In a world of sports cars with scalpel-like precision, why not get yourself a sledgehammer? That seems to be the idea behind the 500+ horsepower Escalade-V.
What's it like to drive? Keep reading to find out.
The new Escalade-V features a 682-horsepower, 6.2-liter V8 engine. The good news is this mammoth SUV is needlessly (but pleasurably) quick.
The Cadillac even touts an exhaust system that sounds like it should be on a race Corvette, not on a hauler.
The bad news is that at sane speeds, and a modest driving style, in a mostly highway loop, all this power and noise translated into 15.9 mpg.
Admittedly, the ride was very comfortable and quite smooth, but there is little reason and excuse to pilot a $150,000 behemoth with this poor fuel mileage in the modern world.
Presumably, to add a whole new level of complication in the luxury car market, Cadillac has seen fit to move all the seat controls, except, strangely enough, the heating and cooling to the knobs on the sides of the seats themselves.
In theory, touching the knob brings the controls up on the screen and moving the knobs up and down and fore and aft in an absurdly complicated algorithm adjusts the bolsters and annoying massaging characteristics.
If you are a baller who just doesn’t care, then his monster might be for you. For the rest of the world of mere mortals with some social responsibility, you had best look elsewhere.
Yay, another performance vehicle.
But it’s a full-size SUV.
If you forget logic and reason, then this one makes sense. Want a big SUV that’s also really fast and looks the business?
Ta da, here you go.
Otherwise, it doesn’t make a ton of sense.
Want to go really fast? How about a sports car? Or at least something lower to the ground?
And if you need an SUV, does it need to have low-profile tires and a stiff suspension?
But I know that Cadillac will sell a ton of these things as few other machines have this presence. And if you want presence, this one carries in all of it.
It’s like footwear: If you want to run, wear a sneaker. And if you want to hike, wear boots. So maybe here is your boot that tries to operate as a sneaker?
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