Skip to main content

Cadillac gives pro athletes their next must-have ride with the 2015 Escalade

I’ve always been embarrassed by the Escalade. It, like the Hummer H2, was a truck that made me ashamed to be American. I’d grimace when I saw one on the road and wonder what nincompoop would choose a luxury truck that, from a technical standpoint, had more in common with a horse and buggy than it did with a comparably priced Range Rover.

Unlike the Range Rover, the Escalade had a chintzy interior, gaudy exterior designs, and about as much off-road or snow-day driving capability as a blue whale on casters.

Recommended Videos

Despite this, the Escalade, since its debut in 1998, has been the gold standard for full-size luxury trucks in America, easily outselling everything else in its class. And while I must admire it for its sales success, I must admit that I saw no good reason for its market dominance aside from its being American made.

… a lump of American steel that makes me want to hum the national anthem.

For 2015, though, it seems that’s all about to change. May I proudly present to you the fourth-gen Cadillac Escalade; one of the must stunning trucks I’ve ever laid eyes on and a lump of American steel that makes me want to hum the national anthem.

First off, the Escalade finally looks the part of a world-class full-size luxury SUV. It no longer looks like a Tahoe with a different front end. It has finally been given distinctive styling all the way around. It stands tall and proud with sharp bodylines that start with the vertical Cadillac headlights and lead down the side of the long body.

Built on a new, fully boxed steel ladder frame that’s 75 percent stiffer than the third-gen, the 2015 Escalade sits on 20-inch wheels with 22s as an optional upgrade. Moving those big rims side to side is an electric power steering system that Caddy claims helps save fuel. Elevating the not-so-bulbous body off those enormous rims is the new Cadillac Magnetic Ride Control suspension system with both Tour and Sport modes.

A Sport suspension mode might seem silly in an American land monster like the Escalade. Based upon the recent Caddy offerings, though, it’s not as laughable as it once was. The “new” 6.2-liter V8 bolted under the sinewy hood produces 420 horsepower and 460 pound-feet of torque.

Just like the Corvette Stingray, the 2015 Escalade’s improved power – five percent more horsepower and 10 percent more torque to be precise – is due in large part to the slew of advanced engine managements systems bolted to the pushrod V8, including cylinder deactivation and direct fuel-injection.

Power is sent to either the rear wheels through a six-speed automatic called the Hydra-Matic to an automatically locking rear differential or to all four wheels, when spec’d with 4×4. Cadillac has not made fuel economy numbers available yet. But like the Silverado before it, I presume fuel-efficiency – just like power – will, too, be up.

Delightfully, braking should now be just as forceful as acceleration. Engineers reworked the braking system, adding four-wheel disc brakes and improving brake pedal feel and braking performance.

Step inside and the cabin is anything but business as usual. Cadillac designers went all out with what they call “cut-and-sewn and wrapped” materials, including rich leather and real wood.

Seats have been formed to be not only more comfortable but also to appear more sculpted. As standard, the front seats are both heated and cooled, while second-row seats are heated.

Step inside and the cabin is anything but business as usual.

Up in front of the driver is a standard 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster that will display four different themes. Just above that, customers can spec a heads-up display. Over in the center console is an eight-inch CUE infotainment screen. Customers can also order a rear-seat Blu-Ray DVD entertainment system.

Overall the cabin is much quieter than any Escalade before it. To ensure a pleasant drive, designers triple sealed the doors and added the Bose Active Noise Cancelling system.

Cadillac hasn’t simply upped the levels of refinement; it has also improved safety, too. The fourth-gen Escalade comes with Front and Rear Automatic Braking, which uses short-range radar and ultrasonic sensors to sense impending collisions in the front and rear of the vehicle. Should the system detect an imminent collision, it will apply the brakes – up to full complete braking – to avoid the accident.

In the case of a side impact, Cadillac engineers added a Front Seat Center-Mounted airbag, which protects the passenger on the opposite side of the crash.

The 2015 Cadillac Escalade will go into production in Arlington, Texas next spring and should be hitting showrooms later in 2014. Although I’ll have to reserve my final opinion for when I get behind the road, I can confidently say that I’m thoroughly impressed by the 2015 Escalade.

