2023 Cadillac Escalade-V Review: Excess Comes As Standard

The 2023 Cadillac Escalade-V is waiting for me at the San Francisco Park & Fly, its bulk squeezed in between two less imposing vehicles. This big guy takes up the entire space and I have to wiggle into the cabin, the door this close to touching the car next to it. This body-on-frame SUV will be my steed the next few days as I do some business in NorCal, and I couldn't ask for a more dignified ride.

The Escalade is available in standard guise with a 10-foot wheelbase and length of over 17-and-a-half feet. Buyers can also go big with the ESV, featuring a wheelbase stretched to just over 11 feet and an overall length of nearly 19 feet.

Eagle-eyed consumers will note a few V-specific exterior styling cues like unique front and rear fascias, quad exhaust outlets, and some V-Series badging scattered about. Still, it's not enough to really make the Escalade-V stand out against any other Escalade model and, frankly, I'm bummed about it. This is the V, the big enchilada, le grand fromage. I wish it had a bit more exterior presence.

On first glance, the interior is dominated by screens. All together there are 38 inches of diagonal real estate on this curved OLED screen, divided into an infotainment display, digital gauge cluster and a smaller screen to the left of the steering wheel. Like the outside, the interior is more on the subdued side. You won't find any red stitching or obnoxious yellow seat belts. Instead the semi-aniline leather seats are a perfectly respectable black and there are polished wood accents on the center console and the dash. It all feels very adult.

Pushing the start button emits a roar from the quad exhaust like nothing I've ever heard out of a family hauler. A fellow traveler walking to his Chevy Bolt immediately gives me a judgey look. I return it with a little head toss, thinking, "Yeah, buddy. That's what a supercharged 6.2-liter V8 sounds like. Ain't no electrified powertrain here."

It takes me a hot second to find the HVAC buttons for the seat–they are on the door–but once my hot cross buns are turned on, my Apple CarPlay connected wirelessly, and my presets all stored, I take off into Bay Area traffic.

Driving on the highway I'm a little bummed my tester doesn't have Super Cruise, Cadillac's excellent hands-free driving assistance feature. Yep, this is definitely a sad trombone moment for me. I've sampled Super Cruise on other vehicles, and while you still have to pay attention to the road with this technology, the hands-free element is pretty dope. It's $2,500 well-spent.

However, I have the second-best thing, adaptive cruise control. I set it for 70 miles per hour and let the big SUV work its magic. I don't quite trust that the Escalade will stop in time when traffic in my lane decides to slow to a crawl, but it eventually gets there, although my foot covers the brake the entire time.

I look to my left and the neighboring lane is free and clear ahead of me, although with an econobox rapidly approaching. But hey, I've got 682 horsepower and 653 pound-feet of torque under my right foot. I crank the wheel to the left, stomp on the throttle, and I'm up to speed in no time. The supercharger is blowing out 10 pounds of boost and I can hear the tell-tale whine as I leave my old lane-mates behind. Cadillac says the Escalade-V can scoot from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 4.4 seconds and, although I don't have a stopwatch with me, I have no reason to doubt that claim. There is even a launch control feature for maximum acceleration.

The rest of my highway drive is great. The seats here are very comfortable, the 36-speaker stereo system is bumping out tunes on the built-in Spotify, and the exhaust that is really loud under acceleration has calmed down now that I'm traveling at a steady speed.

However, I notice that the infotainment doesn't have the quickest reaction times. Sure, it's easy to use with intuitive menus, but there is a pause when I tap the steering wheel buttons to switch between presets. It's a small thing but with a starting price of right around $150,000, I expect more.

Freeway time behind me, I head for the hills. The Escalade has lived up to most of my expectations so far with quick acceleration and a quiet ride, but I'm curious how this thing will do once the road turns twisty. I've got a few different drive modes here that switch up the throttle, shift points, steering feel and the like. I put the SUV into Sport mode and attack the first curves.

