Cadillac Escalade-V: Heightened price brings heightened power

Feeling the heat in the light-truck market, Cadillac is touting its new 2023 Escalade-V as the crown in the nameplate's jeweled legacy.

The Escalade-V is the first Cadillac utility vehicle to tout the V-series badge — a stamp that implies more power and more performance, similar to that of BMW's M performance brand or Honda's Type R speedsters.

With that stamp comes impressive specs. The SUV packs a supercharged 6.2-liter V-8 engine, producing 682 hp and 653 pound-feet of torque, mated to a 10-speed automatic transmission. Tests are putting the 0-to-60-mph time at around 4.3 seconds.

Speed comes at a cost, literally. The Escalade-V starts at $149,990, about $46,000 more than the highest-priced 2022 Escalade, the Sport Platinum.

A notable feature, albeit optional, is Super Cruise — General Motors' hands-free driving network. Reviews say the feature works wonders on its programmed country highways. The add-on will tack around $2,500 to the price tag.

Reviews of the Escalade-V from automotive journalists are generally positive, and we've compiled a few excerpts.

"Set aside the stopwatch and the Escalade-V feels properly quick from the driver's seat. A tap of the model's V mode button in front of the shift lever activates this brute's highest dynamic settings and engages its launch-control feature, which holds the engine's revs at around 1500 rpm when the driver has both pedals mashed to the floor.

"Lift off the left pedal and the immediate acceleration provided by the torque-rich V-8—Cadillac claims 80 percent of the Escalade-V's 653 pound-feet of torque is available from 2000 rpm—is akin to the initial surge of a moderately powerful electric vehicle.

"Tweaks to its air springs and adaptive dampers lessen this elephantine SUV's body motions with little sacrifice to its ride quality. And six-piston Brembo front brake calipers endow the V with a firmer and more responsive brake pedal. Though the brake pedal of an Escalade-V ESV we drove around Arizona struck us as a tad too grabby.

"Cadillac still falls short of that offered by unibody competitors such as the Mercedes-AMG GLS63 and the BMW Alpina XB7. Both of those quicker and nimbler Germans hit the mile-a-minute mark in under four seconds and are available with sticky summer tires from the factory.

"The V is held back by an overly intrusive stability-control system that pours salt into the Caddy's lateral-performance wound, just like all of General Motors' full-size SUVs."

— Greg Fink, Car and Driver

"The fact of the matter is, the Escalade-V is quick, and feels it. Boot it and the big Cadillac surges off, surfing on a fat torque wave that starts way down low, achieving some high double-digit speed before you realize you should probably back off. But there's not much drama beyond the burly noise emanating behind you and a vague sense that something rather extraordinary happened.
"The Escalade-V rides firmer than a regular Escalade without being punishing, and provides handling that doesn't (and shouldn't) hide the sheer size of the vehicle. It feels secure and confident at entertaining velocities.
"A well-calibrated steering system helps immensely, with noticeable gradations in effort between drive modes. There's no artificial heft to simulate sportiness here—just smart, direct, accurate steering that provides a surprising amount of predictability and feedback.
"Roll control was one of several challenges that Cadillac engineers faced when adapting the Escalade-V for the increased performance provided by its big, blown V-8. The air springs provide great ride height adjustability but don't help any with lean, dive, or squat.
"There's some squat under full acceleration, but it's appropriate and not excessive—same with heavy braking. MRC is an amazing technology.
"The exterior enhancements are subtle; the interior is basically Sport Platinum carried over whole cloth. Not to complain, necessarily; the regular Escalade's upper trims are very nice. And Cadillac reps told us that workshops showed that a hypothetical Escalade-V buyer wouldn't want a boy-racer interior with carbon-backed sport buckets out of a Blackwing and red stitching everywhere.
"This is more a well-appointed Q-ship than an SUV-shaped supercar, and that's fine."

— Alex Kierstein, MotorTrend

"There's an almost excessive amount of burble on overrun that you can hear throughout the cabin, and neither the engine or exhaust are artificially 'enhanced' through the speakers. When something sounds this good, there's no need for amplification.
"I also didn't expect this thing to handle as well as it does, though I guess I shouldn't really be surprised. Cadillac's fourth-generation Magnetic Ride Control system is about as good as modern suspension tech gets, and combined with the standard air setup, it works wonders.
"Body roll is quelled enough to keep the Escalade V mostly flat while cornering, but not so much to make you forget you're driving an absolutely enormous SUV. The steering is appropriately weighty with plenty of feedback from the road, and the standard Brembo six-piston front brakes do an admirable job handling the brunt of the stopping force.
"My one complaint with the ride quality isn't actually unique to the V, it's something I've experienced in other Escalades, as well. On the standard 22-inch wheels, the ride is quite chatty over minor pavement imperfections, despite the excellent suspension tuning and thickly sidewalled 275/50 all-season tires.
"The cushy front seats are trimmed in soft leather, and feature heating, cooling and massage functionality. Second- and third-row passengers have ample head- and legroom, as well as charging ports and storage cubbies for days. And don't forget, the Escalade V is huge; the long-wheelbase ESV can accommodate as much as 142.8 cubic feet of cargo behind the front chairs. That makes the Escalade V roomier than its closest competitors, the new Land Rover Range Rover and Mercedes-AMG GLS63."

