The automotive world has seen a huge change since the 2000s with the rise of SUVs and that change has affected even high-performance vehicles. When you heard of performance cars, you thought of powerful straight-line muscle cars, powerful and dynamic German coupes or low-slung Italian wedges. Going fast meant you had to forfeit most comfort features that come with owning a vehicle. But today, this has completely changed.We're now seeing big SUVs with performance that rivals dedicated sports cars. You don't need a supercar or sports car to have a genuine performance vehicle. A performance SUV can now embarrass most sports cars at a stoplight with even up to seven people inside. Among these giants, one vehicle has immediately become the choice for American families who want a family car and performance SUV all-in-one with almost no compromise. The Rise Of Fast Performance SUVs Bring A TrailerThe SUV landscape has changed more in the last twenty years than perhaps any other segment in automotive history. In the early 2000s, an SUV was solely a utility vehicle mainly as a more suitable everyday vehicle with the capability of a pickup truck. They were good for everyday commute, soccer practice and weekend camping trips. Performance was an after-thought and handling was not even a conversation as you were lucky not to tip it over in a sharp corner.Then came the first dedicated performance SUVs. Vehicles like the Porsche Cayenne and the BMW X5 proved that buyers were willing to pay a premium for these high-riding performance machines. Today, this is a norm in the automotive space and the term "Super SUV" is now a full-blown segment and one of the most competitive battlefields in the industry. Size Is No Longer A Limitation DodgeSize and weight are the enemy of performance and even sports cars try to reduce weight where possible. So, how do you make a three-ton block of steel move like a sports car? The answer is engineering advancement. You have things like adaptive air suspension, active roll stabilization, and massive brakes that have been able to manipulate the laws of physics to make this car handle and stop well. We now live in a world where a vehicle with the aerodynamic profile of a refrigerator can hit 60 mph in under five seconds, a feat once reserved for elite supercars. Almost Every Automaker Now Has A Fast SUV Via: FerrariSUVs are huge moneymakers for most car companies and, because of that, every other company wants a piece of that market. Even dedicated sports car companies like Lamborghini that once made only sports cars now have the Urus SUV, even Aston Martin and Rolls-Royce now have fast SUVs. Even Ferrari, which famously swore off making an SUV, finally made the Ferrari Purosangue. They were all late to the game but have seen massive success after launching these SUVs that became their bestsellers. Most prestigious manufacturers have realized that the modern enthusiast also wants a "one-car solution." If you can only fit one vehicle in your driveway, it should be the one that can do everything. Fast SUVs Usually Come With Trade-Offs Carwow via YouTubeHowever, most performance SUVs still force you to make a choice. You often lose the very things that you want in an SUV in the first place. Performance SUVs usually have low ground clearance, stiff supension, less trunk space, most times only seat 4 or 5 people and aren't so great on gas. Some have sloping rooflines that even eat in the passenger room of the vehicle. You then end up with a car that is too compromised to be a luxury cruiser and too heavy to be a true track weapon. But there is an SUV from Cadillac that has the performance of a sports car but also retains every functionality that you would expect from a full-size SUV. The Cadillac Escalade-V Is A Fast SUV With Almost No Compromise This is where Cadillac decided to do something different. They wanted to build a fast SUV but not a track-focused vehicle that gave up everything that made it a great SUV. So they took the full-size Cadillac Escalade and gave us the Escalade V in 2022. This is one of the most iconic full-size luxury SUVs that has been prepped to take on sports cars with the whole family. The Escalade-V is the ultimate performance SUV for the family. It has modern infotainment, premium comfort features and can sit up to eight passengers with enough space to carry their luggage. This is a massive 6,000-pound SUV three-row luxury palace that is capable of breakneck speeds. A Powerful Engine In A Full-Size Body The "V" badge on the Escalade isn't just a styling package or marketing ploy. Under the hood sits a hand-built, 6.2-liter supercharged V8 engine which is a mechanical masterpiece shared with the high-performance CT5-V Blackwing but with more power. The CT5-V Blackwing makes 668 hp and 659 lb-ft of torque, but the same engine in the Cadillac Escalade V makes 682 horsepower and 653 lb-ft of torque, making it the most powerful production Cadillac at the time wrapped in a classy body.It isn't just making power for the sake of having it, but it is needed to propel this 6,200-pound vehicle to help defy its own mass. Power is sent to all four wheels via a 10-speed automatic which is the same one found in the sixth-gen Camaro SS.This SUV is fast and when you bury the throttle in an Escalade-V, the front end lifts like a speed boat and sprints to 60 mph in 4.4 seconds and clears the quarter mile in under 13 seconds. To put that into perspective, this full-size SUV is faster than many dedicated sports cars from just a few years ago. While it can keep up with anything it comes across, its top speed is electronically limited to 125 mph. Dedicated high-performance SUVs like the Urus and Purosangue can hit 60 mph in around three seconds and hit a top speed of 190 mph.HennesseyCadillac is very honest about what this car is and its target audience. This is a full-size SUV, and while it can go faster, safety is a priority. Despite the fact that technology allows this car to keep up with most sports cars, you can't totally defy physics. It still has to stop and take corners at a reasonable speed, so Cadillac prioritized real-world stability and usability over bragging rights at 180 mph.What truly makes the Escalade-V a great vehicle in the performance world is that it hasn't lost its utility. Unlike many European rivals that trade towing capacity for lap times, the Escalade-V can still tow up to 7,000 lbs. It still features an Electronic Limited-Slip Differential and the latest Magnetic Ride Control 4.0, which allows it to glide over road imperfections or navigate a light off-road trail with the family in tow. It remains the ultimate tool for the family and long cross-country road trips, but does it significantly faster. The only issue you might run into with this vehicle is that it uses a big V8 that gets 13 MPG, which may not be great for your wallet. It Is Expensive But Worth The Money With an MSRP starting around $160,000, the Escalade-V is undeniably expensive and not everyone can afford it. But compared to other high-performance luxury SUVs, this offers way more value. An Urus now starts at $300,000, while a Rolls-Royce Cullinan starts higher at around $450,000. Even when compared to lower-priced SUVs like the Mercedes-AMG GLS 63 or Alpina XB7, the Cadillac offers a level of sheer presence and American "muscle" that the Europeans can't replicate. It's like an ultra-luxury school bus with the soul of a muscle car. SUVs Like These May Never Be Made Again Cadillac decided to make the SUV Americans wanted before electrification took over. While hybrids and electric cars are definitely the best way to extract performance, a full-size supercharged V8 American SUV is something to celebrate. A high displacement supercharged engine is not something we see often. The only other full-size SUV like this is the Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat.This was a bold attempt by Cadillac to show what was possible when engineers were told to build the best possible version of this gas-powered icon. When these are gone, we will likely never see their like again. If you’re looking for the ultimate sleeper that hides its performance behind a wall of luxury, the V-Series is the definitive answer.Sources: Cadillac, Lamborghini, Aston Martin, Ferrari, fueleconomy.gov.