door chime and all auditory alerts for
the Aviator were recorded by the Detroit
Symphony Orchestra. This audio system
is balanced and special, and it rocks.
Cadillac has the hardware to match
the Aviator here—I raved about the
34-speaker Bose Panaray system in my
CT6-V review—but it’s not offered in the
XT6. There’s a 14-speaker Bose setup in
our tester. Like many elements of the
XT6, it’s fine in isolation but just can’t
compete with the Lincoln’s Revel setup.
The infotainment screen in the XT6
is smaller. The gear selector is an oblong
joystick that returns to a central position
after each pull, so it’s not immediately
obvious whether you’re in drive, reverse,
or neutral. And why is the fuel gauge so
imprecise? It’s marked by eight little
LED measurements. They’re the same
color as the gauge (hard to read) and only
display fuel level to the closest eighth.
There’s a whole lot of carbon-fiber trim
in the Cadillac. It’s real carbon—that’snot the issue here. The issue is that
the XT6 is a 4,700-pound luxury SUV
dressing itself in lightweight race-
inspired materials that just don’t fit with
the ethos of a three-row family hauler. It
feels out of place, even on this Sport-
trimmed model.
There’s no debating among our staff
that the Aviator has the better interior of
these two cars. Not only are the materials
of a higher quality, but the thoughtful
interior design also elevates the LincolnFEBRUARY 2020 MOTORTREND.COM 59