Yes, automakers are in a head-long rush to develop and deliver new and longer-range electric vehicles to a seemingly eager public ready to embrace the technology, notably in light of record high gasoline prices that have left many motorists blind-sided. This includes Cadillac, General Motors’ 120-year-old premium brand, which will deliver its $70,000 (to start) Lyriq all-electric SUV later this year.
That said, these same automakers are not abandoning the traditional, highly competitive, and wide-ranging, gasoline-fueled sport-utility segment, especially the bigger-the-better cash cows that have greatly added to their bottom lines. This includes Cadillac, upping the game of its already premium-priced, three-row Escalade with the new 2023 Escalade-V, touted as “the industry’s most powerful full-size SUV.”
Leveraging the high-performance technology and lineage of its V-Series line of sport sedans, which has been ongoing since 2004, the $179,998 (including destination charge) Escalade-V thunders out of the gate packing a hand-built supercharged and intercooled 6.2-litre V8 pumping out a stupendous 682 horsepower and 653 lb-ft of torque. The even longer ESV, powered by the same engine, will set you back another $3,500.
2023 Cadillac Escalade-V ESV Photo by Brian Harper
2023 Cadillac Escalade-V ESV
2023 Cadillac Escalade-V ESV Photo by Brian Harper
2023 Cadillac Escalade-V ESV Photo by Brian Harper
2023 Cadillac Escalade-V ESV Photo by Brian Harper
The technically advanced V blends the luxury and accoutrement one expects from the brand with the technology that lets this 2,966-kilogram (a little more than 6,400 pounds for those who don’t speak metric) leviathan lay down a 4.6-second blast to 100 km/h and a quarter-mile time of 12.8 seconds when launch control is activated. And while the thought of the massively long (5,766 mm), bright white ESV tester — which I dubbed the Great White Whale — plying the same stretch of arrow-straight tarmac as a Top Fuel dragster easily borders on the ludicrous, know that the engine at full song will stop people in their tracks. The basso profundo bellow of the supercharged V8 coursing through the quad exhausts is a sonata of pure mayhem, as if the gates of hell itself were flung open to unleash the forces of evil. How delish!
The Escalade-V’s engine, hand-assembled and then signed by the master builder at GM’s Performance Build Center in Bowling Green, Kentucky, shares similarities with the CT5-V Blackwing’s supercharged V8 but features a larger supercharger that helps overcome the higher inlet and exhaust restrictions on the full-size SUV. It spins at up to 13,500 rpm to produce nearly 10 pounds of boost. The rest of the engine is designed to support the monster output, including a forged-steel crankshaft, forged steel connecting rods and forged aluminum pistons.
Power is shuttled through a 10-speed automatic transmission, which then transfers torque to a full-time active all-wheel-drive system that splits torque between the front and rear wheels for optimal traction. Though rear-wheel biased, some torque is always directed to the front wheels.
2023 Cadillac Escalade-V ESV Photo by Brian Harper
2023 Cadillac Escalade-V ESV Photo by Brian Harper
2023 Cadillac Escalade-V ESV Photo by Brian Harper
2023 Cadillac Escalade-V ESV Photo by Brian Harper
2023 Cadillac Escalade-V ESV Photo by Brian Harper
2023 Cadillac Escalade-V ESV Photo by Brian Harper
Yet, the Escalade-V is no one-trick pony. It corners and generally handles far better than its considerable bulk would suggest. For that one can look to the suspension calibrations as well as V-Mode. The first comes down to the Magnetic Ride Control 4.0, Air Ride adaptive suspension and exclusive suspension hardware as well as the electronic limited-slip differential. Granted, the Arizona roads travelled were in pretty good shape, so the underpinnings weren’t given that much of a workout (unlike the air conditioning unit, which was capably dealing with a 43°C heat wave). Still, the Caddy’s steering was responsive and, even if you could feel the SUV’s considerable weight transfer in the turns, driver control was never an issue. The meaty P275/50R22 Bridgestone all-season rubber held the intended line without complaint.
