American cars have always been characterized by comfort and dimensions. Recently, a new crossover Cadillac Escalade was presented to the public, which even externally is able to win the hearts of car lovers. What else is interesting off-roader, let's try to understand below.
The first thing that comes to mind when you see the Cadillac Escalade is a clear association with the battleship of yesteryear. The
machine has the same big, if not huge, weighty and serene look. There are no fancy curves, unnecessary lines that should emphasize the status of the car. For Cadillac Escalade it is all superfluous.
Photo: cadillac-escalade.infocar.ua
Huge "bus" grille, narrow front headlights with long vertical running lights, clear bumper lines, everything is American expensive and simple. Cadillac did not even bother to install plastic covers on fenders of the car for protection from small stones, and why? And, of course, dimensions. Wheel disks 22 inches, wheelbase over 3 meters, and length about 5 meters 40 centimeters. What's not a battleship?
Moreover, there is an ESV version, which is 40 centimeters longer than the usual one. The interior has the same monumentality, which is organically combined with smooth lines of the front panel, reminiscent of the outlines of an ocean yacht. Monumentality strikes the eye, first of all, by the size of the center console, which is the same width as the driver's seat in a domestic car.
Photo: cadillac-escalade.infocar.ua
The screen of the multimedia system is also striking. In fact, there is no separate screen, there are three monitors united in one console. To the left of the driver there is a touch screen with the size of 7.2 inches, by means of which the appearance and functionality of the digital dashboard is selected. That, in turn, has a size of 14.2 inches, and the multimedia screen is 16.8 inches.
The minus of the multimedia system is the presence of only Apple CarPlay, the pluses include physical keys that duplicate the main functions of the system. The multimedia system is interesting and its audio component. So, in the initial configuration the car will have 19 speakers of the Austrian company AKG Acoustics GmbH, and in the top -36 speakers. But, perhaps, the most interesting thing in the car is in the rear.
Photo: cadillac-escalade.infocar.ua
First of all, it should be said that in any configuration
the car will be with three rows of seats. Optionally, the buyer can choose will be either a second row with three seats, or with two. The latter option includes two so-called "captain's" chairs, which can be adjusted in angle and length. There are two retractable cup holders in the center console, two USB-C ports, a 220-volt outlet, and two HDMI ports. Plus, there are two 12.6-inch touch-screen monitors on the front seat headrests, complete with two wireless headphones.
With the help of monitors you can, among other things, control the multimedia system of the car. The third row is not heated, but it is not nominal, for a tick, but full-fledged, where even adult passengers can be accommodated without any problems. And they have cupholders on the sides and Micro USB ports at their disposal.
Photo: cadillac-escalade.infocar.ua
The trunk volume with the third row folded down is more than 700 liters. And the third row is folded from the luggage compartment with one button in automatic mode. The trunk door, of course, is electrically operated and opens by pressing the logo located on the rear door. And if you press the small button under the logo, it opens the trunk window, which is very convenient when the trunk is fully loaded.
Under a hood of the car everything is also American solid, V8, volume of 6,2 liters, capacity of 416 "horses" in pair with automatic transmission on 10 steps! It is necessary to tell at once about controllability of the car. It, as before, remained frame design, but now both front and rear suspension are fully independent. In spite of this, the car control is rather complicated.
As any frame SUV Cadillac Escalade drives best in a straight line, any turn, at any speed is accompanied by doubts, how realistic it is to pass it. Here it is necessary to add a rigid suspension, which makes you feel all bumps of the road. Dynamics, of course, is impressive.
Photo: cadillac-escalade.infocar.ua
The V8 engine accelerates the almost six-meter battleship to 100 km/h in 6.6 seconds. The maximum speed is electronically limited to 180 km/h. Moreover, the rumble of the engine, penetrating into the cabin, does not irritate, but rather excites with its bass. According to the company's engineers, choosing the manner of driving, and there are 17 variants, the control unit is able to turn on and off the cylinders in the engine, thereby increasing the economy.
Although for an American car with a volume of more than 6 liters the concept of economy is, of course, relative. The choice of suspension mode, from all-wheel drive to rear-wheel drive, will help to increase economy. Moreover, the choice of driving modes is carried out only among "Normal" or "Sport" modes. There is not even a hint on "Economy" mode. To minuses of the car it is necessary to refer and cotton brakes. To stop in the right place, you need to press the brake pedal in advance.
Among the interesting electronic aides are adaptive cruise control, standard navigation with augmented reality. That is, if, for example, there is a turn ahead, set by navigation, then the dashboard can show the image from the video camera, which will have virtual arrows indicating the desired direction.
Photo: cadillac-escalade.infocar.ua
However, the fact that this is only possible with standard navigation makes the use of the assistant somewhat limited. The all-wheel drive SUV, however, can be optionally equipped with a "downshift" and with a locking rear differential. Also optionally installed either adaptive shock absorbers or, in the top, air suspension. The latter only allows you to slightly reduce the ground clearance during passenger boarding, because initially it is quite difficult to get into the car.
The cost of the car in the initial configuration is 92 thousand dollars, and this is not a joke, but the officially announced amount. The top configuration will cost 110 thousand dollars, and for the ESV version it will be necessary to pay 3.5 thousand dollars more. However, it's not about money, because the one who looks at such cars thinks about the price in the last place.