Nick Jaynes
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Nick Jaynes is the Automotive Editor for Digital Trends. He developed a passion for writing about cars working his way…
Costco partners with Electric Era to bring back EV charging in the U.S.
costco ev charging us electricera fast station 1260x945

Costco, known for its discount gas stations, has left EV drivers in need of juicing up out in the cold for the past 12 years. But that seems about to change now that the big-box retailer is putting its brand name on a DC fast-charging station in Ridgefield, Washington.
After being one of the early pioneers of EV charging in the 1990s, Costco abandoned the offering in 2012 in the U.S.
While opening just one station may seem like a timid move, the speed at which the station was installed -- just seven weeks -- could indicate big plans going forward.
Besides lightening-speed installation, Electric Era, the Seattle-based company making and installing the charging station, promises to offer “hyper-reliable, battery-backed fast charging technology in grid-constrained locations.”
Its stalls can deliver up to 200 kilowatts and come with built-in battery storage, allowing for lower electricity rates and the ability to remain operational even when power grids go down.
If that sounds like it could very well rival Tesla’s SuperCharger network, it’s no coincidence: Quincy Lee, its CEO, is a former SpaceX engineer.
Costco also seems confident enough in the company to have put its brand name on the EV-charging station. Last year, the wholesaler did open a pilot station in Denver, this time partnering with Electrify America, the largest charging network in the U.S. However, Costco did not put its brand name on it.
In an interview with Green Car Reports, Electric Era said it was still in talks with Costco about the opening of new locations. Last year, Costco said it was planning to install fast chargers at 20 locations, without providing further details. It has maintained EV-charging operations in Canada, the UK, Spain, and South Korea.
Meanwhile, the wholesaler’s U.S. EV-charging plans might very well resemble those of rival Walmart, which last year announced it was building its own EV fast-charging network in addition to the arrangements it already had with Electrify America.

Read more
The UK’s Wayve brings its AI automated driving software to U.S. shores
wayve ai automated driving us driver assist2 1920x1152 1

It might seem that the autonomous driving trend is moving at full speed and on its own accord, especially if you live in California.Wayve, a UK startup that has received over $1 billion in funding, is now joining the crowded party by launching on-road testing of its AI learning system on the streets of San Francisco and the Bay Area.The announcement comes just weeks after Tesla unveiled its Robotaxi at the Warner Bros Studios in Burbank, California. It was also in San Francisco that an accident last year forced General Motors’ robotaxi service Cruise to stop its operations. And it’s mostly in California that Waymo, the only functioning robotaxi service in the U.S., first deployed its fleet of self-driving cars. As part of its move, Wayve opened a new office in Silicon Valley to support its U.S. expansion and AI development. Similarly to Tesla’s Full-Self Driving (FSD) software, the company says it’s using AI to provide automakers with a full range of driver assistance and automation features.“We are now testing our AI software in real-world environments across two continents,” said Alex Kendall, Wayve co-founder and CEO.The company has already conducted tests on UK roads since 2018. It received a huge boost earlier this year when it raised over $1 billion in a move led by Softbank and joined by Microsoft and Nvidia. In August, Uber also said it would invest to help the development of Wayve’s technology.Just like Tesla’s FSD, Wayve’s software provides an advanced driver assistance system that still requires driver supervision.Before driverless vehicles can legally hit the road, they must first pass strict safety tests.So far, Waymo’s technology, which relies on pre-mapped roads, sensors, cameras, radar, and lidar (a laser-light radar), is the only of its kind to have received the nod from U.S. regulators.

Read more
Pirelli’s new ‘Cyber Tyre’ could be the next traction control
Red Pagani Utopia Roadster in a spotlight on a white background

If you’ve heard whispers about the “Pirelli Cyber Tyre,” or spotted the news about the Italian manufacturer’s work with Bosch, Pagani, and McLaren, then you may be wondering: What makes the new tire so clever? Smart tires as a concept go back a few years, and Pirelli has a habit of squeezing in tech wherever possible. So, what's different this time?

Well, plenty of drivers know what happens when you hit a patch of ice, or test your luck through a particularly bad downpour. Your vehicle loses grip and unless you have the skills needed to get it back on track, you’re probably going to wind up pitched into a ditch or headed sideways into a tree. Things like stability control and traction control help a lot, but they can’t do much when you do start hydroplaning.

Read more