Driving Impression: Cadillac Escalade Platinum 4WD

Full-sized luxury sport-utilities are such a given in the U.S. market in 2024 that it is hard to believe that Cadillac needed to join the field kicking and screaming. Lincoln introduced the Navigator in the summer of 1997 and immediately became an overwhelming success. Based on the recently introduced 福特 F-150 platform, the Lincoln Motor Company Navigator hit the road as a three-row wagon stretching 5.2 meters long and powered by 5.4L V8. Buyers couldn’t get enough of them and Ford made money on each one sold.

With its tail between its legs, Cadillac scrambled to get a competitor into dealerships. With the full-sized Chevrolet and GMC SUVs rolling off the Arlington, Texas, assembly line, the basic ingredients were already available but required a bit of Cadillac style. A revised front end was the biggest outside hint that the truck wasn’t a Tahoe or Yukon, but otherwise the first generation Escalade was the same as its GMC counterpart with every option. That was necessary to get it to the market as quick as they did.

Fortunately for Cadillac, an all new SUV was in development and arrived less than two-and-a-half years after the first generation was introduced. With styling distinct from its Chevrolet and GMC cousins, the second generation Escalade became a pop culture icon and a sales success. Unlike the first generation and its cross-town rival, the second generation was joined by a long wheelbase variation (Escalade ESV) and a short bed pickup (Escalade EXT).

A third generation arrived in 2006 followed by a fourth generation in late 2013, each with more Cadillac DNA to enhance the model and keep it ahead of the Lincoln in sales. Arguably the most radical styling change came with the fifth generation, which hit showrooms in early 2020.

Still offered in two wheelbases, the Escalade allows owners to ride in style. Powertrain choices include the 6.2L L87 V8 or the 3.0L Duramax turbodiesel inline six cylinder, both mated to the ubiquitous 10-speed automatic transmission, powering the rear or all four wheels. The limited edition, top-of-the-line, and $150k Escalade V, introduced in 2022, ups the power output to an amazing 682hp thanks to the supercharged 6.2L LT4 V8.

First Hand Impressions

This is one imposing vehicle. It’s size is large, but exactly the same as a Chevrolet Tahoe or GMC Yukon, yet the Escalade comes across as bigger. The bold front is part of the image and adds to the feeling that this is a massive truck. Unique side trim also adds mass to the look of the vehicle. All of this combines into a purposefully commanding look and majestic sense from the outside.

Approaching the Escalade, passengers are greeted by lights all around. In addition to the headlights and taillights that illuminate on most vehicles as the driver nears, the Escalade adds in projected Cadillac logos from each side mirror and under the tailgate. Part of the US$1,750 option package, LED-lit running boards slide out from each side to meet the passengers and help them climb up into this vehicle.

Once inside, the driver is greeted with a 14.2-inch OLED instrument cluster and 16.9-inch OLED center touchscreen. Moving from page to page through the infotainment system is fairly straightforward and seems somewhat intuitive. Various modes of data entry, such as changing the radio station or switching over to Android Auto controls, were easy and direct. With 36 speakers, the AKG audio system sounds good but the cavernous interior provides more of an arena feeling and the music never really is centered toward the front passengers. Cadillac did address the vast openness of the cabin by providing Conversation Enhancement, which amplifies the passenger’s voices over the speakers and allowing people in the third row to have a normal tone conversation with the driver and front seat passenger, and vice versa.

Second row passengers are treated to 7.2-inch OLED rear screens with their own entertainment. Internet connectivity provides access to YouTube or streaming services while on the move.

The optional US$700 console refrigerator with freezer offers room to keep a few items cold and within reach of the driver.

