The 2023 Cadillac Escalade will be the first SUV to don the high-performance V-Series badge. With nearly two decades of racing-inspired prowess, the V-Series designation is reserved for vehicles that encompass the peak of Cadillac performance, bold, distinguished design, and innovative technology.

More information about the 2023 Cadillac Escalade V-Series, including full vehicle specs, will be revealed in spring 2022.

The current run of non-Blackwing Cadillac V models had us prepared for the 2023 Cadillac Escalade-V to be a somewhat quicker version of the full-size luxury SUV, but nothing too crazy. As it turns out, it's a lot quicker. In fact, it has the most powerful gas-powered engine GM has available: a supercharged 6.2-liter V8 making 682 horsepower and 653 pound-feet of torque.

The engine is closely related to the engine from the CT5-V Blackwing's engine, but with a few key upgrades. It has a bigger 2.65-liter supercharger, plus it has a forged steel crankshaft and connecting rods, forged aluminum pistons, an aluminum head and titanium valves. It's also hand-assembled in Bowling Green, Ky., like the CT5-V Blackwing's engine, and a little sports car by the name of Corvette.

The engine is paired with a specially calibrated version of GM's ten-speed automatic transmission. Not only that, but the Escalade-V comes with a full-time all-wheel-drive system, rather than the traditional two- and four-wheel-drive setups used by GM's full-size SUVs. It has a default power split of 50/50 front/rear, but can adjust that as needed. It also has an electronically-controlled rear limited-slip differential. With the SUV's launch control function, Cadillac claims it will get to 60 mph in 4.4 seconds and will finish the quarter-mile in 12.74 seconds at 110 mph.



Cadillac has also upgraded the chassis. It features steering and suspension tuned for sportier driving, and it comes standard with the combination magnetic shocks and air springs. Up front, the Escalade-V has six-piston Brembo brakes. Also, while the Escalade-V is much quicker, it still maintains much of its capability. It still has a provision for a tow hitch and can handle 7,000 pounds on a trailer. And if you need maximum people and cargo space, it's available not just as the standard-wheelbase model, but as the stretched ESV version.

The V is visually quite subtle. It has a unique front fascia, as well as a rear bumper with a diffuser design and quad exhaust tips. It also features 22-inch wheels and dark trim all around. The interior is the same as the top-spec Platinum, available in Black or Dark Auburn with Zebra Wood trim and full leather upholstery. Being a Platinum model inside, it also gets the full OLED displays measuring a total of more than 38 inches plus a 36-speaker sound system. One of the few options available for the Escalade-V is Super Cruise, which will be offered later in the year and has automatic lane change and towing functions.

The Escalade-V will go on sale near the end of this summer. It will also be the most expensive Escalade with an eye-watering price of $149,990 with destination. Then again, it's GM's most monstrous production V8 yet in arguably the company's most luxurious model.

PHOENIX – The 2023 Cadillac Escalade-V was not always in the cards. According to designer Robert Hunwick Jr., his team did a rendering of a more performance-oriented version of the next-generation Escalade during that truck’s development. Focus groups loved it, commenting that it should be part of the lineup from the get-go. Obviously, it wasn’t – the current Escalade debuted for ’21 without a V. But two years later, that performance-oriented Escalade is here, complete with a 682-horsepower supercharged 6.2-liter V8. Just in time for gas prices to hit $5 per gallon.

Cadillac conveniently made the Escalade-V available for press drives before official EPA gas mileage estimates are available, but considering the regular 4x4 Escalade and its naturally aspirated 6.2-liter V8 returns 16 miles per gallon combined, one can assume adding 262 extra horses is going to make it a wee bit thirstier. Maybe 13 mpg combined? The trip computer showed 14.5 after 150 miles of highway driving. So yeah, that’s terrible. As is Cadillac’s timing. Or luck. Either way, the purchaser of an Escalade-V will have to be OK shelling out loads of excess cash to Shell.

Now, we frequently hear the argument that people happily doling out giant sums of money for giant SUVs couldn’t care less if their gas tank costs more to fill up than someone else’s more efficient giant SUV. Gas mileage? Who cares! The environment? Ha, good one. Very well, then. Let’s just accept that those with sufficient financial largesse to afford the Escalade-V’s starting price of $149,990 do not care about such things.



