Capitol Cadillac

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Driving Impressions

On the road, the nimbleness of the Cadillac Escalade is a pleasant surprise. The steering is light and reasonably precise, a nice compromise between the weight of the BMW X5 or Audi Q7 and the lightness of the Lincoln Navigator. In spite of having a live-axle rear suspension (as opposed to an independent rear suspension, as found on all the competition save Mercedes G-Class and Lexus LX570 with Land Cruiser off-road performance), the Escalade manages bumps very well, thanks to three-ton mass and the road-sensing Autoride system.

Handling and body control are impressive given the Escalade's bulk, not as tight at one extreme as an X5 or GL550 in Sport mode nor as supple as an LX570 or Range Rover. Arch-nemesis Navigator doesn't offer such aggressive tires as the Escalade but works well, especially on marginal road surfaces, because its independent rear suspension is much lighter than the Escalade's.

Newly optional on 2009 Escalade is Magnetic Ride Control, a system that uses a variety of sensors to measure road surface and vehicle parameters 1000 times per second and adjust the shock damping accordingly. That adjustment is done magnetically, changing the thickness of the shock fluid filled with tiny magnetic particles for maximum control of the shock. This system has been used advantageously on expensive imports and the Corvette for a few years, and is usually paired with the 22-inch wheels.

The interior is very quiet, enhancing the ability to hold hushed conversation as well as hear the surround-sound system without extraneous noise. Also noteworthy is the plushest ride of almost any truck. On the optional 22-inch wheels and low-profile tires you'd expect more harshness and sharp things like parking lot speed bumps and lane divider dots, but they're muted because the sheer size of the tire means there is still some usable sidewall, the first point of any suspension system. Those vehicles with the 18-inch wheels offer even gentler ride characteristics without a corollary drop in grip, and on many trucks low-profile wheels also lower the tow rating and make winter tire or chain fitment a nuisance.

All Escalades but the Hybrid are powered by a 6.2-liter V8 that produces 403 horsepower and 417 pound-feet of torque. Acceleration is brisk for a truck, ahead of the Navigator, Range Rover, Audi Q7 and a Police Tahoe, but behind the equally practical Mercedes GL550. Other poser-mobiles like the BMW X6 V8, Infiniti FX50, and Mercedes G-wagen are all quicker. The engine has a pleasant growl under acceleration, but with the tall gearing that's about the only time you hear it.

Towing is aided by this prodigious power. The Escalade models are rated to tow trailers of 7600 to 8300 pounds; that's lower than the ratings for the Lincoln Navigator and Infiniti QX56.

Hitching up a trailer is made easier by the Escalade's rearview camera, which mounts in the liftgate to provide a view behind the vehicle when backing up. What the camera sees is projected onto the navigation screen. It eliminates jumping out of the truck repeatedly to get the ball lined up under the trailer tongue and useful when backing up close to another object. It can also help the driver spot a child behind the vehicle when backing up, potentially avoiding a tragedy.

The six-speed automatic transmission shifts imperceptibly except during full-throttle acceleration; it's tuned for mileage so it up-shifts quickly and needs a firm shove on the gas pedal to downshift. A Tow/Haul mode holds gears longer, or the driver can select gears manually via a button on the column-mounted shift lever. The multi-information display in the instrument cluster clearly displays the selected gear.

All-wheel drive is available. It's a full-time system oriented around sure-footed traction on slippery pavement, rather than creeping through boulder fields or climbing steep grades. There is no low-range gearing. It works well in slushy conditions with inconsistent grip, improving handling stability and traction and helping the driver better control the vehicle. We demand it for winter weather, but it's a great aid in hard rain or on oily pavement or wet leaves or on gravel or dirt roads or in mud.

The brakes are powerful and quite responsive, more than up to the task of bringing the big truck to a halt with little drama and surprisingly little dive because of the Autoride damping. The pedal feel was good, if not as pleasingly firm as its German competitors. ABS and electronic brake force distribution come standard for stable braking while turning or when the grip is inconsistent.

