2021 Cadillac Escalade Sport Platinum Diesel
Price: $126,253.00 CAD
Colour: Crystal White
From the day it debuted, the Cadillac Escalade has always been a bit of a joke. A lark. A laugh. It epitomized the juvenile, ostentatious and vulgar American definition of luxury and excess. It was too big, poorly made and cost an absolute fortune to both purchase and run. This vehicle single handedly cemented my attitude toward GM products. As far as I was concerned, they made their cars with cheap materials, assembled them poorly and couldn’t design the interior of a Motel 6 in the 1970’s, let alone a car. For years GM and its brands rolled on blissfully ignoring the demands to adapt or die. Recent offerings however have led me to believe they have finally started to listen. It began with my recent experience with the Buick Envision and how impressed I was with the progress I saw. Further still, the 2021 Cadillac Escalade is an enormous (some things don’t change), shiny display of the direction GM is going and how much progress they’ve made.
power & performance
I drove an Escalade in the mid-2000’s for a few weeks and I’m still paying for the fuel I used. The Escalade (and it’s cousins at GM and Chevrolet) were punishingly expensive to run. The fuel cost even managed to beat the 5.7L Dodge Durango SLT I drove for a couple of years. I would have been willing to trade the punishing fuel costs for power and performance but the old sled from Cadillac kind of loped along at whatever speed it wanted regardless of what you did with the throttle. It wallowed about and wheezed under aggressive driving. The Escalade was always made for cruising at low speeds and nothing was going to change it’s mind.
The 2021 Escalade is a little different. Quite different actually. You can get a 6.2L V8 that gives you 460 hp that will continue the tradition of punishing your wallet, so Escalade purists will be satisfied. If you’re a normal person you now have the option of a 3.0L diesel engine that gives you 277 hp. That’s not a lot. This I know. But remember what the Escalade is about – cruising around aimlessly while impressing people with your ride. For that purpose the diesel is perfect. While it’s a little light on horsepower it does deliver a ferocious amount of torque. I try not to bury my audience under numbers and technical nonsense that nobody cares about but forgive me while I take a shot at explaining torque. Torque is kind of the low end grunt that gets a vehicle going while horsepower sort of hangs out at the upper end waiting for the engine to spool up. For the purposes of cruising around in a small condominium, this diesel and its torque are perfect. One of the other massive benefits to diesel engines is their economy. I assumed that nothing could stop the Escalade from robbing me every time I took it for a spin. Along comes this diesel engine that proves me wrong. I averaged 11-12L/100kms in the time I drove the Escalade. That’s better than my 2021 F-150 which only has one redeeming characteristic which is its fuel economy. The F-150 averages 12-15L/100kms in the same sort of city driving I did with the Escalade. This little Diesel engine makes driving the Escalade a real world possibility. You could, if you were so inclined, commute in this thing.
Exterior
The Escalade has always been like the head cheerleader in high school. Always popular and part of the “in” crowd. This was largely due to the fact that she was beautiful and nobody cared what, if anything, was going on inside. The Escalade, starting with the 2nd generation, was always a handsome bruiser on the outside. Make what you will of the interior and overall build quality (and we certainly did), nobody could take away those looks. The newest Escalade has continued that tradition in grand fashion. It’s a good looking car. I wasn’t sure about those long, thin lights at the front among other design choices. After due consideration I must say it’s fabulous. It pushed the design forward without letting us forget what car this is. You don’t get these shapes in the Yukon or Tahoe. They’re not ugly cars either but they are more like the less attractive end of the family tree nobody talks about.
One notable design feature on the 2021 Escalade is the split window/tailgate arrangement. I must admit the whole arrangement is a little flimsy so do be careful when your children are slamming it shut with unnecessary brutality and force. Nevertheless, it is far more convenient to pop open the window rather than waiting for the entire powered tailgate to open.
The ground clearance adjustment on the Escalade’s suspension is very straight forward. It’s handled by a series of buttons on the dash under the steering wheel and makes the whole process easy and convenient. If you think the height change is nothing to make noise about, I will say that at max height I found myself more falling out of the Escalade than stepping out at more standard heights. Comes in handy when you need it.
interior
The interior is where the Escalade has historically been a massive letdown. Cheap plastics with an overall poorly trimmed interior that made little to no effort to differentiate itself from it’s cousins of the lesser badge. It always made the difference in cost a tough pill to swallow for someone like myself who grew up in public housing and was taught to hoard pennies for the lean times.
The interior of the all new 2021 Escalade is a revelation compared to it’s predecessors. It’s a bespoke design you don’t get should you opt for a Yukon or Tahoe etc. It must also be said it’s a rather lovely place to be. It’s well laid out. Stylish without being too much. The materials are top shelf and feel like they’re attached with more than just good intentions. I could actually see myself spending time in this car. High praise for a vehicle I so scorned not that long ago.
I must mention the leather in the Escalade. Most of the leather seats and accents in modern luxury cars are quilted. It’s quilted leather all over the place right now. It’s like hanging out at my grandmothers house as a kid. The Escalade leather has not a quilted stitch to be found and for that alone we should vote this thing “Car of the Year”. I like the offset brick-like pattern in the Escalade’s leather. It’s paired with smooth bolsters that create a nice cup for my sore old bones.
If you intend to haul something in the Escalade and you need the second and third row seats folded down you can do all that from the cargo area in the rear. No need to fiddle with anything else. It’s easy and convenient. Most cars advocate easy, lay flat seats but the reality is often more difficult. You can end up walking back and forth between rows adjusting headrests and sliding seats forward. This takes all the work out of the process and is uncharacteristically practical.
