Mated to a nine-speed automatic gearbox, the engine is more efficient and replaces the thirstier outgoing 5.5-litre eight cylinder, yet produces 33 additional horsepower and a whopping 67 lb-ft extra torque, thanks to advances in both hardware and software. 

The Cadillac Escalade has always been about doing things big — not just size-wise, although the fifth-generation model is indeed an impressive physical specimen, and the most spacious yet with an additional 264 millimetres of third-row legroom. 

Rather than a traditional body-on-frame build, this small truck is has a unibody construction based on the Tucson crossover, which becomes evident when you look at the two side-by-side: both sharing many traits from the windshield forward, for example the headlamps hiding behind the large black T-shaped grille.

Complementing the advanced platform is the same 563-horsepower 6.7-litre V12 monster engine found in the Cullinan SUV, mounted behind the front axle providing a balanced 50/50 weight distribution, sent to all four wheels.

Engineers retuned the SKYACTIV-G 2.0-litre four-cylinder mill — utilizing smaller and lighter pistons, optimized valves and fuel injectors, a dual-mass flywheel, fresh exhaust system and a higher transmission final drive ratio — to create 17-per-cent extra horsepower.

 “The first-ever Cadillac XT4 expands our successful SUV lineup toa segment where Cadillac has never been before,” says former Cadillac president Johan de Nysschen.