Perhaps they will instead care about the 682 hp and 653 pound-feet of torque that pours out of the hand-built V8 to the tune of four fat exhaust pipes that blare, warble, crackle and pop enough to completely reimagine the Escalade soundtrack. When it comes to the V, the tunes outside matter just as much as those inside – though we’ll be touching on the punching AKG sound system a bit latter. There are actually three exhaust sound levels, including a not-exactly-accurate Stealth mode that you’ll need to have the foresight to engage before early-morning start-ups. The ignition bark is otherwise so loud, borderline startling and some would say absurd, that you’re bound to make enemies amongst neighbors and family members alike.

“You woke up the baby with your damn Escalade again,” seems like a likely refrain among the Escalade’s surprisingly young, 40ish average buyer.

The Escalade-V’s engine shares architectural similarities with the CT5-V Blackwing V8. The biggest change is the larger supercharger, which gusts 2.65 liters of air per rev into that small block. The Escalade’s higher inlet pressure and higher exhaust pressure necessitated the larger blower. There are also bigger charge coolers, an extra electronic fan for a grand total of three, and a swap to an electronic throttle body. The end result is an engine that can catapult 6,217 pounds worth of full-size SUV from zero to 60 mph in 4.4 seconds. You can add a tick or two for the 6,407-pound, Suburban-sized Escalade-V ESV we drove, but dude. This is some seriously quick family transport.

And indeed, that’s exactly what the Escalade-V is intended for. There was no ridiculous talk of canyon carving, nor were we taken to the dusty confines of a track somewhere to fully test the fat six-piston Brembo brakes and magnetically controlled, adaptive air suspension with V-exclusive components. It’s a much faster and louder Escalade, and is certainly more responsive to drive, but it’s still authentically an Escalade. It has three rows of seats habitable by even tall adults (unlike the even-quicker Mercedes-AMG GLS 63) and a class-leading amount of cargo space. The latter swells even further with the ESV.



Escalade Sport left, Escalade-V right

The design team also mercifully restrained itself, refraining from goofy carbon fiber appliques and the sort of extravagances of questionable taste past Cadillac V models were festooned with.

“Our goal was to make a sleeper,” said Hunwick. “We wanted it to be subdued, dialed back. Subtle. Look at (Jaguar-Land Rover’s) SVR or AMG. They don’t go nuts.”

If anything, the Escalade-V is even sleepier (in a good way) than an AMG GLS. Those quad pipes are the biggest giveaway, along with the V badges, and although there are extra “grillettes” alongside the vertical DRLs and a small, extra air intake at the bottom of the fascia. It’ll take someone in the know to differentiate between the V and an Escalade with the existing Sport line appearance package.

Even the interior gets this sleeper treatment. Escalade global product manager David Schiavone said they did not want “a boy racer interior” with red accents, carbon fiber and other flourishes you’d find on other Cadillac V cars. Customers get a choice of Jet Black or Dark Auburn interior colors with the same Zebra wood found in the Escalade Sport. Frankly, this approach is more akin to BMW M’s glory days than anything currently served up by BMW M today. AMG too, for that matter.



Our drive of the Escalade-V largely consisted of winding highways northeast of Phoenix, with plenty of elevation to ascend and descend. The seemingly unavoidable body-on-frame jiggling is still present on various imperfect pavement types, meaning you do pay for its truck roots relative to a GLS or high-powered BMW X7. The handling is assuredly worse than those as well, but caring about that seems even less likely than fretting about the gas bill. The important takeaway is that the V does indeed tighten things up relative to the base Escalade or other GM full-sizers.

There’s a special V mode, which is effectively a customizable drive setting easily accessed by a button north of the electronic shifter. Finding the Sport steering to be unnecessarily hefty, the perfectly appropriate Tour setting remained engaged. The difference between Tour and Sport suspension is awfully subtle, but on crap pavement, the body-on-frame jiggle is definitely more noticeable when the suspension lowers and mag dampers firm up – we toggled between the two depending on the road. The brake pedal effort can also be changed (it’s similarly subtle) along with engine response, AWD power distribution and the three-volume exhaust. There are also preset drive modes, including ones for towing and poor weather, selectable by a button to the left of the wheel, adjacent to the headlight controls and suspension raise/lower buttons.



