The Cadillac Escalade V ESV is huge: the 682 hp flagship measures 5.76 meters!
“Of course there’s a BMW X7, Range Rover or a Mercedes GLS, but actually we’re looking at a Lincoln Navigator,” says product manager Jordan Garwood. “The other models are significantly smaller and also serve a different audience because there is no version with an extended wheelbase. Our quantities are then completely different.”
“Maximum luxury, we cannot do without it”
The XXL version comes with six individual seats, which could not be more luxurious in a Learjet. “We have a sales mix of 70:30 in favor of the regular version,” Garwood continues. “However, many people want the ESV long version for maximum luxury. We couldn’t do without that.”
36 loudspeakers ensure great entertainment. GM placed four of them in the front headrests.
The interior is also luxurious: 38-inch display, air-conditioned individual leather seats, separate air-conditioning. In the rear, the Escalade offers plenty of space, two 12.6-inch touchscreens and premium AKG sound from 36 speakers.
The speedometer and infotainment display is 38 inches. The interior with lots of leather looks very well made.
V8 catapult with 682 hp
Like the competition, the Escalade V ESV uses a supercharged eight-cylinder engine. Displacement, even supercharged, is irreplaceable. This is underlined by the sportiest of all Escalades with its well-known 6.2-liter V8. That free-breathing eight-cylinder takes a lot of air at the request of the pilot and powerfully presses you into the seats with 682 hp.
The in-house ten-speed automatic can hardly keep up with the gear change when the US colossus sprints from a standing start to 100 km/h in around 4.5 seconds, while the driver follows the sprint on the gigantic screen or the head-up display.
The Escalade delivers 682 V8 hp and a maximum of 885 Nm of torque. For this he also needs 20 liters of petrol per 100 kilometers.
If the normal enthusiasm of the eight-cylinder is not enough, you can press the comparatively inconspicuous V switch in front of the somewhat pale gear selector lever – and the colossus puts on its ears.
On the gigantic 16:9 screen, various settings for chassis, steering, transmission and other modes play a central role.
Neat sound and 885 Nm of torque
In addition, the driver enjoys the beguiling sound of the rumbling eight-wheeler, which smashes into the surroundings from the four tailpipes. You will miss something like that in electric cars with their artificial sound. Here there is still sonorous power acoustics at its finest.
US version only 200 km/h fast
Stately: The trunk of the ESV variant swallows 4043 liters with the rear seats folded down.
That would be far too little in the league of a 700 hp power SUV in Europe or the Emirates. The export models should therefore get a much longer leash.
Goal: travel comfort instead of lap times
Most customers in the USA value travel comfort anyway. And the sporty colossus leaves nothing to be desired in terms of equipment and long-distance qualities.
The space available for the driver and passengers is just as lavish as the volume of the luggage compartment. The fact that not only the tailgate opens electrically, but also the long steps unfold electrically and the doors close as if by magic, fits into the excellent image of the Escalade V ESV.
Such a one would also find its fans in Europe, who would be only too happy to pay the minimum of 150,000 US dollars. And the XXL version, including an unmanageably large number of security systems, costs 3000 US dollars more – that too is America.
