A “Luxury Crossover Vehicle” according to the PR blurb, but a big, opulent 4x4 from America’s most prestigious brand to you and me. Like so many manufacturers, Cadillac has failed to resist the call to move into new segments, so as well as its predictable limo-barges Cadillac now builds 4x4s. What’s particularly special about the SRX is that it comes in right-hand drive, which is still not true of the much of the range. It’s first major right-hand-drive model for years, the Saab-9-3 based BLS saloon launched in 2006, has bombed in the UK, so the SRX has a big task to break the mould.

The Sport Luxury model driven here is at the top of the range with its 325bhp “Northstar” V8, and there are seven seats across the range. With prices ranging from £28k to £37K, the SRX goes head to head with the Discovery, Jeep Grand Cherokee and Lexus RX. Except that this aggressive V8 version is more attuned to the Range Rover Sport and BMW X5 in most areas but price. £37k may seem like a lot, but it compares very favourably with every rival. This sting in the tail is that the choice of SRX is extremely limited. It’s either petrol V6 or a V8, a major weakness in a market where 90% of buyers choose diesel.

There’s no way you can sit on the fence when it comes to judging this Cadillac’s styling. With bold lines and a long, lean look, the SRX stands out in a world of soft shapes. The vertical headlamps with dual-projector lamps have a distinctive, jewel-like appearance. The tail lamps echo the vertical orientation of the headlamps; they are fast firing, instant-on LEDs. If you like all this – and it does grow on you – then the Cadillac SRX offers a refreshing approach to the sport utility concept, though few will ever call it pretty.

Over the years we have driven so many American cars that fail to even get close to the levels of competence we expect from European designed vehicles, we didn’t expect too much from the SRX. That made it an even bigger surprise when it turned out to be very agreeable, thank you. First, it’s extremely comfortable with big, squashy leather seats straight from a gentleman’s club. The Magnetic Ride Control gives a well-controlled, comfortable ride that minimises body roll in corners. And that V8. It’s dreamy, punching the weighty SRX forward in silence yet when you need it, howling up the motorway slip road like a NASCAR racer. No European V8 matches its charisma.

Despite the clever suspension, the SRX doesn’t stand up as a driving machine against the latest sports-focussed SUVs like the X5 and Range Rover Sport. Even though you can play tricks with the six-speed auto transmission (with both sports and manual modes) the Cadillac doesn’t have the agility of its Euro rivals. Nor does it have the brakes. Cadillac’s Panic Brake Assist should detect your need for additional braking assistance and apply extra pressure. It is, frankly, useless at town speeds and you really need to work the pedal to stop that two and a half tonnes making contact with the car in front. You do get used to it, but it’s also undoubtedly disconcerting.

It’s here that, scratching the surface, you can see why the SRX is cheaper than rivals. That pleasurable second layer of exploration just doesn’t exist in the Cadillac. Pick a Land Rover, Audi, BMW or Mercedes and there is a host of ways you can fine-tune your experience, from suspension settings through diversions on the satnav to tweaking the climate control. The SRX just isn’t as sophisticated. On the other hand that makes it instantly easy to drive, once you have managed to clamber in (no ride height adjustment, you see). The standard third row of seats is hard to get at and pretty cramped for all but kids, but they can be folded away into the floor at the touch of a button. The tailgate operation and the position of the pedals are electric too. Our car had the most enormous sunroof in Christendom, an essential option even if it does cost £1800.

The first trip home from the office, 13 miles, used, according to the trip computer, a gallon of fuel. That’s urban driving, with no chance of high speed. After that the average did nudge up to 15mpg, and we even saw 17mpg in a 50mph contra-flow on the M1. To be strictly fair, the computer reads American gallons, so you can improve that figure by 20%. The C02 figure of 396 g/km is as bad as its gets.

Once we’d got over the styling, which admittedly does take a bit of time, we became increasingly enticed by the SRX V8’s attributes. We liked its comfy, laid-back ambience and the way it could be pootled around on a light throttle without a care in the world. Then if you fancied a bit of fun, the sound of the V8 on full throttle can send a tingle down your spine. There’s an argument that’s says that no matter how honed a 4x4 is to road use, you are never going to turn it into a sports car. If you take that on board, then the SRX’s less-than-European approach to road dynamics matters less. The financial issue is a separate concern. Can those economy figures be justified? And just how much won’t an SRX be worth when you come to get rid of it?