The 2024 Cadillac Escalade-V is likely to be the craziest SUV on sale as we speak. Or, it will be if a bunch of high-powered electrical SUVs did not exist. Dropping a supercharged V8 from the previous-generation Corvette Z06 right into a full-size SUV may sound like the best technique to create a efficiency household automobile, however there at the moment are a number of electrical fashions that may beat the Escalade-V to 60 mph by the quarter mile or in just about any efficiency metric.
Cadillac is aware of that an electrical future is nearing, which is why it let the engineers unfastened with a enjoyable send-off undertaking just like the Escalade-V. Now in its second mannequin 12 months, we marvel if this final gasp of inner combustion nonetheless makes as a lot sense as when it first debuted. CarBuzz spent every week driving a 2024 Escalade-V to ponder this concept.
Made To Be Foolish
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Approaching the Escalade-V from a logical viewpoint is futile as a result of nothing about this automobile is sensible. It is primarily a daily Escalade, Cadillac’s largest and most luxurious automobile, now powered by a Corvette engine. Not simply any common Corvette engine at that; this one is identical 6.2-liter supercharged LT4 V8 from the C7 technology Z06. It really produces extra energy than the Z06 did with 682 horsepower and 653 lb-ft of torque. Energy goes out to a everlasting all-wheel-drive system by a superb 10-speed automated transmission.
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When you aren’t fearful about gasoline payments, these V8 SUVs have the facility to beat their heavy our bodies.
You’d suppose with that a lot energy, the Escalade-V could be fast, however its large dimension and weight stand in the way in which of it being aggressive with smaller autos just like the Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat, BMW X5 M, and others. Cadillac makes up by being extra brash and far louder. The usual Escalade-V is far more spacious than its rivals and affords an extended-length ESV mannequin for much more passenger and cargo capability. Cadillac’s engineers additionally fought to provide the V Sequence one of many loudest exhaust methods now we have ever heard in an SUV. With the doable exception of the retired Jaguar F-Area SVR, you will not discover a high-riding automobile with a louder bark.
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2024 Modifications And 2025 Updates
Cadillac modified nearly nothing on the Escalade-V when shifting from the 2023 to the 2024 mannequin 12 months. All 2024 V Sequence autos embrace a twentieth Anniversary V-Sequence Bundle, which is merely an aesthetic improve. There is a small “20 years” decal on the grille, distinctive puddle lambs, and a wake-up animation on the screens; that is it. Patrons may also get a particular shade known as Black Diamond Tintcoat, however our tester got here carrying Radiant Pink Tintcoat. Maybe collectors could recognize getting an Escalade-V from this semi-special mannequin 12 months, however the modifications to the 2025 mannequin 12 months might be extra vital.
Spy pictures have uncovered that the 2025 Escalade will obtain extra main updates on the outside, serving to it look extra associated to Cadillac’s EVs just like the Escalade IQ and Vistiq. These modifications can even seem on the Escalade-V. Extra importantly, the 2025 refresh ought to introduce the pillar-to-pillar display that was first proven within the Celestiq and also will be used within the Escalade IQ. The present display setup in as we speak’s Escalade regarded nice when it debuted, however autos just like the Lincoln Nautilus have come alongside to steal Cadillac’s thunder. The inside modifications, greater than the minor heritage touches on the 2024 mannequin, are value ready for.
May It Be Sillier?
We doubt the 2025 Escalade-V will introduce any main modifications underneath the hood, however there’s nonetheless a method that Cadillac might make it even sillier. If Cadillac really needed to ship off ICE with a bang, it might drop the ZR1’s LT5 engine into the Escalade. As a reminder, the LT5 engine was much like the LT4, utilizing the identical 6.2-liter displacement and supercharged setup. That supercharger was bigger, mixed with a beefed-up throttle physique, crankshaft, and twin gasoline injection system. The LT5 dished out 755 hp and 715 lb-ft of torque, numbers that also pale compared to some EVs.
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Cadillac will proceed to broaden its EV portfolio however will provide gas-powered fashions alongside them.
