It certainly doesn't want to, but it polarises. The car cultures of the USA and Europe have come closer together, but they are far from being the same. Americans call it a compact SUV, more often even a crossover. But the former is actually true, as it is available with four-wheel drive. But is it also compact?

Detractors would say, inside yes, outside no, the opposite of a car that is bigger inside than outside. But the Americans have never been able to make good use of space. The Cadillac would be comparable to the top dog VW Tiguan, but also to several others. They all belong to the middle class.

The Cadillac is also almost 9 cm longer. But it still has considerably less space to offer. The luggage compartment is supposedly a little larger than the VW's with 637 litres, but here it is probably only possible that everything has been counted including the room for the spare wheel and side recesses, otherwise this value cannot be explained. If the rear seat backs are folded down, there are suddenly 270 litres less compared to the Tiguan.

However, the Tiguan cannot compete in terms of workmanship and cover qualities. Suddenly it becomes clear that Cadillac is a noble brand after all. Typical: no value seems to be attached to rear headrests that can be pulled out high enough. Instead of this there are reasonable covers for Isofix.

And so it goes on with sufficient headroom but not enough legroom for taller people in the back. But the seats are more than properly upholstered. The centre screen in the front is relatively small, the two round instruments are rather unimportant, while the speedometer is unnecessarily compressed although it shows up to 260 km/h.

The only Diesel engine available so far is almost exactly between the two most powerful Tiguan engines in terms of power and torque. However, if one compares the exhaust and consumption values, the Cadillac shoots far beyond the VW. Even at top speed (aerodynamics) the Tiguan is superior, although it is only 2 cm narrower and over 6 cm higher. Not only as a four-wheel drive is the Tiguan also much lighter.

The VW also has a slight advantage in terms of price, even if you add the extensive equipment of the Cadillac. With the VW surcharge list you could even save a little here and there, with the XT4 not. On the one hand, who needs an electrically adjustable steering wheel? On the other hand, who really wants to compare a Cadillac with a VW?