Space is a curious thing in large SUV’s. They can look huge on the outside and appear to be massive warehouses on the inside. The reality has always been somewhat different. Design aesthetics, aerodynamics and a bunch of other car design stuff end up leaving the interiors smaller than we expect. The Escalade is different. Not only do you get seating for 8 but you still get a decent sized cargo area with all seats in their upright position. Space is one of the things you pay for with the Escalade and you get your money’s worth.
I don’t like hokey or gimmicky design elements in cars. I think they’re useless and typically do nothing but drive the price up before they break and you can’t be bothered to fix it. The Escalade is blessed with just such a design feature – ambient lighting. This is nothing new in cars and I almost always hate it. In the Escalade however, I don’t. You can select a series of colors and the light threads it’s way through the front of the cabin in a discreet and subtle way that adds a little… ambience. Can’t believe I said it but it’s true. It’s not too bright and it’s not too much. This car continues to surprise me.
The infotainment controls on the centre console are a wonderful design. They provide easy access to frequently used features and you can turn the stereo off when needed without having to over-exert yourself. I did notice how similar this entire system and layout was to the system offered by Mazda in vehicles like the 3 and the CX-9, among others. I can’t say which came first but if Cadillac took inspiration from Mazda they deserve credit for adopting a great design feature as this system is a winner.
The interior of the Escalade and Yukon/Tahoe used to be nearly identical. There was no real attempts to add value or distinguish them from one another. The bodies were different and I guess that was supposed to be enough to justify the price difference. The new Escalade has an entirely bespoke interior and it’s a nice place to be. The dash configuration, layout and design is particularly stylish and flows nicely across the width of the vehicle. I’ll also remind you of that ambient lighting you get as well… love that.
The Escalade has 8 seats. These are 8 seats you can actually use. The third row is mostly designed for children like a lot of third rows. The access to that third row however, is a bit of magic. The second row seat not only slides forward but folds right up against the front row seats to allow real access that even an adult (under 6’) could make work. It’s so simple and has been around for a long time in this vehicle but it’s worth noting. I’ve seen a lot of useless third rows with equally useless access. This is a great use of the absolute size of the Escalade and provides genuine value.
I’m pretty sure the idea of second row media screens are as dead as VHS. This is the age of the iPad. That being said Cadillac has continued to provide screens to the second row passengers in the new Escalade. If you’re going to do it, this is how it should be done. I will say they look a little aftermarket or perhaps a last minute addition to the design of the second row but that’s for a good reason. You can tilt and otherwise adjust these screens to whatever position best allows you to splash out in the second row and still see the screen clearly. Having them mounted in the headrest of the seat in front of you leaves you at the mercy of the ergonomics of your driver and passenger. The functionality of these screens is what really caught my attention. You can see the navigation screen (kind of like the map screen on some in-flight entertainment systems). You can also play separate media on each screen as well as sync them. The really useful feature that impressed me was the ability to plug in a flash drive and play an assortment of media files. Most of the time you’re restricted to hard media on a disc or some other similar limitations. I didn’t have a chance to test all file types but it did play avi and mkv files just fine. It’s a great acknowledgement of the reality of modern times and technology.
quality
The quality of the 2021 Cadillac Escalade really caught my attention and deeply impressed me. GM has started to chip away at my longstanding prejudice against their products. They made some serious progress with this vehicle. I can’t speak to longevity, but I do plan to track one down in five years and see how it has held up. The vehicle as I drove it really is fantastic. No squeaks or rattles. Soft touch materials that aren’t just fashionable but feel of good quality. There are no clear signs of cost cutting which typified so many of this car’s ancestors. GM’s efforts at changing their image are working.
CQI – 9. My quest for quality carpet continues. The carpet in the Escalade is a really nice quality, one of the nicest I’ve seen recently. The floor mats have a really soft and supple fibre on them that I would have loved to see across the whole vehicle. Perhaps there were concerns about how well it would hold up under the assault of everyday life. That being said the floor mats aren’t exactly spared any violence day to day.
value
This 2021 Cadillac Escalade, as tested, costs $126,253.00 CAD. That’s one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever typed. It’s an incredible amount of money. Even if I could afford that kind of dough for a car, I’m not sure I could part with it. The Escalade, as much as I like it, is for people other than myself. It’s for those who don’t worry about what things cost but more about what things look like. How do they present themselves to their friends, family and the world at large? Do they drive the Yukon…? No, they drive an Escalade. It presents an image to the world that only the Escalade can.
There are no real competitors to the Escalade. The Lincoln Navigator comes closest. It costs a similarly heartbreaking amount of money but it lacks the style (did I just say that?) and presence of the Escalade. I won’t even look at German manufacturers for competitors either. Sure, you can spend the same (and much more) money on a vehicle that has the same amount of seats and would get the job done. The difference being none of those competitors give you the size you get in the Escalade. It’s hard to quantify and make clear but the space you get for your Escalade dollars is a very rare thing. So too is the aforementioned image this car presents to the world. The Germans can’t, and most certainly won’t, present you with as much fun as they take your money. The Escalade stands alone.
final thoughts
I’m stunned by the 2021 Cadillac Escalade. It’s ridiculous, silly and very much overdone. It occurs to me however that that has always been the definition of the Escalade. It never made any sense and it didn’t care. It said “this is who I am, if you don’t like it go buy something else”. It’s something I’ve come to respect the car for. This new model combines all those traditional elements with quality materials, stylish design elements, loads of usable space and a really good looking vehicle, inside and out. This is the part that really floors me and makes me think I should have my brain checked for tumors. Have I lost my mind? Maybe. If so, I’m not sure I want to find it again. I’d rather have the multi-colored ambient lighting. Soothes my soul.