Selecting V-Mode, accessed via a button on the centre console, lets the suspension, steering, brake feel, engine sound and performance and AWD settings all be further tailored, the performance mode also automatically lowering the ride height by nearly 20 mm.
Wending northwest through suburban Phoenix and environs, my co-driver and I navigated the Escalade-V ESV on to state roads 87 and 188 (the Apache Trail), on the way to the Theodore Roosevelt Dam, approximately 130 kilometres away.
Interestingly, most of the state’s residents plying the undulating tarmac of SR87 were treating the posted speed limits as a starting point, so if 65 miles per hour was good, then 75 was better and 85 felt about right. (The fact the price of regular was US$5.20 a US gallon [3.79 litres] didn’t appear to be a reason to slow down.) And before you ask, nobody is buying this beast for its superior fuel economy. Our day’s jaunt — consisting mostly of highway miles — yielded an average of 16.6 litres of 91 octane per 100 kilometres. With a 107-litre fuel tank, you do the math.
However, the most fascinating thing about the Great White Whale was its Super Cruise driver assistance system. I was riding shotgun. My American co-driver and I were having a polite discussion regarding politics and healthcare when I glanced over and noticed his hands weren’t on the steering wheel — he had engaged Super Cruise. I was both mesmerised and terrified as we bombed along at 70-80 mph, the system anticipating the traffic’s differing speeds, making lane changes effortlessly with a flick of the turn signal. A camera on the back of the steering wheel makes sure you’re looking straight ahead, warning or shutting down if your eyes stray. (I tried it for a couple of minutes later in the day on another highway before deciding it was just too freaky!)
Looks-wise, the V is subtly differentiated from the regular Escalade’s already extroverted design with unique front and rear fascias, the latter incorporating openings for a quad exhaust outlet. Uniquely styled 22-inch wheels are also part of the V-Series package, exposing Brembo front brakes with red calipers.
The V’s cabin builds on the Escalade’s Platinum’s interior, offered in black or dark auburn, with zebra wood accents. Standard features include semi-aniline leather on all three rows, with front seats featuring power massage and a heated steering wheel. It’s suitably posh but understated, compared with, say, the indulgence of a Bentayga interior. Nonetheless, Cadillac execs insist that potential buyers don’t want the boy racer look but a full measure of luxury and high tech. A couple of examples of the latterstarts with a curved OLED (organic light-emitting diode) screen with 38 inches of total diagonal display. Then there’s Augmented Reality, which projects a live image of what is in front of the vehicle on a 14.2-inch-diagonal centre cluster display. When a navigational route is active, the system will overlay directional information on the display.
2023 Cadillac Escalade-V ESV Photo by Brian Harper
Speaking of buyers, Cadillac targets the Escalade-V’s primary audience as in their mid-40s, well-educated, and very high earning. For them the V “must perform as a daily driver … as they are significantly more likely to use their vehicle for transporting children, hauling and towing (the Caddy has a 7,000-pound rating) than owners of performance sedans.”
Suspend your disbelief — and possible antipathy — for a minute at such an extravagance. “Customers and enthusiasts have asked for an Escalade-V,” notes Global Cadillac vice-president Rory Harvey. “We do not deploy the V-Series designation lightly.”
And it’s not as though Cadillac is alone in this sort of endeavour. In just the 18 months since Jeep resurrected the Wagoneer nameplate and jumped into the premium-priced full-size sandbox with the Grand Wagoneer, Land Rover has refreshed the Range Rover and its long-wheelbase variant, Bentley has brought out an extended-wheelbase Bentayga, Lincoln has refreshed its Navigator, Lexus has debuted the latest generation of its LX (the more powerful LX 600), BMW has debuted the 2023 Alpina XB7, and Mercedes has refreshed its Mercedes-Maybach GLS. And that’s by no means a complete list. When you absolutely must dominate the road, there is no shortage of players.
The limited-production 2023 Escalade-V goes on sale late this summer.
Keyword: First Drive: 2023 Cadillac Escalade-V ESV