2007 Cadillac Escalade Review

Specifications

New Escalade Resets the Full-Size SUV Benchmark

I heard the skidding, although it wasnt the kind of screeching thats normally associated with a car sliding out of control. The rain was falling too hard to allow for much friction between rubber and pavement, so it was more of a long, drawn out skid, and then, with enough time for me to look over my shoulder towards the back window while saying “Brace yourselves!” to the kids, something indistinguishable through the soaked rear glass but nevertheless white hit my rear end and shook the Escalade.

Not a big shake mind you, but enough to be sure that someone was going to be paying for damages. I asked the kids if they were alright, at which point came an affirmative but dumbfounded nod from each one, so I stepped out to survey the situation. The something white was a Jeep Cherokee, probably vintage 1988 or so, with questionable tire treads, as could be guessed. Its left front corner looking pretty pranged up, a realization not lost on the distraught looking driver.

“Im sorry”, he said. “You stopped so fast.” Yes, I suppose I was lucky not to hit the car in front of me, being that he had braked for a car in front of him who stopped suddenly for a pedestrian who decided to walk out in front of everyone. I had brand new tires, not to mention antilock enhanced four-wheel disc brakes with electronic brake force distribution and brake assist. This poor sod was probably running on worn front pads with worn shoes at the back, and definitely no ABS. I was lucky in another way too. Somehow he had struck the Escalade dead center, demolishing the plastic trailer hitch cover but doing nothing more. Thats a $100 part,  or so, with another $50 or so for paint. No doubt, his insurance adjuster wont even get a call from GM; the legal costs it would incur just filling out the paperwork and making the appropriate calls would far outweigh paying for the part and labor.

After writing down his particulars I climbed back into the Escalade, and once again made my inquiries with the kids. Kaden, my 6 year old son was sitting in the third row (by choice of course), and spoke about how hard the car hit us. I suppose he felt the impact more, or at least heard a much louder thump than I did. His booster seat kept him at the right height so that the seatbelt had worked properly, so he didnt look any worse for wear. Julia, my 13 year old daughter said she hardly felt it, as did my youngest daughter Anika, almost 3 and held in place by a child safety seat latched into place and then strapped down with the seatbelt for extra precaution. We drove home.

That night, speaking with my wife, I mused about what damage we may have sustained if we werent in the Escalade, but rather a smaller subcompact or compact. Would we all be booking chiropractic appointments right now? Probably not, but there certainly would have been much more damage sustained to the car, and possibly downtime getting it fixed. No doubt, when it comes to getting hit while stationary, size really does matter.

If I, on the other hand, had been the one traveling behind and needing to avoid the accident by veering out of the way, however, I might be singing a different tune. Id be cursing its mammoth proportions, frustrated by its archaic live rear axle and be facing a much larger repair bill; theres no trailer hitch cover in the front bumper. Something more agile would have been better, that is until an accident actually occurs, at which time Id be grateful for having so much vehicle around to protect me and my family.

Does this make any sense or is my brain scrambled from getting hit? Theres a myth bantered about by large SUV owners that says theyre safer vehicles, due to their mass. In the case of my accident, I heartily agree, but this isnt true when taking accident avoidance measures, so are they really that much safer. I suppose that most people arent trained in proper accident avoidance maneuvers anyway, such as applying opposite lock steering when necessary, and then applying the throttle instead of the brake, when called, so big is probably better after all.

