Large luxury SUVs aren't the easy sell they used to be. The 2005 sales figures for every nameplate in this class — Escalade, Navigator, QX56 — are thousands off the 2004 pace. But when you own over a third of the market, as Cadillac does, there's no going back, which is why the redesigned 2007 Cadillac Escalade offers more performance, more luxury and more bling than the 2006 model.
According to Cadillac, fuel mileage is up, too, which is always a good thing. But it's the Escalade's new 403-hp engine, 22-inch wheels and mammoth grille that'll cut through the SUV clutter when it goes on sale in February 2006.
Fewer Bulges, More Chrome
It's obvious that Cadillac's "art and science" design team had its way with the 2007 Escalade. Angles are sharper, the sheet metal is pulled tight, and the family resemblance to the midsize SRX is strong. The Cadillac Sixteen concept provided the inspiration for the 16-section, cross-hatch grille. Panel gaps are noticeably tighter, especially around the bumpers, which now attach to the body instead of the frame.
Of course there's quite a bit of chrome detailing — from the grille to the gratuitous fender vents to the body-side molding — but Cadillac officials are careful to note that they didn't overdo it. During the design process, says Mary Sipes, vehicle line manager for all GM full-size SUVs, "we asked our customers, 'Is this a tasteful amount of bling?'"
That hip-hop mentality has also driven Cadillac to refer to the car's wheels as "rims" in the dealer brochure. Word up, Cadizzle.
Completely New Underneath
Take a walk around the '07 Escalade and it's basically the same size as its predecessor. But the platform is completely new. Along with the 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon, this new Escalade rides on a fully boxed frame with hydroformed rails in the front and rear. According to David Schiavone, product manager for the Escalade, bending rigidity has improved 35 percent, and torsional rigidity is up 49 percent.
Overall length measures 202.5 inches, an increase of 3.5 inches over last year, while wheelbase, width and height are the same. Compared to the Lincoln Navigator and Infiniti QX56, the Escalade is about 5 inches shorter nose to tail, with a 5-inch-shorter wheelbase. To improve handling and smooth out the ride, engineers widened the Caddy's front track 3 inches (now 68 inches) for 2007, while the rear track is up 1 inch (67 inches).
In place of the old truck's independent torsion-bar front suspension, the '07 Escalade gets a more sophisticated coil-over-shock design with a larger 36mm stabilizer bar. In back, there's still a five-link solid axle setup, though the rear stabilizer bar measures 28mm to last year's 32mm. All suspension mounts are stiffer this year, Schiavone tells us, and the adaptive Road Sensing Suspension remains standard fare. Rack and pinion steering is new, and it should be a significant improvement over the 2006 model's sloppy, recirculating-ball setup.
Braking has never been a strong point for the Escalade, so engineers addressed that as well, fitting the '07 model with an all-new brake system that includes larger rotors and stiffer front calipers. The ABS is more sophisticated this year, but we would have liked to see Cadillac add Electronic Brakeforce Distribution and BrakeAssist as well.
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