The 2021 Cadillac Escalade is so huge, the news got to us as well. Two versions are on offer, including an ESV long-wheelbase model.
There are huge SUVs and then there are some seriously huge SUVs that are not just wide, but also long. Really long. While we have our more affordable Fortuners and Endeavours and not so affordable Land Cruiser, LX, GLS and Range Rover L, there are a different breed of beasts, much larger than most, on the other side of the Atlantic. And they don’t get much larger and premium than the 2021 Cadillac Escalade.
The 2021 Cadillac Escalade, in ESV long-wheelbase guise, measures 226.9 inches or 5,763 mm long. For comparison, the Fortuner is 4,795 mm – almost a metre less; the Land Cruiser is 4,950 mm long, and its largest sibling, the massive Sequoia, is 5,210 mm long. Even the Mercedes-Maybach GLS is 5,207 mm long. To put it in context, the 2021 Cadillac Escalade ESV is as long as a Rolls-Royce Phantom – standard wheelbase, of course. The Escalade looks sharp with a huge grille flanked by LED lighting front and rear, with sharp tail-lamp clusters that run all the way from the top to the bottom of the powered tailgate. Automatic headlamps with IntelliBeam are standard, too. A panoramic sunroof and chrome roof-rails are also on offer as are soft-close doors.
Inside the 2021 Cadillac Escalade there is a choice of seating available, including up to three rows with immense room for each passenger. The front seats are 18-way adjustable and include the massage function. A mix of screens and traditional controls strike the right balance between aesthetics and functionality, with a total OLED curved display surface area of 38 diagonal inches. Premium AKG Studio Reference audio with a 28-channel amplifier and 36 speakers is also available. The top-spec Premium Luxury Platinum variant gets adaptive cruise control, collision and pedestrian alerts, enhanced autonomous emergency braking, reverse automatic braking, and front pedestrian braking as well. Also on the list are the lane-change and side blind-zone alerts, lane-keep assist and lane-departure warning.
Powering the 2021 Cadillac Escalade are a choice of a petrol or diesel engine – at the same price. The petrol is the familiar General Motors 6.2-litre V8 with 425 hp and 624 Nm. Its Active Fuel Management technology uses cylinder deactivation to save gas by shutting off half the cylinders in light load conditions. The diesel is the 3.0-litre, six-cylinder, turbocharged Duramax unit with 280 hp and 624 Nm. A 10-speed automatic transmission is standard and transfers the power to either the rear wheels or to an Autotrac two-speed transfer case for the 4×4 system. The 2021 Cadillac Escalade offers a boot volume of between 1,175 and 3,426 litres. Equipped appropriately, it can tow up to 3,764 kg.
There are several trims available for the 2021 Cadillac Escalade starting at $77,490 (Rs 58 lakh approx) for the standard wheelbase in Luxury trim with rear-wheel drive and going up to a base price of $104,290 (Rs 78 approx) for the ESV long-wheelbase model in Premium Luxury Platinum 4WD trim. Several trims are on offer in between as well, with 2WD or 4WD, along with a slew of accessory packs as well.