Lots of praise has been heaped on Cadillac’s Supercruise system, and it is impressive. Setting the speed control and initiating Supercruise with a button on the steering wheel and the Escalade pilots the vehicle with minimal human input. A sensor makes sure that the driver is paying attention and will warn the driver if something interrupts the system’s ability to navigate safely, but in most cases Supercruise did everything as advertised. Driving down a local highway, the system maintained proper distances between vehicles without pushing so far away as to allow “safe” drivers from slipping in between. If traffic allowed, Supercruise warns the driver that it will change lanes, signals the shift, and passes slower traffic, all without any excitement. Long stretches can be driven without driver intervention, but various road anomalies, including a couple of poorly designed highway curves, disturbed the system for a moment, which cannot be held against the system. On the negative side, the system seemed to “ping-pong” in lanes as it couldn’t maintain a line in the middle of the driving lane.

Seating for seven is ample and comfortable. Large seats keep the driver and passengers high enough to see out of the vehicle. Heating and cooling in the first and second rows provide an extra level of comfort, especially when the passengers don’t like the ambient temperature of the cabin. Passengers in the front are also offered the added comfort of massaging seats and the front infotainment screen steps the passenger through the process to find just the right style and area of massage.

Driving this size vehicle typically accompanies descriptions of “truck like,” mainly because it shares so many components with full-sized trucks. However, the Escalade drops the solid rear axle found in the Chevrolet Silverado and sports an independent multi-like setup at the rear. Enhancing the IRS, Cadillac adds Air Ride Adaptive suspension and Magnetic Ride Control which sorts of the bumps, levels the ride, and makes the Escalade handle like a much smaller vehicle.

Not much can be done to make the vehicle feel smaller when parking something that measures nearly 5.4 meters in length and spans over 2 meters wide. Electronic enhancements help show where the vehicle sits in parking spaces and distances between it and other parked vehicles, but the contrast at night makes parking difficult in low-light situations. Even with these issues, the Escalade pulled into spaces with relative ease, forward, backward, or in parallel situations.?

Buyers who opt for the Platinum trim level, a US$28,800 rise over the base model and US$14,500 bump over the Sport trim level, want to let others know they’ve arrived. Exclusive to the Platinum are 22-inch 10-spoke wheels and a bespoke grille. Interior trim is leather and seats feature semi-aniline leather, a process where the dye permeates more than just the surface of the material in order to maintain the natural grain and protect the color from fading with age.

A sign of how General Motors is still dealing with the semiconductor shortage, the test vehicle included a US$50 credit because this particular Escalade was “not equipped with 2nd row express-up window control.”

A uniquely American product, the Escalade makes its presence known on the highway or at the country club. Aside from the long-wheelbase Escalade ESV, not much rivals it in size. Cadillac has done an outstanding job tailoring this truck into an important part of the lineup, ranking up there with Fleetwood and Eldorado as immediately identifiable as Cadillacs.

Inside Analysis

With Cadillac’s intention to become an all-electric brand, an electric Escalade was inevitable. Announced in the spring of 2023, the Cadillac Escalade IQ will enter production in the summer of 2024 followed by the long wheelbase edition in early 2025. Based on the same Ultium-powered platform used for the GMC Hummer and Chevroelt Silverado EV, the first electric Escalade is promised to feature 510kW of power pushed through two or all four wheels. The 200+kWh lithium ion battery pack is expected to provide up to 450 miles of range.

Introduction of the Escalade IQ is a harbinger of the demise of the ICE variation. At the moment, the brand is focused on eliminating ICE-powered models by the end of the decade. With a new generation of the Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon due to enter production in 2028, adding a Cadillac version would definitely put a damper on Cadillac’s 2030 goal.

The current ICE-powered Cadillac Escalade will remain available to consumers through the 2027 model year. Selling two different Escalades side-by-side allows buyers to slowly transition from one to the other as GM winds down production of the old model. If the Escalade IQ hits the market with all of the targets for performance and range met, most Cadillac’s customers should find the switch painless, but there will still be wealthy individuals who want the “old school” Escalade. It’s possible that Cadillac will be leaving money on the table when that time comes, but there’s a chance that the market will be ready for the change. There’s a chance.???

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