2025 Cadillac Escalade Review

The Escalade’s appearance has been improved with a new front bumper with a bigger grille and different patterns, horizontal LED headlights, bright daytime running lights under the hood crease, and an optional illuminated grille surround. Some small changes have been made to the outside, like adding a new lower bumper cover and redesigning the back headlights. Also, possibly 24-inch wheels will be released in 2025. These will be the biggest wheels ever offered on an Escalade. Shades like Aegean Stone, Latte metallic, and Deep Sea metallic are new. The curved dash panel inside the car goes from 38 inches to 55 inches. Two new color choices for the inside are Renaissance Red and Sheer Gray. The steering wheel has also been updated. More carbon-fiber accents and unique quilted fabric have been added to the V-series. GM’s hands-free driving system, Super Cruise, is now standard on all of their cars. The Escalade with the 3.0-liter diesel inline-six engine is also no longer on the market.

Pros

• Beautiful Inside.
• Plenty of space to stretch out.
• The technology to drive without using your hands.

Cons

• V-8 engines are thirsty.
• Some versions exceed $100K.
• It’s impossible to blend in.

Cadillac’s largest SUV has a 6.2-liter V-8 engine that makes 420 horsepower. It is paired with a 10-speed automatic gearbox that can be set to rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive. The old diesel engine, which didn’t have much power but got better gas mileage, will be replaced in 2025. Fans of the Escalade who want speed can only get the V. It has a strong 6.2-liter V-8 engine that is boosted and makes 682 horsepower. We were also pleased by the supercharged V-8’s power and baritone sound. The current Escalade, like its siblings, the GMC Yukon, Chevrolet Tahoe, and Suburban, has an independent back suspension. This makes more legroom in the third row, which was limited by a solid rear axle in the previous model. More expensive trims also have air springs with dampers that can be adjusted. The Escalade-V handles better than a regular SUV thanks to upgrades to its suspension, but it still needs to be quicker than rivals like the Mercedes-AMG GLS63 and the BMW Alpina XB7.

Cadillac wants its most popular SUV to be a showpiece for technology that helps drivers. In order to do that, Cadillac offers the great hands-free Super Cruise feature and makes many of the most famous active safety technologies standard. Visit the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) webpages to learn more about the Escalade’s crash test scores. Some important safety factors are:

• Front and back pedestrian detection are built into the basic automatic emergency braking system.
• Normal lane exit alarm that helps you stay in your lane.
• You can get adaptive speed control with a hands-free mode.

The Cadillac Escalade is the top-of-the-line car in this series so that it will improve your experience inside. The basic Luxury trim is made of synthetic leather. All other trims are made of real leather, and Platinum models have extra-soft semi-aniline hides. Some of the switchgear is shared with less expensive GM cars, but the car looks better with leather-covered door panels, metal speaker grilles, and changeable ambient lighting inside. ESV models come in two styles: standard-wheelbase and long-wheelbase. The long-wheelbase model has more space for cargo and more headroom for people in the third row.

With rear-wheel drive and the base V-8 engine, the Escalades gets 14 mpg in the city, 19 mpg on the highway, and 16 mpg total. With all-wheel drive, the highway rating drops by one mpg. The V model, which is designed for speed, gets only 11 mpg in the city and 16 mpg on the highway, making it much less fuel-efficient.

Cadillac made the Escalade’s technology better. The new model’s digital panel is made up of three curved OLED screens that stack on top of each other. Together, they cover an amazing 55 inches, which is more than double the previous model’s 38-inch screen. The CUE infotainment system takes up the rest of the screen space on the driver’s side, which is mostly used by the gauge panel. There is also an augmented reality navigation system and an entertainment package for the back seats with two 12.6-inch streaming screens. With wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, anyone can mirror their devices. There is also a Wi-Fi hotspot. Fans of great sound will be happy with any Escalade model. Cadillac worked with Grammy-winning audio and acoustic business AKG to make sound systems for both the base and optional Escalade models. The Platinum trims get an AKG Studio Reference system with 36 speakers or 40 if you add the second-row Executive package. The Luxury, Sport, and Premium Luxury cars all come with a 19-speaker Studio Sound system as standard.

The long-wheelbase 2021 Escalade ESV with the V-8 engine went from 0 to 60 mph in 5.9 seconds, which is faster than the last Escalade test we did. Last time we tried an Escalade-V, the big SUV went from 0 to 60 mph in 4.3 seconds thanks to its 682-hp supercharged V-8 engine. It also went through the quarter-mile line at 111 mph in 12.7 seconds.

Even though the Escalade is pretty fancy, trying to excuse the purchase by saving a little money here and there is a waste of time. The Premium Luxury Platinum model is the one we suggest. It has an AKG sound system, semi-aniline leather, 16-way power-adjustable front seats with massage, and a new power door function that lets you open and close all four doors with the touch of a button or handle on the console. Of course, the V model is the only one that will give you the best results. Beginning in late 2024, the 2025 Escalade will be made at General Motors’ Arlington Assembly plant in Texas.