Back From The Dead: Gas-Powered Cadillac XT6 Rejoins Line-Up As Caddy Decides Magic Number Of Three-Row SUVs Is Four

The XT6 wasn't exactly Cadillac's most inspired vehicle. That's probably why you didn't notice that the three-row crossover, which shared its underpinnings with the Chevy Traverse and Buick Enclave, actually died after the 2025 model year — leaving the non-iQ Escalade as the only petrol-powered three-row in Caddy's line-up. If you wanted a non-Escalade three-row, you'd have to go for the all-electric Vistiq, and not everyone was apparently ready for that. Well, I've got great news for all you XT6 fans out there: the world is changing and so is Cadillac's line-up. The XT6 is coming back and keeping its petrol engine.

The news comes via a LinkedIn post from Cadillac Global Vice President Kristian Aquilina, who pointed to a market that "continues to evolve" as the reason for bringing the XT6 back. He added that Cadillac was aligning its "product mix with real-world customer adoption across the luxury market." There's no word on when the XT6 will make its grand re-entry into the market, but when it does, it'll be alongside a next-generation two-row XT5 crossover and CT5 saloon. There's also no word on what powertrain it'll have, but I wouldn't be terribly shocked if it carried the same turbocharged 2.5-litre inline-four found in the current Traverse, Enclave and GMC Acadia.

This is great news for those who felt that the three three-row SUV offerings Cadillac already sold weren't quite enough. I get it. Four is a far better number, anyway.

A new start

A quick look at the sales charts makes it abundantly clear why Cadillac is making this decision. Despite the XT6's less-than-amazing value, it kicks the Vistiq's arse up and down the sales floor. In its final full year of sales — 2024 — Cadillac sold 20,225 XT6s. That's hardly a good number. However, in 2025, the automaker shifted just 7,879 Vistiqs. Ouch. At the same time, it sold 49,366 petrol-powered Escalades and a further 8,115 Escalade IQs.

It'll be some time before we get a fuller picture of what a second-generation XT6 looks like. A newly redesigned petrol-powered XT5 is slated to come out next year, according to Aquilina's post. More likely than not, we won't see a new XT6 until after that.

Aquilina mentioned that this renewed emphasis on internal-combustion-powered vehicles doesn't mean EVs are going away, and Cadillac will "continue to invest in a robust EV portfolio across major luxury segments." He ended by saying that a strong line-up can include both electric and internal combustion vehicles "because choice matters." It's a far cry from Caddy's original plan to be all-electric by 2030.