2007 Cadillac SRX: Oregon Trip, Final Day
Today is our last day of of Oregon tour in the 2007 Cadillac SRX. We're cruising down California's dead-straight Highway 99 through the central valley. With the end in sight, the wife and kids are tiring of all of the miles on the road and want to sleep in their own beds and ditch the suitcases. Me too.
The SRX has been a pleasure to drive the whole way. It rides well and doesn't bob or weave, even with a full load of passnegers and a packed luggage compartment. Its V6 engine makes me think there is no reason to bother with a thirstier V8. And the transmission programming is pretty much flawless. We did a lot of mountain passes. The engine made plenty of torque and the tranny never-ever dithered between gears. Two-lane passing maneuvers were easy too, but the V6's snarl as it kicks-down during such wide-open bursts is a bit loud and coarse.
But my passengers wanted me to air their gripes:
Tracy, riding shotgun:
-Sun visor is too short when folded to the side to block the sun coming in near the b-pillar (no extension or slider present)
-Seat belt tightens itself at the lap belt whenever she shifts position. She has to rebuckle it every so often for relief. (Driver's side had no such trouble)
-Auto-down window switch too sensitive, making it hard to crack the window open (imagine the sudden air blast at 70 mph)
-Lumbar in wrong spot and insufficient at the max setting (she's 8" shorter than me - I had no trouble)
Shelby and Sarah (11 and 8), riding in back:
-It's too cramped back here, side-to-side and front-to-back (high beltline, thick front seats and headrests)
-It's hard to open the rear doors without door dings (door cut shape makes it necessary to open them wide)
-No DVD player, daddy! (our car isn't equipped with one - we brought our own)
And while we're at it, Me, driving:
-The stand-up door locks poke me in the arm, even when retracted into the locked position. This was a problem when sightseeing at national parks and at fast-food drive-up windows. Cars that have their manual lock near the interior door handle are much more preferable. How about you?
-My wife were both annoyed by the inability to turn the auto-lock door function fully off. This setting simply isn't on the menu. Exacerbating this were inside door handles that don't override the lock, even though the owner's manual says they should. (Note: If I could turn auto-lock off, the arm-out and drive-through problem would be worse.)
All-in all, the SRX is has been a good drive - the best so far for our bi-annual Oregon raod trip. But 2,000 miles in the saddle has certain interior details grating on us.
Two more fill-ups: 494.5 miles, 23.9 gallons for 20.7 mpg (downhill, clear freeway)
Dan Edmunds, Director of Vehicle Testing @ 23,050 miles
Posted by Dan Aug 27, 2007 11:26 am
Permalink
Categories: 2007 Cadillac SRX
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The second seat was slid all the way back - I just double-checked. We had just enough room for our luggage and whatnot.
I agree about 3rd seats. And it isn't just an SRX thing. So many of them are pure marketing: they're too small to use, offer no real footwell or are too close to the rear glass for parents (like my wife) to feel comfortable putting the kids back there. Child seats become a struggle - it goes on and on.
Plus, as a *bonus*, their folded presence when not in use generally eats into cargo room. In the SRX, the handy underfloor bins in the 5-seater disappear in the 7-seat version. And you can't really travel with the row occupied, as all the luggage room is gone then.
It has got to be a large crossover, full-size SUV or a minivan (can we drop the "mini" already? they're huge now) for a third seat to make sense for travelling and everyday use.
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It must be something with Cadillac. My father's 2002 Deville has the same type of door lock switches; up at the elbow. He grumbles about locking his door every time he puts his arm up on the sill. In his car, he has completely disabled the auto-locking function, so it must be something new that you can't disable it fully anymore. Also, the front passenger seat doesn't give you enough lap belt length. I know my waistline isn't the slimmest (at 48 inches), but when I belt up in it, it locks up on me.
Personally, I prefer the lock switch down near the handle. It's quicker to get to when you want to hop out and thieves won't be able to tell at a passing glance that your door is unlocked. Also, if you crack your windows for ventilation, it's much harder to get at lock switches at the door handle than at the window sill if someone wants to break in.