StabiliTrak electronic stability control system manages wheel slip by applying the brakes at the slipping wheel without interrupting power deliver to the wheels with grip. StabiliTrak also helps maintain stability in corners by braking individual wheels when the vehicle's path doesn't match the driver's intentions. It works well and is not as intrusive as some Japanese systems or the G-Class that can not be defeated at more than 37 mph; it is also no substitute for common sense and doesn't make the Escalade any lighter.

Excepting the Hybrid, every 2009 Escalade tested to date scores EPA ratings of 12/19/14 on gasoline (city/highway/combined). Some of the competition have slightly better combined ratings but they're all thirsty and will dip into single digits in urban crowds, working hard or towing.

The Escalade Hybrid features GM's two-mode, gas-electric hybrid propulsion system developed in conjunction with other automakers. It combines a 6-liter V8 tuned specifically for hybrid use with a 300-volt battery pack and dual electric motors encased in a common housing with a conventional four-speed automatic transmission. When the full V8 output is not required the engine can operate on four cylinders to save a nominal amount of fuel, and if power requirements are very low the truck may run up to 30 mph on electric drive only.

In most instances the gasoline engine stops whenever the Escalade does; electric drives run the power steering, air conditioning and so on so the only driver clues are the auto stop indication on the tachometer, lack of engine noise, and the truck does not try to creep while sitting in Drive. Essentially the hybrid system takes energy otherwise turned into heat by the brakes and stores it as electrical energy, to be used later to help get the vehicle going again. It is all fully automated and which part(s) are being used to drive the truck can be monitored on the navigation display. This is why the Hybrid's primary fuel economy advantage is in the city cycle (20/21 2WD).

It drives much like a regular Escalade in some respects, same twist-key to turn it on, same steering feel, same gasoline fill-up, and markedly different in others. The engine doesn't automatically start when the car is on and when it does it is quieter and felt as a small momentary vibration, the brakes are more responsive (plan on some bobble-head initial test drives) because they are a trigger controlling the rate of battery pack recharging, and you're being most economical when the efficiency gauge is on the left, or lowest side, of its scale.

The Hybrid adds thousands of dollars and roughly 450 pounds to an Escalade, lowers tow rating by about a ton (figure 4,500-4,700 pounds if the Escalade is loaded), and comes standard with 22-inch wheels and Magnetic Ride Control. Driven back-to-back with a non-hybrid you may notice the Hybrid feels heavier. Hybrid Escalades are also offered with 4WD that has an auto setting for on-road use like the standard Escalade's all-wheel drive system but also has low-range gears for maximum effort like deep sand or rocky terrain. Frankly, we can't see any Escalade Hybrid owner testing the front air dam in such a manner, and unless you're towing something there are plenty of more efficient people carriers but they don't make a fashion statement.

If you are in need of towing ability and good mileage all around, the diesels from Audi, BMW, Mercedes, and VW offer EPA ratings up to 18/25 and tow ratings up to 7700 pounds. When we drove the Escalade's sister-hybrid Tahoe, a standard gasoline Yukon (GMC's Tahoe) and a Mercedes-Benz GL-class back-to-back over a mixed course of city stoplights to freeway cruising, the hybrid averaged 19.8 mpg, the non-hybrid in the mid-16s and the diesel 23.4. At the time, diesel fuel was the cheapest at the Southern California pump, about 5% less than gasoline.

The Generation 8.0 OnStar system, with a one-year Directions and Connections service plan, includes the Advanced Automatic Crash Notification system, making crash data available to emergency services so they can potentially dispatch the appropriate life-saving personnel and equipment to crash scenes faster. If the vehicle is in a crash that activates an air bag, the OnStar system automatically notifies an OnStar Advisor, who will check on the occupants and summon emergency help if no one responds. OnStar also can assist authorities in locating a vehicle if it is reported stolen or is off a paved road but still in contact with the satellites.

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