Testing times continue for Cadillac SRX

I was on airport duty again this week and the SRX didn't disappoint. My friend, rather his wife, had bought enough duvet sets to cover a city with. Whatever happened to buying a key ring when on holiday? Anyway, the roomy SRX accommodated everything. I programmed the sat-nav to help me with directions: even though I knew the way, I was just curious to see how user-friendly it was. Remarkably so is the answer, even for a technophobe like me. I do have one gripe and that's with the sound system. There is an awful lot of interference and no matter how hard you try to tune the radio, the signal is not very clear. Stick a CD in there though and the clarity of the 10-speaker Bose surround sound system is superb.

As mentioned in the first week, I thought the steering box on our SRX was lacking fluid. In fact, the rack and pinion was in need of a minor service and so the Caddy went back to GM for a bit of TLC. They gave it the once over and returned it just two days later in pristine condition. The linkage had been serviced while all the fluids, including the transmission, were topped up. They even washed it for us and it smelt like a brand new car again. Now, the stickiness we had been encountering in the steering has made way for a silky smooth feeling. The gearbox is also much better and the shifts are almost undetectable. To be honest, it feels like a different car.

We already established that the SRX handles well and is an extremely comfortable ride, but now with a vast improvement in the steering, it gives you confidence to throw this SUV around a bit harder. I do wish its 3.0-litre V6 had more punch. Floor it, and it doesn't exactly pin you back in your seat. It's been designed for a leisurely ride and the 8.1 seconds it takes for it to reach the 100kph mark is testament to the fact. But out on a long open stretch is where the SRX comes into its own. That's not to say it doesn't behave around town — it does, and impeccably so. Stuck in traffic in my 1991 Trans Am, I always have one eye on the temperature gauge. In the SRX, I haven't had to look at it once — even while sitting in a jam for almost 30 minutes. In fact, I was beginning to wonder if the needle had been painted on for it had not budged one little bit. Even when it was low on coolant it didn't overheat.

Thanks to the ice storm it blows with a push of a button on the key fob, you are guaranteed a cool ride when you clamber inside.

Facts (Week 3)

Week 1

Week 2