If you really don't remember if you locked your door or not, just pull on the door handle...you'll know real quick.
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skid666
- Aug 28, 2007 6:56 am
(#10 Total: 12)
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Gotta love when marketing gets involved in the design, SRX (and a lot of other crossovers) should not have 3 rows. Checkbox options don't always make a lot of sense.
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billt9
- Aug 27, 2007 10:21 pm
(#9 Total: 12)
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3rd row has 24" legroom, that's just madness.
But 2nd row, were you aware they are sliding, with a 4" range?
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In order for my 8-year old daughter to get a reasonable feeling of space, I (6-foot 2) had to put my seat an inch further forward than I would have liked. My wife (5-foot 4) had to do likewise for our 11-year old. So now all four of us are compromised.
Another factor, I think, is the bulkiness of the upper area of the front backrests caused by seat-belt reatractors located within the seats, not on the door post. This design makes the seat thicker up there and puts a lot of visual mass at eye level with the girls.
Finally, because the SRX offers an optional "toy"* third seat (which the Edge doesn't bother with), the middle seat is perhaps located further forward than it ideally would be. I suspect that if the SRX had been designed as a 5-seater only, the rear seat would have been set further back and we would not be having this discussion.
*if the girls didn't feel right in the second row, this optional third row wouldn't fly for simple trips to the mall. Check out the overhead interior photos here. The fronts seats in these photos are much further forward than my wife and I had them.
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billt9
- Aug 27, 2007 8:11 pm
(#7 Total: 12)
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The Edge does looks like it has more room in the back, despite GM measurements.
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texases
- Aug 27, 2007 7:14 pm
(#6 Total: 12)
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Wow, that 8/11 year old comment makes me pause - anyone compare the SRX back seat with the Edge you have?
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thebigal
- Aug 27, 2007 6:29 pm
(#5 Total: 12)
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I will agree that it is more difficult on a lot of vehicles to tell if the door is locked or unlocked, like my Impala, and so if the door lock on the window sill retracted all the way into the door frame I wouldn't care. It's when it doesn't, as a lot of vehicles I have driven don't that I have a problem.
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jr1m90
- Aug 27, 2007 6:20 pm
(#4 Total: 12)
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Pennsylvania, United States of America |
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While I don't put my arm at the top of the door either (I prefer the actual armrest, but I'm 5' 9"), I prefer the lock in the Honda Pilot, which is a tab that is flush with the top of the door when unlocked and moves down even more when locked. Good solution for me because I find it more straight-forward than the tab mounted next to the interior door release (especially the ones where there is no red paint that shows when the door is unlocked).
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gharry
- Aug 27, 2007 3:12 pm
(#3 Total: 12)
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Wow - Dan, your 8 & 11 year-olds felt cramped in the back seat? Doesn't that say a lot for a car that many people use as a "fashionable" substitute for a station wagon or mini-van?
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vvk
- Aug 27, 2007 12:43 pm
(#2 Total: 12)
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I have always hated the door handle location -- it just a) looks weird b) not as easy to use c) no visual clue from outside if the lock is engaged. I have never had any problems with the classic location on top of the door panel. First of all, I never put my arm there -- that is really uncomfortable for me. Plus I tend to always hold the steering wheel with my left hand, right hand reserved for shifting gears, opening windows, using hand brake, operating HVAC, radio, etc. Second, looking at the photo, none of my cars have ever had such crude lock button. BMWs have really short ones that are retracted into the door panel all the way when locked. My 1986 SAAB had cone-shaped button tops that would not cut into the flesh this way. And my 1998 SAAB has nicely shaped flat/rounded buttons that also would not cut into the flesh. Anyway, I think it is more of an execution problem than a conceptual one.
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thebigal
- Aug 27, 2007 12:11 pm
(#1 Total: 12)
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I agree about the door locks... who wants to be skewered while driving with the window open and arm on the window sill? What ever happened to placing them near the door handle?
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