2023 Cadillac Escalade V-Series

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, 

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2024 Cadillac Celestiq

 This attention-grabbing all-electric super sedan is finally here in production model form, longer than the Cadillac Escalade full-size SUV, and priced into the stratosphere Cadillac has long dreamed of returning to. Prices will start in the $300,000 range and customers can easily add up to $100,000 more to customize it, further ensuring that no one else has the exact same car.

The fact that Cadillac is even continuing production of the Celestiq is as surprising as the vehicle itself. But here it is, the fulfillment of a long-held desire for a flagship product. An idea became a vision, then a show car, and now an ultra-luxury sedan that retains almost all of the hero's features. The Celestiq is expected to have 600 horsepower, 640 lb-ft of torque, a 0-60 mph time of 3.8 seconds, a range of more than 300 miles, and is equipped with a 200 kW DC fast charging system for an added 78 miles of range. 10 minutes. Propulsion comes from a 111 kWh battery that drives a two-motor AWD system.

The Celestiq (pronounced Ceh-LESS-tick) will be handcrafted at GM's Global Technical Center in Warren, Michigan, where it was designed and engineered. Production is planned at just two models a day for global consumption, starting in December 2023. No more than six vehicles will be in the assembly process at any one time. GM executives say they are already talking to interested customers.

GM President Mark Reuss recently stopped by the design vault to see the final prototype for himself. MotorTrend asked him if he would buy it. Yes. He said his wife, Kim, who is an interior designer, would be freed up to work on the details of their respective cars.

Everyone who orders a Celestiq will work through dealers and officials who will connect them with GM designers. Buyers can come to Michigan to see ideas and samples, or GM designers can visit them. Any color is possible as each car is handcrafted. Since the 115 parts are 3D printed, the intricate personalized details are nothing more than your imagination. Want your signature engraved on the metal plate on the dashboard? Finished. Guitar strings, tennis racket strings, dog fur, pressed flowers from your rose garden—all can be combined to make a personal statement. There are no base cars or trims. Every Celestiq will be different. The entire process can take up to 10 months to outline and complete.

This is how Cadillac planned to reach the top of the luxury ladder to take on Rolls-Royce, Maybach, and Bentley while leaving Lincoln in the doldrums. The team had the Ghost and Flying Spur as benchmarks, but the end result is a car that looks like nothing else on the road, said interior design manager Tristan Murphy.

The Celestiq looks like a spaceship, with long languid lines and a windshield steeper than a Corvette, no exterior door handles, a giant hatch, and a big, smart glass roof with an embedded antenna. Eliminating the need for a sunshade or headliner creates more headroom and each passenger can control how much light enters their roof quadrant, which is an improvement over the optional glass roof on the new BMW iX EV SUV, which can only fog up. full panel.

The Celestiq is exclusively an electric vehicle and uses GM's unique Ultium battery system. This new architecture is dedicated to the Celestiq—at least until the idea of a customizable SUV becomes a reality. The car uses the same battery cells as the GMC Hummer EV pickup or even the smaller Cadillac Lyriq midsize crossover, but in the Celestiq the batteries are placed horizontally instead of stacked vertically to keep the car low. And the layout of the skateboards is not the same because it would make the floor too high.

Celestiq's five battery modules have different shapes and are stacked at different heights, depending on where they are placed. The taller one is in the middle of the limousine-like car; they are stacked nine cells high under the two front seats, 12 under the two rear seats, and only six cells below the footwells.

The spaceframe is made of aluminum, and most of the body panels are made of carbon fiber but the doors have to use composites to incorporate sensors that actuate the doors to open and close. Even so, the car weighs more than 6,000 pounds.

There's no exterior handle to mar the giant's side profile; touch the capacitive button on the B pillar or let the vehicle recognize the key fob and open the door on approach. Use the center console touchscreen to open the doors for oncoming passengers.

The Celestiq also marks the return of the "Goddess," the mascot that graced the hoods of Cadillac cars from the 1930s to the 1950s. There's an illuminated Goddess on each front fender, on the glass rotary control knob on the center console, and she appears on the touchscreen.

Cadillac's Mondrian emblem stripes are replicated throughout the car. They adorn the four quadrants of the glass roof and are etched into the sidewalls of summer tires developed with Michelin for the 23-inch forged aluminum wheels.

The Celestiq continues Cadillac's signature vertical lighting but each LED is its own light source, rather than a collection of lights, and the Digital MicroMirror Device headlamps with 1.3 million pixels per side are an integral part of the Cadillac Crest's choreographed and projected lighting suite that greets its owner as they arrive. approach the car to turn on the power. To quickly check the car's charging status, use the illumination height of the vertical lamp as a gauge.

The interior gets the royal treatment with each of the four seats having an equal throne in terms of materials and comfort. All have heating, ventilation, neck warmers, reclining, massage, and access to screens. Up front, there's a 55-inch screen with digital blocking so the driver can't watch movies playing on the passenger side. The AKG audio system has 38 speakers inside and three outside as part of the electric vehicle's sound enhancement system.

The seats are leather, as are the dashboard, doors, and even the floor. The cupholders and cubbies are covered in suede. Anything that looks metal is real metal. Some notable mistakes: no sunscreen or aromatherapy.

Celestiq uses 3D printing and “flex fab” to create unique components. The largest 3D-printed steel component is the center section of the steering wheel. A medical laser for eye surgery is used to etch fine symbols on it. More than 300 parts are created through flexible fabrication where machines take sheets of steel and puncture, bend, weld, and machine them, resulting in finished parts that can be used to house electronic devices or a center console that runs the length of the car.

