PHOENIX — In terms of luxurious nameplates, BMW has lengthy banked on the three Collection sedan, billed as the final word driving machine, whereas the E Class sedan has carried the torch for Mercedes-Benz and the RX crossover has been a gold mine for Lexus.
Cadillac, feeling some warmth within the light-truck market on its 120th anniversary, is cranking up the amount on its undisputed crown jewel.
Giant luxurious SUVs are shifting extra upscale in value, content material and efficiency — see the 2022 Range Rover with optionally available third-row seating — and new entrants such because the Jeep Grand Wagoneer, which might prime $100,000, are crowding in, so the Cadillac Escalade is getting fortified with an excessive efficiency mannequin.
The 2023 Cadillac Escalade-V, packing a 682-hp, 6.2-liter supercharged V-Eight engine with 653 pound-feet of torque, is a 3-ton luxurious SUV that zips from zero to 60 mph in below 4.Four seconds.
Priced at $149,000, together with transport, it can turn out to be the costliest Cadillac available on the market, delivering extra revenue to General Motors, although quantity shall be low. The Escalade-V additionally shall be obtainable as an extended- wheelbase ESV, a variant representing about 30 p.c of Escalade quantity, priced from $152,990.
The Escalade is the primary utility automobile from Cadillac to put on a V Collection badge, aimed toward taking over the likes of BMW’s M efficiency model or Mercedes-Benz’s AMG division.
Cadillac launched the V subbrand with the 2004 CTS-V sedan, which had a 400-hp V-8, and clients have become key advocates for the model.
Certainly one of GM President Mark Reuss’ prime requests for the crew creating the most recent Escalade was to make sure it turned heads and appeared like a V Collection.
Primarily based on analysis, Cadillac officers are satisfied there’s nothing akin to the Escalade-V within the three-row luxurious SUV market at the moment. Along with the newest Vary Rover, powered by a 523-hp, 4.4-liter twin-turbo V-Eight constructed by BMW, the closest rivals could be BMW’s Alpina XB7 and the Mercedes-AMG GLS63, although some analysts classify the latter two fashions as midsize SUVs.
A frequent query, given the Escalade’s success over time, is what took so lengthy to deliver a V Collection variant to market? Cadillac officers say altering company priorities, rigorous improvement necessities and the pandemic all performed a job within the timing.