Oh, and there’s launch control. Select V mode, hold down the brake, apply the accelerator fully, wait for the traction control light to flash, and release the brake. Bam. The exhaust blares, your head snaps back and there’s suddenly a lot more sky in the windshield as the Escalade-V rather hilariously squats down at the rear as it launches toward the horizon. It’s more race boat than race car. Plenty of dive when braking, too.

Now, should you rather not drive the Escalade-V at all, Super Cruise is available. We didn’t get a chance to try it out while trailering, as it’s capable of doing, but it had plenty of opportunity to ably pass slower vehicles on its own volition. It really is well-executed, and checking the Super Cruise options box should be a no-brainer. Just sit back, put your hands in your lap and enjoy the view forward while the 36 speakers of the standard AKG Studio Reference sound system do their thing. Anything with bass seems to be its forte, and we can probably all agree that in an Escalade, it probably should be its forte. Still, we listened to a variety of music, and the AKG was damned impressive for it all.

From a sonic perspective, then, not many SUVs can top the 2022 Cadillac Escalade-V – if any. It’s got plenty of show-stopping tech as well, plus suitably luxurious features and materials. Family-friendly space? Acres of it. And yeah, it blows the doors off a Navigator while putting up a good fight against those smug Germans. It’s hard not to like until you remember that price tag – both to purchase and to fill ’er up. Then again, remembering is not the same as caring.

Well, that didn't take long. Less than two hours after General Motors confirmed the Cadillac Escalade IQ's name, it's been spotted testing on the road wearing heavy camouflage. It's certainly not surprising that Cadillac engineers are out testing the Escalade IQ considering that it's going to get a full debut before the end of this year, but since sales won't officially happen until the 2025 model year, there's plenty of time to iron out any potential kinks. The camo is so thick that it's difficult to discern much about the big electric SUV than what's obvious, but there are a few details worth a closer look.

Like the Chevrolet Silverado EV and the GMC Hummer EV, the Cadillac Escalade IQ will get eight-lug wheels. While they look similar to the wheels seen on the Celestiq that we've already seen, these have been upsized from 23 to 24 inches in diameter. The full finish of the wheels is obscured, but the thin-spoke design is both clear and very cool. The eight-lug wheels also confirm that the Cadillac Escalade IQ likely shares the same Ultium-powered BT1 platform as its Chevrolet and GMC/Hummer siblings.

We also get a flappy-covered glimpse at the Escalade IQ's interior, but there isn't much to glean. As an SUV at the tippy top of GM's luxury division, we think it's fair to assume the Escalade IQ will get some very large digital screens inside. We'd love to see the OLED technology used in the current Escalade along with the full-width view of the Celestiq make their way to the electric SUV, but we'll just have to wait and see.

Cadillac unveiled the first-ever all-electric 2025 Escalade IQ, a reimagination of the luxury full-size SUV experience, brimming with iconic design, the highest level of craftsmanship and the latest automotive technology.

Offering a Cadillac-estimated 450 miles of range, the Escalade IQ elevates the driving experience with a curved pillar-to-pillar 55-inch total diagonal LED display, available Super Cruise® driver assistance technology, vehicle-to-home bidirectional charging technology with GM Energy's available Ultium Home products, luxurious appointments with a bold interior and exterior design, no-compromise performance, and zero tailpipe emissions.

"Escalade IQ raises the standard just as the original Escalade redefined luxury a quarter-century ago," said John Roth, vice president, Global Cadillac. "This reimagining of an icon marks the next step in Cadillac's all-electric future."

"For more than 120 years, Cadillac's bold innovative spirit has defined American luxury," said Roth. "The Escalade IQ embodies this spirit in the most sophisticated form."

Bold yet nimble performance

Cadillac Escalade IQ was envisioned to be the best-driving, most maneuverable Escalade to date, and the collaboration between Cadillac Engineering and Design ensured the production model remained faithful to the goal.

It's the first full-size SUV from Cadillac built on GM's innovative and modular EV propulsion architecture, the Ultium Platform, and incorporates GM's Ultifi software platform to support and deliver ongoing software updates to its expansive technologies.

Its dedicated EV architecture enables Escalade IQ's bold design and performance characteristics, from its expressive silhouette and generous space - for passengers and cargo - to its driving performance.

