New Cadillac Escalade

General Motors at a special event in the United States introduced a full-size Cadillac Escalade SUV of the new, fifth generation.

The Escalade's recipe remains the same - it's based on the Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban, but has a redesigned exterior, luxurious interior, and much richer equipment. Cadillac debuted the latest in GM's family of full-size frame SUVs of the new generation: the original Tahoe / Suburban was shown in December 2019, the slightly more expensive GMC Yukon in January 2020. Models of all three brands traditionally have common chassis, units and bodywork.

GM designers did a good job of visually distancing the Escalade from its "simple" relatives. Outside, the original front and rear styling in the latest iteration of Cadillac corporate identity draws all the attention - so the doors, roof and other details that are shared with Chevrolet and GMC can be overlooked. Escalade's front and rear fenders, hood panel, tailgate, all lighting equipment and bumpers are completely their own external elements. Note that in previous generations, GM did not go broke on its own rear wings for the Cadillac - they were left unchanged from the Tahoe / Suburban.

Inside the car, nothing betrays a relationship with Chevy and GMC - the Escalade has a completely original front panel, the features of which are as many as three digital displays: the first is the dashboard (diagonal - 14.2 inches), the second is a small information panel to the left of it ( 7.2 inches) and the third is a huge media system screen (16.9 inches). Since the screens are clustered, GM also lists their total diagonal - 38 inches! They are curved and have twice the pixel density of 4K TVs. For the first time in the automotive industry, screens were made on organic light-emitting diodes (OLED), the press service of the concern notes.

As befits a premium car, the interior of the new Escalade has no areas of “bare” plastic – all trim elements are tightly covered with leather or eco-leather. The stylists are especially proud of the interior detailing that was previously unheard of for a model: handles, controllers, buttons, ventilation deflectors - everything has a carefully crafted design and “rich” texture.

The Escalade's navigation system has an augmented reality mode similar to those used in the latest Mercedes: a live video of the street from the front camera is broadcast on the screen - and route arrows are superimposed on this image. Thus, the driver receives more visual information on how to drive to the destination.

The developer and supplier of the audio system for the new Cadillac is the Austrian company AKG, which is known for its professional Hi-End and Hi-Fi audio equipment. This is her first experience in the automotive industry. The audio complex in the top configuration includes 36 speakers, three amplifiers and 28 channels. The standard version of the AKG has "only" 19 speakers and a large subwoofer with a 14-channel amplifier.

The basic equipment of the new SUV includes the Super Cruise autopilot system. It navigates with the help of lidar (laser radar), a high-precision GPS receiver, all-round video cameras and radars. The complex is equipped with routes where the driver can trust the autopilot and not even hold the wheel with his hands - these are 200,000 miles (360,000 km) of highways in the USA and Canada.

The new Escalade will come standard with Air Ride Adaptive Control (ARAC) air suspension. Recall that for other related models, it is offered as an expensive option. ARAC works in conjunction with the Magnetic Ride Control system, which adjusts suspension elasticity and ground clearance to suit current road conditions. This increases the smoothness of the car and reduces roll in corners. The air suspension can also lower the level of ground clearance - for more convenient loading of the car in the parking lot.

The rest of the advantages over the previous generation Escalade shared with Tahoe, Suburban and Yukon. Recall that the full-size GM SUVs of the new wave are built on a frame platform created from scratch, in which for the first time for models an independent rear suspension is used - it improves both the ride and the car's behavior on the road.

Escalade will continue to be made in two body styles - standard and extended, abbreviated as ESV. In the first case, the length and wheelbase are 5382 and 3071 mm, respectively, in the second - 5766 and 3407 mm, respectively. The increase in length and base relative to the machine of the outgoing sample for the standard version is +203 and +125 mm, respectively, for the ESV - +69 and +105 mm.

Thanks to the increased dimensions and optimized layout, there is much more usable space in the cabin of SUVs. Legroom in the third row of seats in the standard Escalade has increased by 40%, and the amount of luggage behind it - by 68%! The Escalade ESV has 19% more legroom for both rear rows and cargo.

The new Cadillac Escalade will be produced with two engines: petrol V8 about