When it came to hauling the family and all of our belongings for the two and a half weeks we had the Escalade, big definitely was a bonus. Even with all three rows in place there was room in the cargo hold for some gear. The liftgate was powered, of course, but the same remote key fob used for lifting it could also pop open the rear glass, for smaller items. This said, mind you, I found it too difficult to reach over and grab whatever was down below, so once tested never used this feature again. Taller folk might not have this issue. The rear seats dont fold into the floor when not in use, but rather lift up and forward on a front hinge, and can be removed entirely if more space is needed. This is good, but not as convenient as it would be if you could simply drop them into the floor like some of the Escalades rivals. The second row seats work much the same way, and when tipped forward allow enough room to easily crawl into the back. Theyre a pain to operate though, as sometimes theyd open and close easily, and other times I couldnt get the backrest to go back into place. Actually, in the end I just left it down all week because I couldnt be bothered getting out the manual to figure out whatever intricate system was needed to pull it upright. After all, with seven seats to its credit and only needing five, it simply wasnt necessary. I suppose thats the luxury of size.

Theres more to the luxurious experience I had with the Escalade than its interior space, mind you, but rather the overall design itself. Gone is the old models pickup truck styling motif, replete with brittle plastics, bulbous buttons and acres of fake woodgrain, replaced with an almost European design featuring high quality soft-touch plastics, sophisticated, well damped switchgear and beautiful aluminum trim mixed with less fake woodgrain accents, fortunately. But why knock the fact that the wood isnt real. Rather, lets celebrate the fact that no Brazilian hardwood forests were clear cut in order to make this SUV; other than the steering wheel trim that appears to be the genuine article. Hmmm… why bother?

In the middle of a long span of aluminum, right above the center stack, sits one of the coolest analog clocks Ive ever laid eyes on in any vehicle, setting the tone for the rest of the interior. A large infotainment screen is just below, with an integrated nav system and various controls for adjusting audio settings, or choosing between AM, FM, CD, DVD or XM satellite radio; a personal favorite. The screen turns into a rear-facing camera when you put the gear lever in reverse, and as long as its not raining too hard this increases visibility immensely. The HVAC controls are as easy to use as those for the audio/nav setup, and are fully automatic as is expected in the Escalades fairly steep price range. A switch for adjusting the foot pedals sits at the very base of the stack, just before the faux wood that trims both sides takes a bend and then levels out, meeting up with the ashtray and cupholders. Theres no shifter where a shifter should be, but rather its located on the steering column just like such things were when I was a kid. In retrospect its probably a more efficient use of space, being that not much can be housed in the air space between the wheel and the gauges as it is, other than the usual stalks for windshield wipers, turn signals and the like.

The leather-clad gear selector features a tow-haul button at its end, that when pressed prepares the Escalade to engine brake when called upon, and activates another switch just to the left for rowing through its six forward gears. A nifty idea, I had no application for it due to not even owning a utility trailer. My guess is that those who buy Escalades know exactly what to do with it, and will appreciate the effort Cadillac put into integrating it within the gear lever.

The steering wheel in front of it is an attractive mix of nicely grained plastics, leather and aluminum, accented with an array of buttons for adjusting the audio system and cruise control, among other things. Whether or not you actually use such remote switchgear is beside the point, it needs to be there if youre paying upwards of seventy large for an SUV. Personally, unless the dash mounted controls are awkwardly placed I hardly ever use steering wheel buttons. Of course, if they werent there Id be complaining about it, so go figure.

The seats are large and generously padded, yet seemingly infinite adjustability made them comfortably throughout my test period, and the seat heaters (both for the lower seatback and bottom cushion) get hot enough to char a steak let alone slow cook my rump roast.

When I beat up the Escalade a few minutes ago for not having the agility to avoid an accident, I probably wasnt being fair. Sure it labors along with a live rear axle, hopping over bridge or highway expansion joints and getting unsettled when hustling over uneven patches of pavement on curvy stretches of roadway, but for normal use it transitions between lanes quite well and takes to long arcing corners with ease. More important to most who buy large SUVs is a ride quality that few cars can match, and a turning circle thatll embarrass some front-wheel drive economy cars. This makes it easy to maneuver through the city, the experience enhanced with generous sightlines through its large, open greenhouse and a flight traffic controllers view of surrounding vehicles.

