General Motors is in the madness business. There's so much craziness going on there that the Cadillac Escalade V-Series—a full-size, full-frame truck-based SUV powered by a 682-hp, supercharged 6.2-liter V-8—seems reasonable by comparison. to several other GM products. That said, with a base price of $151,090, the V Series is $69,900 more expensive than the base Escalade.
It's also $94,995 more expensive than the base Chevrolet Tahoe. And come on, there's a lot of Tahoe in the Escalade V-Series.
On a per unit basis, the Escalade V-Series and its longer wheelbase, three-row sibling, the Escalade ESV V-Series (supercharged Suburban), should be the most profitable vehicles GM makes. So far. Maybe when GM builds locomotives, there's more to gain from each locomotive. But when sales volume is taken into account, GM is making huge amounts of money with the Escalade and especially with the V-Series variants. Staggered.
That's why the Escalade V-Series is important to GM. Why this matters to other people is because it's so fun, stupid, and awesome. It's a warehouse-grade SUV that boasts a blunt, swaggering face and is capable of hauling its massive 6,217-pound weight to 60 mph in 4.3 seconds. The exhaust roars proudly, the supercharger whines menacingly, and it rides chunky 275/50R22 Bridgestone Alenza A/S 02 all-season tires around wheels of suitably stylish diameter. It's all the most arrogant stuff presented in shiny sheets of steel and shiny plastic on shiny wheels. So, of course, the first thing many new Escalade owners do is wrap their car in a matte finish.
Prosperity is measured by the diameter of the wheel. These are 22s. Quite prosperous. All-season tires offer only modest cornering grip (0.69G on the skidpad), but getting through corners isn't a top priority on any Escalade.
What's the best thing about the Escalade V-Series is the 6.2-liter supercharged V-8 engine. However, the best is not always the most impressive. And it's how well GM's latest full-size SUV platform handles the added power that's most satisfying.
A big step in GM's 2021 jumbo redesign is the implementation of an independent rear suspension. This is about as simple a design as the IRS can get. Four links—two outboard links running forward longitudinally with the frame and two lateral links that pivot in the middle of the truck above the differential. The spring (in this case the airbag) is positioned externally inside the hub carrier. Simple and space-saving.
GM's full-size SUVs now use this simple four-link independent rear suspension. It's space-saving and sturdy, but that doesn't mean this big truck has suddenly become a Corvette.
GENERAL MACHINES
Because the independent system doesn't require the space required by a solid axle to swing along its axis, the new Escalade has a lower load floor. But the IRS isn't turning Gigantor-class frigates into highway-crushing sports cars. Isolating the driving motion of each wheel helps with ride quality noise isolation and many other things. This Escalade feels planted. It features air springs, nimble active dampers, and an aggressive stability control system, and it's a body-on-frame machine that's tough enough to make use of the monster power it packs. But handle it? The steering is still slow and somewhat numb, the mass is large, and the adhesion limit is small.
Adding a lot of power to GM's previous large SUVs with aftermarket parts (like superchargers) almost always came with some compromise in terms of behavior. The tail will jump, the frame will spin, or a strange resonance will spread throughout the body. None of that happens with the V Series.
Cadillac's version of the LT4 supercharged V-8 was adapted for duty in the Escalade V-Series. It uses a larger version of the Roots-style Eaton supercharger and produces slightly less peak torque in exchange for a wider torque curve.
GENERAL MACHINES
The engine is a supercharged version of the 6.2-liter LT4 V-8 first seen in 2015 powering the Corvette Z06. It also works in the current Camaro ZL1 and the beloved Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing. But the Blackwing uses a 1.7-liter version of the Eaton Roots-style, four-lobe blower, and the Escalade gets a 2.65-liter version. Meanwhile, the Escalade V's under-track blower assembly is shared with the Blackwing—same 4.06-inch cylinder bore, same 3.62-inch crank stroke, same 10:1 compression ratio, and, yes, same pushrod drive, variable timing, two valves per cylinder—engine tuning optimized for larger blowers.
So, instead of the Blackwing's top engine speed of 6600 rpm, the Escalade V won't rev past 6300 rpm. The Blackwing is rated at 668 hp at 6500 while the Escalade V's 682 hp peak occurs at 6000 rpm. But the most counterintuitive specification is that the Escalade's peak engine torque of 653 lb-ft is lower than the Blackwing's peak engine torque of 659 lb-ft. Although the Blackwing's peak torque production is only at 3600 rpm, the Escalade V's peak torque production rises to 4400 rpm. Go. Peak torque production isn't as important as a wide, towing-friendly torque curve.
Every Escalade V-Series uses GM's Hydra-Matic 10L80 10-speed automatic transmission. The best (and worst) thing that can be said is that it's not annoying. He never does anything surprising and never seems to lose his cool in selecting the best equipment available.
There's a "V Mode" button on the front of the BMW-like shifter that can be used to activate the launch control feature. With the large front Brembo straps holding the Escalade V-Series in place, and the driver's foot pressing on the brake and accelerator pedals, the engine revs to around 1500 rpm in anticipation. Release the brake and the thing lurches forward with gusto. It's not as jaw-dropping as a Tesla Model S Plaid, or as brutal as a Hellcat-powered car, but it is theatrical. It felt like a six-screen multiplex theater mounted on the back of a C-17. The sound is incredible, the nose lifts so the driver loses track of the horizon, and you can feel the grain of the steering wheel's leather dressing against your fingers.
It's all for the good. After all, most items this size have a loading dock at the back and access to a railroad track. However, despite the electrical issues, there is a more powerful American SUV—the 710 hp Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat – and the Alabama-built Mercedes-Maybach is more expensive, at $171,500. Including the zappers, there is the Rivian R1S SUV with 835 hp from its four electric motors which can reach speeds of 60 mph in just 3.1 seconds.
The V is still a full-frame SUV so it should be able to tow. And it can, with a 7000-pound rating.
So, the Escalade isn't America's fastest, most powerful, or most expensive SUV. But the ultimate in comfort with a mix of traditional luxury details and digital delights that competitors can't match. Plus, with the involvement of GM's Super Cruise, this car can practically drive itself. The Escalade V-Series is the ultimate American SUV.
And it doesn't seem so crazy when we remember that GM also produces the 1,000-hp, 9,640-pound Hummer EV, the brilliant CT5-V Blackwing, and the incredible mid-engined Corvette Z06. Now, there's even an electric Escalade, the Escalade IQ. And that's where the discussion returns to money.
GM needs the highly profitable Escalade V-Series (and all other Escalade variations) to be able to finance its electric production. There's something ironic about a gas-guzzling hauler (R&T got about 12 mpg when it still had them) like the Escalade V-Series earning the money needed to make it obsolete. The big question for GM is whether it can make an electric vehicle that makes that much money,
