Pros:
- Luxury look and feel – Platinum Edition Tehama Aniline and Nuance luxury leather seating treatment
- Entertainment – four DVD screens accompany the three row interior making this a road tripper’s dream car
- Sheer size – if you’re looking for a luxury utility vehicle that can carry the entire family and more, then the size of the Escalade ESV will work for you
Cons:
- Underwhelming power – rated at 403hp and 417 foot pounds of torque, the motor still comes up short considering that this is a 7400 pound SUV
- Dated interior feel – the interior was a major disappointment, especially given that this was the Platinum Edition, and the look and feel is more appropriate for a $45,000 Suburban
- Dated styling – the Escalade suffers from a design that was more relevant five years ago, and just looks bland and inconsistent compared to more current automotive designs
“This SUV takes on big missions — Beautifully.”
There is always a certain amount of intrigue and excitement that comes along with testing an $88,000 vehicle. That price point puts this SUV in the company of some of the newest offerings from Porsche, BMW, and Audi. Granted, the sheer size of the Escalade puts it in its own category, but given the close to six figure price tag, the expectations were high.
No doubt about it, the Escalade is full on “bling”. A big motor, lots of chrome, lots of leather, and lots of video screens. It would also seem to be the ideal family vehicle, as it can carry 7 people comfortably, and has a Magnetic Ride Control suspension lending to a smooth ride that would make road trip miles fly by. The interior is built for comfort, but the third row is easily folded to increase the already roomy cargo area.
Driving Impressions
When I was a kid, my neighbors had a late 70’s Cadillac Seville. It was dark blue with a white leather interior and had a plush, smooth, and quiet ride. The Seville became Cadillac’s smallest, yet priciest car in their line at the time. Some thirty years later, Cadillac has definitely remained a luxury brand, but in the case of the Escalade, they have re-emphasized that size does matter.
This SUV commands a presence. The Carbon Flash Metallic ESV Platinum example that we had for a week measured just about 223 inches, or almost 19 feet in length. That’s about three feet longer than the length of two MINI Coopers placed bumper to bumper. The shape and profile are signature GM, as it carries the same general lines of the Chevrolet Suburban and GMC Denali. Both are considered full sized SUV’s, but the flashiness and feature level of the Escalade are definitely a few steps above. Walking around the vehicle, there is a generous usage of chrome trim and Cadillac badging.
Inside, the Platinum Edition boasts a luxurious leather interior, accented with a rich Olive Ash and Burl wood trim. It has the standard bevy of features that you would expect from a car at this price, but the first issue is the ergonomics and layout of the interior. It is very old fashioned looking, using a very small climate control screen that is positioned low, making it hard to read. The buttons seem to be the same buttons pulled from the Suburban line, and some buttons are oddly placed. For example, the traction control button is placed far away on the passenger side of the center console, and the column mounted shifter obscures a few of the information screen toggle buttons when the transmission was in Drive mode.
The seats, while covered in a rich Tehama Aniline leather, proved to be comfortable, but I would have preferred a softer touch leather on the seating surfaces, and a bit more support and contouring in the side bolsters. They aren’t bad, but they’re a little flat for my own preferences.
Starting the motor brings the Vortec 6.2 liter gas powered V8 to life. It’s got a nice rumble, but is not overbearing. Despite the power rating of 403 hp and 417 foot pounds of torque, it just doesn’t seem enough for the Escalade. This SUV weighs 7,400 pounds. Add in the large 22” wheels, and this thing has to gulp down fuel to just pull away from a stop sign.
During my first drive, I made the mistake of leaving the fuel economy screen on the dash. It was an eye opener to see the instant fuel economy meter drop down to single digits when merely accelerating away from a light. I quickly changed the on screen display so that I could prevent myself from getting caught up in the mileage, which is rated at 13 mpg city and 18 mpg highway. It would have been interesting to do a back to back test with the newer Escalade Hybrid, which is rated at 20/23mpg, but the Hybrid is also a smaller vehicle. It’s approximately two feet shorter and 600 pounds lighter than our ESV test rig.
Given the direction of the automotive industry towards more efficient and greener technology, the Escalade continues to feel like a throwback vehicle. It seems quite old fashioned, relying on a large displacement V8 motor to move a very heavy full sized vehicle. While the Escalade was nice to drive, it was disappointing to know that the plush comfort was coming at a high cost combined with low efficiency.
Interior/Exterior Styling and Features
In my opinion, the entire design of the Escalade is dated. To quote a colleague, “it’s a dinosaur.”
Exterior wise, it’s boxy and hard edged, making it stand further apart from the more current designs, which emphasize fluidity and aerodynamics. It honestly does look like a vehicle that would hold much more relevance in the market ten years ago. The most modern exterior feature appears to be the LED headlights. They provide excellent night time vision, and the grill is trademark Cadillac. The power running boards are a nice feature and a must have for ease of entry and exiting of the vehicle.
Inside, our test Escalade was spec’d with the Bose 5.1 surround sound system, satellite radio, navigation, single disc CD/DVD, rearview camera, and Bluetooth. These are all basic features that should be part of a vehicle of this caliber, so no surprise there. The only issues were the navigation and control of the features. The interface seems old fashioned, the dash screens were a little small, resolution was low, and the buttons less intuitive. The all important navigation also seems a few generations old compared to the newer more advanced German and Japanese examples. Another minor issue is the steering column, which only allowed for tilt adjustment and not reach.
Overall, inside and out, the Cadillac does a great job of conveying a large, luxury image. There is no shortage of interior room and the overall proportions seem good for this large SUV market segment. But after the initial excitement of testing a large $88,295 Cadillac, came the lows of realizing just how old this model has really become. The driving experience is numb. The interior dash is clean, yet dated. And the exterior styling is definitely showing its age. The Vortec 6.2L motor, though quite powerful, seemed to still be not enough to move this heavy SUV.
Honestly the overall test was disappointing. The features are all there, but the driving interface and experience are not.
Value/ Who should buy it?
Families. If you regularly have to carry around kids and gear, then the sheer size of the Escalade will make life easier. We took a few longer trips as a family and even shorter trips were great. Access is easy, both getting in and out, and the entertainment system kept the kids distracted and the drive peaceful.
| BUILD | INTERIOR | PERFORMANCE | HANDLING | STYLING | VALUE | OVERALL | |
| RATING | 4.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.2/D |
2011 Cadillac Escalade ESV PLatinum:
- Engine: Vortec 6.2L V8 Sequential Fuel Injection with Flex Fuel and Active Fuel Management
- Power: 403 HP at 5700 RPM
- Torque: 417 lb/ft at 4300 RPM
- Transmission: 6 speed automatic with overdrive
- EPA estimated MPG: 13 City / 18 Highway
- Price: $66,080 / $88,295 as tested
