a less staid audience. Several of the changes are instantly obvious, such as a crease that runs on both sides upward from the ridged front wheel wells to the rear tailgate. One of Cadillac’s design trademarks is a long vertical taillight assembly. In earlier decades, the taillight could be big, wide and gaudy. This assembly was relatively thin and elegant. Beneath the taillight assemblies two chrome emission tailpipes peaked out from the rear fascia. Cadillac’s wreath and crest insignia is prominent front and back, but this year a badging trademark from yesteryear comes back.

 

Cadillac is spelled out in script off-center on the rear leftgate. “It is in script and asymmetrical in its placement, somewhat like an artist’s signature,” SRX product director John F. Howell said.

Howell is responsible for the redesign. For the last nine years with GM, he has been with Cadillac and was intent on returning some of the heritage looks to the SRX. Cadillac in script was one of those looks.

 

Nifty touches are on the inside, especially in the 29.8 cubic foot carpeted cargo area where there is a floor track for a moveable fence. Cargo can literally be fenced off into corners, sides and front or back. Beneath the cargo floor are two bins. One is three feet long, at least 10 inches high and 14 inches long. “I ran out of propane for our outdoor grille recently, and I found out that a replacement canister fits exactly right into that storage compartment,” Howell said. The lid of the storage compartment can be locked upright revealing a passel of hooks on which to hang grocery bags. Lighter groceries can hang on the hooks while heavier goods can be stored in the cargo cavity.

 

Another cavity storage area beneath the load floor holds a tire inflator kit. SRX buyers can exchange the storage areas for a temporary spare tire if they wish.

When the rear seats are flattened, cargo space expands to 61 cubic feet. When the split and fold leather seats are upright, a small door between them can be opened to allow longer items, such as fishing rods or ski poles to stick through. Howell said he does ski so this feature appeals to him and his family.

 

Howell designed the interior with burled hardwood inserts in the door trim and a color scheme of dark, light, dark from top to bottom. In the tested SRX, for example, light gray leather seats were sandwiched between a darker gray calfskin above it and an almost-black carpet on the floor.

 

Neat touches in the SRX are three 12 volt outlets, an eight-speaker Bose sound system for XM, AM, FM radio, MP3 and compact disc player and auxiliary input jack, a rear-seat entertainment center with headphones and two screens embedded in front headrests, keyless access, LCD driver’s information center, reclining rear seats, lighted sill plates, cut and sewn surfaces, adaptive headlights (move slightly in direction that vehicle turns), roof rails, modest spoiler and dual sunroof for front and rear seats.

 

“We did a lot of testing and developing of this vehicle in Europe and northern Sweden,” Howell said. “The architecture on this 2010 SRX is unique to it. We did not borrow from other vehicle platforms. This 2010 Cadillac SRX is ready to make its mark in the market.”

Vurpillat and Howell will continue their visits to exclusive zip code sites to get the message of the 2010 SRX to the public.

 

 

Vehicle: 2010 Cadillac SRX

Type: front- or all-wheel-drive luxury crossover

Price: $33,330 to $47,540 for seven trim levels

Engine: 3-liter, 24-valve, dual overhead cam, 265-horsepower V6

Transmission: six-speed shiftable automatic

Wheelbase: 110.5 inches

Length: 190.3 inches

Width: 75.2 inches

Height: 65.7 inches

Weight: 4,367 pounds

Ground clearance: 7 inches

Cargo: 61 cubic feet maximum

Turning circle: 40.3 feet

Fuel tank: 21 gallons

Fuel: unleaded regular

Assembly: Mexico

Warranty: four years or 50,000 miles, five years or 100,000 miles drivetrain and roadside assistance