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The 2019 Cadillac XT4 is actually a compact vehicle, though its lead exterior designer prefers to call it the “Escalade puppy.”

When Robin Krieg was talking about the all-new 2019 crossover utility vehicle — the XT4 — at its national introduction, he said the challenge was to design a new small crossover for an audience that mainly thinks of Cadillacs as always big.

The Escalade certainly qualifies: This body-on-frame traditional full-size SUV measures 17 feet long and 6 feet 2 inches tall, and is built like a pickup truck. Krieg said it was a challenge to translate that concept into the XT4, a small unit-body crossover, built like a car.

Some of the result is immediately apparent at a first look. The XT4 is an inch over 15 feet long and 5 feet 4 inches tall. Moreover, it has styling that hints at a pickup truck, mainly looking at the wheels. In an era when luxury crossovers often emphasize performance, the wheel openings are usually filled with big wheels and fat tires. The XT4’s wheels, however, have wheels and low-aspect-ratio tires that look small, more like they belong on a sports sedan or roadster.

Krieg said the look was deliberate, aimed at imparting an impression that the XT4 is light and agile. Given its size, it would seem like that in any case, but the space around the tires does remind one of a pickup truck.

However you look at it, the XT4 puppy is another step in an offensive maneuver at Cadillac, which plans to introduce a new model every six months through 2020. Today there are seven: four sedans and three SUVs, including the Escalade, Escalade ESV, XT5 and, now, the XT4. Many will go to China, now Cadillac’s top market.

The XT4 represents an all-new Cadillac architecture, designed to compete…