2017 Cadillac Escalade Review

It's difficult to top the 2017 Cadillac Escalade if you're going for big and bold. This full-size SUV makes a full-size statement, from the immense grille to the massive, heavily styled bodywork. It's also packed to the rafters with a long list of comfort and convenience features that are sure to please technophiles and luxury-minded shoppers alike. A burly 6.2-liter V8 gets the Escalade moving with authority, while the truck-based chassis is capable of towing up to 8,300 pounds.

This unique mix of size, utility and style gives the Cadillac Escalade its broad appeal, and indeed this vehicle has become the face of the Cadillac brand. Even so, there are some drawbacks. Truck-based components can compromise ride quality, which is of prime importance in the luxury market. Sheer size also compromises the Escalade's maneuverability in crowded urban traffic. 

Fortunately, the 2017 Escalade's positives outweigh the negatives, earning it a strong Edmunds B rating. This Cadillac compares favorably against the Lincoln Navigator and Land Rover Range Rover, but the A-rated Mercedes-Benz GL-Class and Audi Q7 represent the current standard by which large luxury SUVs are measured. For undeniable styling presence, though, the Cadillac Escalade remains in its own class, far above the rest.

Standard safety equipment for all trim levels of the 2017 Cadillac Escalade include antilock disc brakes, traction and stability control (with trailer sway control), front-seat side airbags, and full-length side curtain airbags. An airbag between the front seats offers additional protection in side-impact crashes. Also standard is a teen-driver management system, a reminder to check the backseats for child occupants before vacating the interior, front and rear parking sensors, surround-view exterior camera, and the OnStar system with automatic crash notification, on-demand roadside assistance, remote door unlocking, stolen vehicle assistance and turn-by-turn navigation.

Luxury and above trim levels also receive forward collision alert with automatic low-speed emergency braking, lane departure warning and intervention, a safety-alert driver seat that vibrates to warn the driver of danger, blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert, and the new rearview mirror with its obstruction-free camera view. The adaptive cruise control system for the top trims also features automatic braking over the full range of speed, as well as automatic braking when in reverse.

In government crash tests, the Escalade was awarded five out of five stars for side-crash protection and three stars for rollover protection. In Edmunds brake testing, an Escalade with 22-inch wheels came to a stop from 60 mph in 127 feet, which is longer than competing SUVs.

The 2017 Cadillac Escalade is classified as a full-size luxury SUV with seating for seven passengers. It is available in the base trim, then moves up to the Luxury, Premium Luxury, and Platinum models. An even larger Escalade ESV extended-wheelbase model is covered in a separate review.

With a 6.2-liter V8 under the hood that delivers 420 hp and 460 lb-ft of torque, the 2017 Cadillac Escalade has no problem accelerating to highway speeds or passing slower traffic. Throttle response is immediate, and the braking performance is reassuring and predictable.

For all this, the Escalade doesn’t deliver the luxurious ride quality that we expect from this brand. Even with a Magnetic Ride Control suspension system that allows the driver to tailor its performance to the driving situation, the occasional bump and thump remind you that the Escalade is derived from a truck chassis, not a car platform. Much of this lack of refinement can be attributed to the stylish 22-inch wheels, which must carry tires that feature narrow sidewalls that transmit vibration from the road into the passenger cabin.

The Escalade’s large size also is not only imposing to look at but also imposing to drive, especially in urban traffic. Thankfully, the cabin proves fairly quiet on the highway,  insulating occupants from wind and road noise. In the end, there are full-size SUVs that are better to drive every day, but none approach the style statement that the Cadillac Escalade makes.

As big as the Cadillac might seem on the outside, it's surprising that the interior doesn't feel extraordinarily spacious. The first two rows of seats have an abundance of head- and legroom, yet shoulder space seems oddly limited. And as with third-row seats in all SUVs in all size categories, these are meant to be used only for children on short trips.

The Escalade's cabin features attractive, high-quality materials. This is especially true of the Platinum trim level, which upgrades to a comprehensive use of premium leather. Cadillac's CUE infotainment system is visually appealing, as are the rest of the controls on the center stack of the dash. CUE offers plenty of features to keep passengers entertained, yet the system's responses to touchscreen inputs are sometimes delayed and the menus aren't always intuitive to understand. The touch-sensitive buttons for climate control are similarly problematic.

In terms of numbers, the Escalade's cargo capacity is comparable to other large SUVs: It delivers 15.2 cubic feet of space behind the third row, 51.6 cubic feet behind the second row, and 94.2 cubic feet behind the first row. These figures don't tell the whole story, though, because the high load floor in the back makes for a fairly strenuous loading process. Fortunately, the hands-free power liftgate can be triggered with a swipe of your foot under the rear bumper.