The 2011 Cadillac Escalade ESV Platinum is everything a luxury-laden SUV should be: comfortable, powerful and blinged-out. This Cadillac is impressive. It makes jaws drop and makes people drool. This is the modern equivalent of the 1959 Eldorado, which was a halo for the brand when it was the standard of the world.
Really, this is a well-executed ute in every way. The V8 is a monster, and it's needed to propel this hulk along in reasonable fashion. It's big, and the driving position is domineering. Inside is a sumptuous cabin that's as well appointed as it is huge. The leather, the stitching, the badging everywhere--I found it all impressive.
The outside is equally eye-catching, with vents, chrome and over-the-top headlights. I think it all presents sharply. I like this slightly better than our long-term Infiniti QX56, but there are really only a few choices in this class.
General Motors makes solid SUVs, and this is the top of the line. My only beef is that you can get pretty much the same ute (minus the bling) in Chevrolet and GMC trim for a lot less than $88,000.
I never really understood the appeal of the gigantic SUV until I drove this one.
As mentioned, the commanding driving position is something I have longed for ever since climbing down and out of this ute. The panoramic views from the opulent interior spoiled me and made me lust for the one person in an eight-person truck scenario soon after.
It felt as if I could store all of my possessions inside the cavernous interior with space to spare. Despite feeling so large on the outside, it wasn't a problem to drive or parallel park downtown either, a big surprise.
Cosmetically, the Escalade has come a long way. The more refined look of this SUV sits well with me. Twenty-two-inch wheels come standard but look surprisingly small on the gargantuan exterior.
The engine is strong and sounds good. Don't expect to break land-speed records, but once the momentum is going, it has some oomph when you put the hammer down.
Obviously gas mileage isn't car-level, but it could be worse for something this size. And despite having more electronics and gadgetry than most, the Escalade lacks a steering column that moves forward and back. Really, Cadillac?
Despite the negatives, I now understand the appeal of the SUV and would put the Cadillac high on my list of spacious utes in which you can haul 1.5 families in comfort and with ease.
If this truck is in your budget, and you have no problem showing everyone that you spent a chunk of money, this is a good route to take.
Where am I, stuck inside a music video? And one from about 10 years ago, no less?
Yes, it's flashy, though I suppose no more so than plenty of other cars, SUVs and trucks. Yes, it's big. It gets me every time with its size, and I start to think that it's a hell of a useable machine, if you have a spouse and three or more kids, and you all ride together routinely.
This example was screwed together well, it featured nice leather seats and was comfortable to drive, other than the nontelescoping steering wheel. That's definitely an odd feature to lack on such a mammoth, when I wonder how many equally (in human terms) mammoth people drive one of these.
But Escalades have come a long way from the Chevrolet Suburbans of yesteryear, and it's a quite comfortable and easy SUV to pilot. Just remember to give yourself ample room for cornering angles, and you need a fair amount of distance to bring the Cadillac to a full stop from speed. That's where I'm apprehensive about these full-size monsters. Everything is good under normal, relaxed circumstances, but I don't want to find myself behind this wheel in a fast-developing emergency situation that calls for quick reactions from both driver and vehicle. In that case, I guess you just do and hope for the best.
Overall, however, I feel ridiculous driving around alone in the Escalade. I feel even more ridiculous when people pull up next to me, excited and showing thumbs-up signs and yelling things like, "Yo, that's tight!" I want to scream, "No, no! It's not mine! Really, no!" I always feel as if I should go pick up six people to travel with me everywhere I go, just to improve my efficiency.
It's not often I need to carry around a bunch of people being a single guy and all, but a friend asked me to drive him and his family to the airport and pick them up when they returned from a cruise. Easy enough, but the thing is that he has two teenage boys who are both roughly six-foot-three. Then add in my friend, who is six-foot-one, his wife, daughter and luggage. So we're talking about a good-sized family of five and gear for a weeklong trip.
He asked me if I could get something big enough to handle the job. "Oh, yeah," I said, "I can get something big enough." When I showed up in this 2011 Cadillac Escalade ESV Platinum, it swallowed both the human cargo and the luggage with ease. All of them were amazed by the trick power running boards and nicely trimmed interior with the leather-wrapped dashboards and door panels, which were mostly covered with soft-touch materials. To my eye, the wood and aluminum trims are nice and, combined with all of the leather, helped distinguish the Escalade's interior from that of the everyday man's Chevrolet Suburban. Of course, at $88,000 it better go above and beyond.
Other Platinum-model exclusives include the higher grade Tehama aniline leather for the first- and second-row seats, which are real soft and comfortable. There also are Platinum-specific scuff plates, heated and cooled front cupholders, a heated steering wheel, power liftgate and a rear entertainment system with dual front-seat-headrest-mounted monitors. But the big standard features are the magnetic-ride-control suspension, LED headlights and massive 22-inch rims.
During my couple of days, I spent a good amount of time just driving around with one passenger, which was an utter waste of the Escalade's capabilities. But I did wheel it around some tight parking garages and lots in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti and with the backup camera and light steering effort, I was able to easily shoehorn this thing into some tight parking spots.
Strangely, I didn't find myself hating this giant. I don't really mind any of these GMT-900s and was rather fond of our long-term Chevrolet Suburban from all those years ago. For a full-frame SUV, GM does a really good job from a ride-comfort and handling standpoint. The magnetic ride suspension should probably also be credited for this Caddy's luxurylike demeanor. Going down the expressway at 80 mph or rolling around the city at 25 mph, this does it all well. I also have to say that GM is probably the best around when it comes to big SUV brakes (minus the hybrids)--they are strong with a firm pedal feel.
The 6.2-liter V8 moved this big thing around easily and helped it merge onto the expressway without issue. The six-speed automatic is also smooth.
I was also surprised at how much attention this thing got--both from people who liked it and from people who didn't. I was flipped the bird in Ann Arbor for no apparent reason one night and on the other, I had a guy in an old Land Rover Discovery chase me down, pull up next to me and give me the thumbs-up while grinning ear to ear.
If you have a giant family and want to roll in more than respectable luxury, you could do a lot worse than this Cadillac. If you think it's too expensive and you could do without a few of the luxury touches, you could always go for the GMC Yukon XL Denali and save thousands.