And when you see an opening, merely tap the throttle and the big SUV muscles forward with the thrust of an A380, or so it seems. Such aggressive acceleration comes via the most powerful gasoline engine in GMs non-commercial arsenal, a 403 horsepower 6.2-liter overhead valve V8 capable of churning out 417 lb-ft of earth shattering torque. Yes, its a powerhouse that even leaves Chryslers revered 5.7-liter HEMI quaking in its motor mounts, and when mated to the aforementioned six-speed automatic, its not even that bad on fuel.

OK, it still sucked back the unleaded at an alarming rate (at least it doesnt need premium), my final fill costing a rather sobering amount from empty thanks to the EPAs rather optimistic 13 mpg city rating, and 19 mpg highway rating. My guess is that its buyers, after dropping a cool $65K for a truck (about the price of my tester) hardly worry about a thousand or so more per year in pump costs. Just throw it on the Amex Platinum and pay it when the bill comes, no doubt, reaping the excess in air miles. But now that Im talking the hefty price needed to move up from a similarly sized Tahoe, Ive got to mention a couple of disappointments.

First, whats with the hokey key fob? Chevys lowest priced Aveo has a more impressive tool, fully integrating the lock and trunk release buttons into the key itself. The Cadillac, on the other hand, makes use of one of the cheapest looking keys in the industry, with a half-baked crest and wreath embossed with cheesy metallic gold in brittle black plastic. Its an embarrassment, dangling from a thin silver key ring that attaches to an equally hard plastic remote fob of unattractive proportions. Throw that on a table at the pub and the cute little waitress will think you arrived in a ten year old Cavalier. Sure it sports some pretty trick features, such as remote latches for the power liftgate and glass hatch, plus, best of all, a button for starting the car from the comfort of your bar chair, but could Cadillac package it in a more appealing manner? I mean, buy any run of the mill Kia and youll pocket a key fob thatll get you more respect. Compare what GM offers to any European or Asian luxury model and, well, once again the Caddy fob is ruddy embarrassing.

Another item that will probably only matter to premium car snobs is the Escalades parking brake. Theres nothing wrong with it, other than most rivals boast electronic brakes that only require you to press a button to actuate and the Caddy not only makes you lift your foot to engage, but reach down under the dash fumbling for a hand release lever. Egad, can we pull this truck into the 21st century Cadillac?! This was a constant annoyance that would probably cause some people to not use their e-brake at all.

And the rear wiper? With the rain weve had on the west coast lately it might as not be there at all. Sure it wipes the glass clean with each stroke, but it only works intermittently with no capability for continuous wiping. Therefore it was covered with water most of the time, forcing me to rely almost entirely on my side mirrors during heavy rain spells.

OK, you caught me. Im griping about things that are about as inconsequential as complaints get. Reality is, the Escalades very good. And in black, it looks so sweet that you wont worry about a few foibles that can be marked down to character. When you pull up to a stoplight and three teenage boys stumble over themselves as they point and grin at the Escalades imposing chrome grille like idiots, giving you the thumbs up because your Escalade is their ultimate dream ride, you wont be worrying about the lame key fob or pain in the butt e-brake. No, youll feel pretty cool cause youre behind the wheel of an icon of North American pop culture, the rap star of SUVs. That actually happened to me so I speak from experience, and as much as I liked Chryslers new Aspen, what it claims to be the 300C of SUVs, no one even noticed it. No, Cadillac makes the 300C of SUVs Chrysler, and unless you give your Aspen more character itll continue to reign supreme.

Whats more, the Escalades sophisticated styling, in and out, eclipses the all-new Navigator too, which has over-blinged the grille with more chrome than a parking lot of Hogs at Sturgis. While bold and dramatic, the Escalade shows a maturity of design that none of its competitors can match. Its the full-size SUV benchmark, the one every teenage son wants his dad to buy and every dad (who doesnt care about environmental issues that is) wants his sons friends dads to see him pulling up in at the game. Thats why you really want it, be honest.