2022 Cadillac XT6 vs 2021 Volvo XC40

Introduced for the 2019 model year, the Volvo XC40 enters 2021 with one major change—the addition of an all-electric powertrain option. The 2021 Volvo XC40 Recharge is the Scandinavian automaker’s first mass-market pure electric vehicle, in fact.

The Recharge will be sold alongside gasoline versions of the XC40, which carry over largely unchanged, and compete against small luxury crossovers like the Audi Q3, BMW X1, Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class, and Lexus UX. With its electric powertrain, the Recharge is a de facto Tesla Model Y competitor. It’s also priced similar to high-end versions of the Ford Mustang Mach-E, although the two electric crossovers have somewhat different philosophies.

In addition to that zero-emission powertrain, the Recharge gets an Android-based operating system, over-the-air (OTA) software update capability for all vehicle systems, and some updates to driver-assist tech. These changes don’t apply to gasoline 2021 XC40 models, but Volvo does plan to add the Android operating system to more vehicles in the future.

Since the Recharge is the main new thing for the 2021 XC40, that’s what we focused on for this review. While the gasoline XC40 is available in three trim levels—Momentum, R-Design, and Inscription—with standard all-wheel drive (AWD) in Canada, the Recharge is only offered in a single trim level.

Raise your hand if you remember the Cadillac Cimarron. A quick-and-dirty response to the surging popularity of small European luxury vehicles like the BMW 3 Series, the Cimarron was based on the Chevy Cavalier, a fact apparently lost on only the poor saps who bought one.

Forty years later, the model year 2022 Cadillac XT6 reminds us of that fiasco. A midsize, three-row crossover plugged into the gap between the smaller XT5 and the hulking Escalade, the XT6 is built in Spring Hill, Tennessee, where General Motors also churns out GMC Acadias. The differentiation and execution are much better this time around, but the XT6 still strikes us as a hasty rush job to capitalize on a popular segment.