There are a few things to really like here. The 10-speed automatic transmission shifts quickly, exhaust popping and burbling, resulting in many giggles in the cabin. There is a manual mode and paddle shifters for those that want a bit more control, but the car does a good job on its own. An active all-wheel drive system throws torque around as it sees fit, but here in Sport mode it's biased towards the rear, though not to 100-percent.

While it's not quite as nimble as the Mercedes-AMG GLS, the Escalade does an admirable job at changing direction. Magnetic Ride Control and air suspension are standard here, and together they do a great job keeping body roll in check. However, I can feel every bit of this vehicle's 6,217 pounds. Sure, it can change direction, yet somehow it doesn't seem willing. I have to work to get this weight pivoted around. The low-profile, all-season tires don't do much to mitigate the situation. A good set of summer tires would make the Escalade a bit more confidence inspiring.

It also feels under-braked. Drivers will need to remember Newton's first law of motion: "A body in motion will stay in motion unless acted upon by an outside force." The outside force here is a set of Brembo anchors, but I wish for a bit more bite. There is plenty of room in those 22-inch wheels, so why not utilize it? More than once I find myself stomping on the brakes to get the SUV slowed down in time for the next turn. Brake hard, brake early my friends.

And speaking of those 22-inch wheels, they do nothing to improve ride quality. If I could, I'd spec my dream Escalade with smaller tires and a bit more rubber, but alas it is not to be: it's 22s or nothing. Every imperfection of the road is transmitted into the cabin and the result is jarring. If I'm spending this much money on a vehicle, I want composure and confidence. Instead I get crashy and harsh.

Further, if you're looking to save at the pump, you will not be happy with the Escalade-V's fuel economy. But then, did you expect great numbers from a supercharged V8? The EPA gives it an official rating of 11 miles per gallon in the city, 16 mpg highway, and 13 mpg combined. During my time I actually beat the average with 14.1 mpg over two days. Bully for me, but the Escalade takes premium fuel and it would cost $112 to fill the 24-gallon tank at my local Chevron.

The Escalade has a few neat little tricks up its proverbial sleeve. I dig the optional cooled center console and the fact that the rear glass lifts up for easy access to the cargo area. There's a surround video recorder to catch bad guys if they mess with your ride, and the navigational overlay of the augmented reality is a pretty cool feature. Finally, a rear-seat entertainment system is standard and comes with Hulu and YouTube integration.

The second-row bucket seats are plenty roomy and the third row is big enough for a full-grown adult. Even with the second row moved all the way back, my 5-foot 9-inch frame fits just fine, and I don't feel claustrophobic at all.

If moving kids and their gear is more of a priority than back road shenanigans, the Caddy is much better than the GLS. Behind the rear seats is over 25 cubic feet of space, compared to a paltry 17.4 cubes in the Benz. The trend continues until all the seats are folded down where the Escalade-V allows for 121 cubic feet of stuff, the Mercedes only 85. Just to put that in perspective, you can carry 88 more 12-packs of Diet Dr Pepper in the Cadillac than you can in the Benz. Plus the four cans you can fit in the cooled center console.

The Escalade-V doesn't come with too many options. You have your choice of three wheel designs, all of the 22-inch variety. Interior colors are either black or brown– excuse me, Jet Black or Dark Auburn. There are a few interior protection and cargo packages, and an Onyx package with monochrome Cadillac badges. However, one "option" you can't get away from is OnStar. You have to take the three-year connected services plan to the tune of $1,500. All told my tester comes in at $151,265 American dollars.

That might be a tough pill to swallow when the Mercedes-AMG GLS starts at about $15,000 less, comes with smaller wheels for a better ride quality, and is more fun in the corners to boot. Heck, even the BMW Alpina XB7 with a quicker 0-60 mph time is less expensive, though third row passengers will be extra cramped in that shorter SUV.

Still, there is a lot to like about the 2023 Cadillac Escalade-V. It certainly is a sleeper SUV, with more than enough power to embarrass Porsches when taking off at a green light and Lord knows it sounds awesome. It's got plenty of space for people and things and comes with some cool tech like augmented reality and the available Super Cruise. Just swap out the stock wheels and tires for something a little more performance-friendly, and you'll have one heck of an SUV.