Consumer Reports Says Cadillac XT4 Crossover “Least Satisfying Vehicle”
Consumer Reports doesn’t pull any punches when it lists the Cadillac XT4 crossover as one of the “10 Least Satisfying Car.” It uses a number of criteria to gauge owner satisfaction. So this is mostly determined according to actual owners, not the automotive press. That, in some ways, makes the label for the XT4 a lot worse.
Why did the Cadillac XT4 place in the top 10?
Consumer Reports goes by an owner satisfaction survey, then tests these new vehicles with road tests. Finally, it looks at reliability scores to determine its Least Satisfying list. For this year’s list, the XT4 ranked ninth.
Only 47 percent of current owners would buy another XT4, which places it last in this category. As a comparison, the Volvo XC40 came in first with owners considering another one, at 75 percent. But owners weren’t through trashing the XT4.
Cadillac XT4 owners had other issues with the crossover
In a satisfaction survey, owners complained that it represents poor value for what was charged. It scored 33 points out of a possible 100. Owners then come down on comfort and build quality, which they only give a 58 out of 100. Reliability of the 2019 XT4, the only year CR had info for, was another owner complaint.
As an overview, the rankings went as follows:
- 2022 Toyota C-HR
- 2022 Ford EcoSport
- 2022 Chevy Trax
- 2022 Infinity Q50
- 2022 Nissan Rogue Sport
- Infinity QX50
- 2022 Jeep Compass
- 2022 Jeep Renegade
- 2022 Cadillac XT4
- 2022 Kia Forte
For the lowly Toyota C-HR, only 29 percent of owners in the survey said they would buy another one. The Ford EcoSport only scored one point higher in this category. In the same model segment; sub-compact crossover, the Chevy Trax came in with a 37 percent score for third place. See a pattern?
Why can’t manufacturers build a satisfying sub-compact crossover?
It doesn’t seem like manufacturers have this segment dialed in. Are they trying to cut out as much cost to hit a certain price point, or is it something else? It is hard to say. But based on the CR owners surveys, there is plenty of improvement needed in this segment.
Over the last three years, the Ford EcoSport had annual sales of between 55,000 and 65,000. The Toyota C-HR has several years of selling 45,000, while the Chevy Trax sold over 100,000 in both 2019 and 2020. So, while these aren’t blockbuster numbers, there are a healthy amount of new-car buyers stepping up for this segment.