Nonetheless, it will put the Escalade-V into territory that no manufacturing ICE SUV has ever approached. Together with the LT5, we would wish to see Cadillac improve the dealing with parts. It might have six-piston Brembo brakes, however the Escalade nonetheless feels prefer it wants extra stopping energy. Cadillac might additionally re-tune the Magnetic Experience Management to make it extra aggressive. The Escalade-V rides precisely like an ordinary Escalade, for higher or worse. Some firmer suspension would assist it’s greater than a straight-line performer.
EVs Outperform The Escalade-V
2024 Cadillac Escalade-V Efficiency At A Look
Fashions
Horsepower
Torque
0-60 MPH
Quarter-Mile
Cadillac Escalade-V
682 hp
653 lb-ft
4.4 seconds (4.76 CarBuzz testing)
12.74 seconds
Rivian R1S
1,025 hp
1,198 lb-ft
2.5 seconds (2.92 CarBuzz testing)
10.5 seconds
Tesla Mannequin X Plaid
1,020 hp
1,151 lb-ft
2.5 seconds (w/ rollout)
9.9 seconds
Kia EV9
379 hp
516 lb-ft
4.5 seconds
13.34 seconds
It may appear inconceivable to consider, however the 682-hp Escalade-V simply is not as spectacular as it will have been 10 and even 5 years in the past. 0-60 mph in 4.4 seconds and a quarter-mile in 12.74 seconds appears like a ballistic missile subsequent to rivals like a Lincoln Navigator or Jeep Grand Cherokee, however in comparison with among the high-performance EVs on sale as we speak, it is extra like a toddler’s slingshot.
The 2025 Rivian R1S, for instance, packs as much as 4 electrical motors producing a V8-crushing 1,025 hp.
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The brand new Quad-Motor produces 1,025 hp, hits 60 mph in 2.5 seconds, and covers the quarter-mile in 10.5 seconds. What else is new?
These 4 motors can rocket the R1S as much as 60 mph in a bit of over 2.5 seconds and propel it by the quarter-mile in underneath 11 seconds. Likewise, the Tesla Mannequin X Plaid matches the Rivian to 60 mph and may run the quarter-mile in underneath 10 seconds. These two are essentially the most excessive examples, however even the 2024 Kia EV9 can practically match the Escalade-V’s 0-60 time (4.5 seconds) and solely path it by a bit of over half a second (13.34 seconds). When a traditional electrical Kia crossover can match the top of gas-powered efficiency, you already know you’ve got misplaced the battle.
The IQ Is Coming
It is not simply EV-only manufacturers like Rivian and Tesla that can make the Escalade-V look like a efficiency fossil. The risk can also be coming from inside Cadillac’s personal home. The upcoming Cadillac Escalade-IQ will produce 750 hp and 785 lb-ft of torque from twin electrical motors, outmatching the Escalade-V in each metrics.
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The Escalade IQ dukes it out with the Escalade-V.
Within the V’s protection, it’ll beat the IQ to 60 mph (4.4 versus 4.9 seconds), however the electrical Escalade will really go additional earlier than needing to cease. A large battery pack will allow a 450-mile vary on the Escalade-IQ, whereas the Escalade-V’s thirsty V8 engine will drain the 24-gallon tank in lower than 312 miles (underneath 300 miles if you happen to drive aggressively). Straight-line efficiency is the one space the place the V nonetheless holds a slight benefit, however primarily based on how different Ultium autos just like the Chevrolet Silverado EV beat their estimated 0 to 60 mph instances, we consider the Escalade-IQ will as effectively.
Final Of Its Breed
Not everybody purchases a automobile primarily based on the numbers; different emotional components affect the choice. The Escalade-V will not be the quickest SUV cash should buy, but it surely’s nonetheless some of the entertaining driving experiences you possibly can have whereas carrying seven individuals and their stuff.
We have watched because the final examples of handbook transmission sports activities automobiles and supercars improve in worth because the world strikes away from analog and in the direction of electrification. The Escalade-V will probably be the final bastion of supercharged SUV efficiency with an exhaust notice that might make a Corvette blush.
The $152,295 beginning value will make it unobtainable for many, however those that can afford an Escalade-V will take pleasure in an ultra-luxury SUV with massaging seats, rear leisure screens, and even an non-obligatory fridge within the armrest. We will not say for sure that it’ll maintain its worth within the quick time period, however there could at all times be a market to expertise one of many remaining iterations of the gas-powered efficiency SUV earlier than they go away without end.