Very little was removed from the show car to put the Celestiq into production. To comply with regulations, conventional rear-view mirrors replace the cameras and the rear side windows cannot be tinted. The taillights were moved from the hatch to the body and the rear bumper was widened to meet crash structure regulations. But as work continued on the car, actual features were added, such as polished stainless steel D rings that guide the seat belts, the first use of 3D printing for a safety feature.

The Celestiq has adaptive air suspension, magnetic ride control, active roll control, rear steering, an active rear spoiler, and a comprehensive suite of safety and driver assistance systems. It will be equipped with hardware for Ultra Cruise hands-free driving assistance but its full capabilities won't be ready at launch.

  said vice president of global design Michael Simcoe. The Celestiq can trace its lineage to the Escala concept shown in 2016, which once headed production with a V-8. When the decision was made to switch to all-electric vehicles for the Cadillac brand, the Escala was left behind. A vision model was created for internal viewing only—a caricature before there was a new program for a flagship product—and from that initiative, the Celestiq show car was created to set the tone for future Cadillac designs.

For unique, bespoke cars, engineers and designers must forget past practices and view the car as a blank slate to be designed by the customer, with the ability to create complex individual parts by sand casting and 3D printing. Pieces like the brushed and polished machined aluminum trim at the front of the hood would not be possible on a high-volume vehicle, says exterior design manager Taki Karras.

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The refreshed "2024 Cadillac XT4 "The Small-Luxury SUV Class

The Cadillac XT4 is ready to take on one of the fastest-growing and most competitive segments in the U.S.: small luxury SUVs. However, it faces more challenges than, say, its big brother, the Cadillac Escalade in the full-size SUV class. Since its introduction in 2019, the original XT4 has been far from class-leading, but know this—which annoyed the heads at Cadillac. Cadillac Global Vice President Rory Harvey was unhappy with third place in the segment and wanted a higher spot on the podium.

But let's be realistic here. While the Escalade is a storied nameplate that built a legacy of dominance over its more than two decades of service, the XT4 is much newer, with a name that's harder to remember. It's now outdated, so General Motors is giving the crossover a refresh for the 2024 model year to try to increase its sales over the next decade as Cadillac transitions to an all-electric brand in 2030.

The XT4's base dimensions and powertrain remain unchanged for the 2024 model year. The big upgrade, and surprise for a mid-cycle update, is a 33-inch curved LED color touchscreen borrowed from the Cadillac Lyriq electric midsize SUV. The XT4 will also have 5G WiFi hotspot capability, Google's suite of built-in apps and help, as well as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto wireless compatibility, including Amazon Alexa.

Relax Inside the Cadillac XT4

The cabin surrounds a new large screen with upgraded wood brushed aluminum and carbon fiber trim pieces, a new leather seat pattern, and a 13-speaker AKG Studio audio system now available on all trims.

There's additional safety equipment for the 2024 XT4, with more than a dozen standard safety and driver assistance technologies including Blind Zone Steering Assist, rear cross-traffic braking, and lane keeping assist with lane departure warning. The Active Safety Package adds additional features including adaptive cruise control, reverse automatic braking, rear pedestrian alert, enhanced lane-keeping assist, speed limit assist, and traffic sign recognition.

GM's Super Cruise semi-autonomous highway driving assistant and hands-free is still not available on the XT4, even as hands-free systems continue to be implemented across Cadillac's lineup. The XT4 isn't high on the priority list, and Harvey wouldn't say when a number might appear. An enhanced version known as Ultra Cruise will debut on the Cadillac Celestiq supercar—the first of the $300,000 hand-built limousine-like sedans that began assembly in December.

There are three new colors for the 2024 model year and the XT4 features a new front fascia, gloss black grille, slimmer LED headlights, and daytime running lights as well as a new range of 18- and 20-inch alloy wheels.

This small SUV comes in Luxury, Premium, and Sport trims. The powertrain included in all three is the same 235 hp, 258 lb-ft 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine with active fuel management and nine-speed automatic transmission as before. All-wheel drive is available on all trims.

The refresh should bring in younger customers, specifically Millennials who live in urban areas and want the flexibility of an SUV but in a smaller package, says XT4 assistant marketing manager Lizzy Dinnella.

Production of the 2024 Cadillac XT4 starts in April at the Fairfax assembly plant in Kansas and we will get pricing details in March.

Despite inventory shortages in the first half of 2022, the XT4 gained market share in the U.S. last year, as did Cadillac's (shrinking) lineup of sedans. Harvey is hoping the combination of supply shortages working themselves out, and the refresh of the XT4 will help it gain on its competitors—and move a little higher up that podium.

2024 Cadillac XT4

BASE PRICE $38,000-$43,000 (est)

LAYOUT Front-engine, AWD, 5-pass, 4-door SUV

ENGINE 2.0L/235-hp /258-lb-ft turbo DOHC 16-valve I-4

TRANSMISSION 9-speed auto,

CURB WEIGHT 3,700-4,000 lb (mfr)

WHEELBASE 109.4 in

L x W x H 181.1 x 74.1 x 64.1 in

0-60 MPH 7.5 sec (MT est)

EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON 22-23/29-30/24-26 4 mpg (est)

EPA RANGE, COMB 382-424 miles

ON SALE April 2023

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