"Escalade IQ is first and foremost a Cadillac and delivers on a promise of innovative design supported by spirited performance and cutting-edge technologies," said Jamie Brewer, executive chief engineer, Escalade IQ. "The EV-specific architecture allows us to deliver a driving experience aligned with Cadillac's philosophy of isolated precision - quiet, smooth and effortless with a strong connection to the road for an engaging experience."

When it comes to performance, Escalade IQ features independent front and rear suspension, with power transferred to 24-inch wheels with 35-inch tires via front and rear drive motors that work in conjunction as an eAWD system.

A suite of fully integrated advanced technologies including Magnetic Ride Control 4.0 and Adaptive Air Ride Suspension isolate passengers from undesirable road surfaces while providing precise steering and feel.

The Adaptive Air Ride Suspension system enables the vehicle to be lowered up to 2 inches (50 mm) and raised 1 inch (25 mm), while additional features such as the standard Four-Wheel Steer, available Cadillac Arrival Mode and Low Ride Mode enhance capability as well as the Escalade IQ's presence.

Four-Wheel Steer reduces the turning diameter to only 39.4 feet (12 meters) at lower speeds and reduces the turning diameter by more than 6.5 feet for greater maneuverability in parking lots and tighter overall turning radius. It also enhances handling and stability at higher speed, particularly when trailering.

Cadillac Arrival Mode is a unique Four-Wheel Steer feature that allows the Escalade IQ to move diagonally, making it easier when pulling into or out of tight spaces, while making a statement.

Low Ride Mode enables the Escalade IQ to be driven at low speeds with the suspension fully lowered.

A 24-module Ultium battery serves as the foundation of the Escalade IQ, producing more than 200 kWh of available energy. It also employs a flexible, high-voltage architecture that enables 800-volt DC fast charging, the quickest form of charging currently available, providing up to 100 miles of range in 10 minutes of charge time.

Escalade IQ will be equipped with Vehicle-to-Home (V2H) bidirectional charging technology with GM Energy's available Ultium Home products, providing customers with the ability to send power directly from the vehicle to a properly equipped home. This capability will be enabled via an over-the-air software update for the 2025 model year. Escalade IQ will also offer the option of Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) offboard power, allowing the vehicle to power external devices.

The Cadillac Escalade IQ uses its Ultium battery pack as part of its fundamental body structure. This allows the battery pack to provide the vehicle's impressive Cadillac-estimated 450 miles of range while also protecting the battery in the event of a crash and adding overall strength and rigidity to the vehicle.

The powerful electric propulsion configuration - consisting of the battery pack, power electronics and a two-motor eAWD system - offers great power on demand and surprising performance, including:

• Up to 750 horsepower (with driver-selectable Velocity Max, Cadillac estimate)
• Up to 785 lb-ft of torque (with driver-selectable Velocity Max, Cadillac estimate)
• 0-60 mph in less than 5 seconds (with driver-selectable Velocity Max, Cadillac estimate)
• Up to 8,000 pounds of towing capability (Cadillac estimate)

Additionally, Escalade IQ offers One-Pedal Driving and Variable Regen on Demand to allow customers to feel more connected to their drive. Plus, Ultium Energy Recovery - an innovative heat pump thermal system - allows for energy to transfer between the battery/power electronics and the cabin, using every watt possible to optimize range and minimizing the power from the high-voltage battery used for five-zone climate control.

Cadillac Escalade IQ also features a suite of standard active safety and driver assistance features, with highlights including:

• Blind Zone Steering Assist: Can provide a brief, firm turn of the steering wheel when a potential crash is detected with a moving vehicle in the lane the vehicle is entering
• Intersection Automatic Emergency Braking: Can help drivers avoid or reduce the severity of an intersection collision with a detected cross-traffic vehicle
• HD Surround Vision: Provides selectable digital camera views of the area around the vehicle and can help drivers park or avoid vehicles and objects
• Enhanced Automatic Parking Assist: Can automatically steer, brake and shift gears to park the vehicle into a dedicated parallel or perpendicular parking space and can help unpark the vehicle
• Front Pedestrian and Bicyclist Braking: At speeds between 5 and 50 mph, can help drivers avoid or reduce the severity of a collision with a pedestrian or bicyclist it detects directly in front of them

"Escalade has always been about being bold, so that's what we set out to accomplish," said Mandi Damman, chief engineer, Escalade IQ. "Escalade IQ is what you get when you follow your soul instead of the crowd."