— Steven Ewing, CNETbrk

"This monster is excessive in every sense of the word. It weighs over 6,000 pounds, has 682 horsepower, and is swankier than a five-star hotel room inside. The extra-long ESV model I tested further hammers home that ridiculousness with its daunting size. And yet, for all of the outlandish contradictions that this vehicle represents, the Escalade still feels like a V-Series vehicle through and through.

"This 6,407-pound luxury SUV moves with ridiculous hustle. The big back end squats and the nose juts up skyward as the massive Caddy races to 60 and beyond. And it brakes just as well, too, with 16.1-inch, six-piston Brembo rotors on the front wheels.

"Then there's the sound; the Escalade-V roars to life at startup like a sports car and burbles loudly at idle. Full throttle uncorks the full muscle car-like noise of that V8, which sounds nearly as good to my ear as the CT5-V Blackwing.

"As the roads straighten up, so too does the Escalade-V. Keeping it in Tour tames the throttle, exhaust, and suspension, transforming the roaring SUV into a solid highway cruiser. While the MagneRide suspension obviously improves handling, combined with the standard air suspension, the duo also aid with on-road comfort. Not even the standard 22-inch wheels make the Escalade-V feel unsettled.

"Adding to that upscale on-road driving experience is the latest Super Cruise driver assistance system ... Even on the relatively twisty highways surrounding Roosevelt Lake, the Escalade-V cruised for over an hour without driver interference, changing lanes and keeping up with traffic, with only one or two minor quibbles the entire way."

— Jeff Perez, Motor1.com

"But adopting the V-series performance badge for 2023, Escalade-V takes its ambitions to another level: a halo vehicle for all SUVs. Forget your Merc G-wagons and Bimmer X7s. This super-ute represents the industry's pinnacle in performance, design, comfort, driving-assist tech and just plain ol' visceral fun.

"My Marvel comic imagination thought that kind of power (and heat management) would require a hood scoop the size of my front door to manage, but no. The sheet metal changes are subtle, with larger 'grillettes' on the fascia's flanks and chin feeding air to the beast within.

"Super Cruise smoothly passed slower truck traffic — automatically engaging the turn signal — without breaking stride (unlike the Mercedes EQS I recently drove that runs up on a slower car's rear bumper before passing), then respectfully moved back in the right lane.
"An independent rear suspension (IRS) means more footwell for third-row passengers to enjoy the ride under a cabin-length panoramic sunroof. And since those seats are in another ZIP code, a microphone (accessed via a button on the steering wheel) allows the front row to communicate with the third. Hey, kids, where do you want to stop for dinner?
"Like race cars on track, Escalade-V is a technology showcase that allows even a mega-ute to defy physics like a Marvel superhero, while providing 380 miles of range in a cabin as comfortable as the passengers' living room."

— Henry Payne, The Detroit News

"The Escalade-V is the embodiment of everything Cadillac should stand for: design, power, substance.

"The Escalade-V drives a stake in the ground. Powerful, fast, luxurious, technically superlative, it's a challenge to the next generation.

"Well-tuned steering and the sophisticated suspension make the Escalade ESV feel like a smaller vehicle, at ease in traffic and easy to place in the right spot on country curves.

"The controls are easy to use, including three curved OLED screens stretching 38 inches from the driver's door to the middle of the SUV.

"The (Super Cruise) system worked flawlessly for me on a stretch of mountainous state highway. In addition to executing passes and keeping the vehicle centered in its lane hands-free, the system adjusted speed to accommodate steep grades and sharp bends."

— Mark Phelan, Detroit Free Press

"Interestingly, the Escalade V doesn't just get a clone of the CT5-V Blackwing's engine, though. It gets the same basic block and forged rotating assembly, but a different supercharger better suited to providing the low-end grunt necessary to haul around a three-ton steel brick.

"The exterior of the V simply tells you more about the car's character. It's a little angrier in the fascias, and a lot louder than the regular truck. The four squared-off exhaust tips hint at that fact.

"What I found was that the Escalade V is absolutely quick for what it is: it can hit a quarter-mile in under 13 seconds and 60 in about four and a half seconds. True, a lot of smaller, lighter cars will still eat its lunch (a 3.0-liter Toyota Supra has an edge on it, for instance), but that's not really what this truck is about, though.

"The ride, even in its softest setting, really didn't like washboard-type road imperfections. The combination of the magnetic shocks and air springs produced an awkward shudder over them. Uneven dirt roads were dealt with in a similar manner.

"The Escalade V is Rodney Dangerfield in car form. It's big, fast, loud, thirsty, angry. Everything about it is superlative. It scares children and wildlife. It's competing with a group of cars that thrive on being the biggest and the loudest in the room and it's the least subtle while barely even trying."

— Peter Holderith, The Drive