The 2024 Cadillac Escalade-V might be the craziest SUV on sale today. Or, it would be if a host of high-powered electric SUVs didn’t exist. Dropping a supercharged V8 from the previous-generation Corvette Z06 into a full-size SUV might sound like the ideal way to create a performance family vehicle, but there are now several electric models that can beat the Escalade-V to 60 mph through the quarter mile or in pretty much any performance metric.
Cadillac knows that an electric future is nearing, which is why it let the engineers loose with a fun send-off project like the Escalade-V. Now in its second model year, we wonder if this last gasp of internal combustion still makes as much sense as when it first debuted. CarBuzz spent a week driving a 2024 Escalade-V to ponder this idea.
Made To Be Silly
Approaching the Escalade-V from a logical viewpoint is futile because nothing about this vehicle makes sense. It’s essentially a regular Escalade, Cadillac’s largest and most luxurious vehicle, now powered by a Corvette engine. Not just any regular Corvette engine at that; this one is the same 6.2-liter supercharged LT4 V8 from the C7 generation Z06. It actually produces more power than the Z06 did with 682 horsepower and 653 lb-ft of torque. Power goes out to a permanent all-wheel-drive system through an excellent 10-speed automatic transmission.
Related
Best V8 SUVs Of 2024
If you aren’t worried about gas bills, these V8 SUVs have the power to overcome their heavy bodies.
You’d think with that much power, the Escalade-V would be quick, but its massive size and weight stand in the way of it being competitive with smaller vehicles like the Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat, BMW X5 M, and others. Cadillac makes up by being more brash and much louder. The standard Escalade-V is much more spacious than its rivals and offers an extended-length ESV model for even more passenger and cargo capacity. Cadillac’s engineers also fought to give the V Series one of the loudest exhaust systems we have ever heard in an SUV. With the possible exception of the retired Jaguar F-Space SVR, you won’t find a high-riding car with a louder bark.
Add CarBuzz to your Google News feed.
2024 Changes And 2025 Updates
Cadillac changed virtually nothing on the Escalade-V when moving from the 2023 to the 2024 model year. All 2024 V Series vehicles include a 20th Anniversary V-Series Package, which is merely an aesthetic upgrade. There’s a small “20 years” decal on the grille, unique puddle lambs, and a wake-up animation on the screens; that’s it. Buyers can also get a special color called Black Diamond Tintcoat, but our tester came wearing Radiant Red Tintcoat. Perhaps collectors may appreciate getting an Escalade-V from this semi-special model year, but the changes to the 2025 model year will be more significant.
Spy shots have uncovered that the 2025 Escalade will receive more major updates on the exterior, helping it look more related to Cadillac’s EVs like the Escalade IQ and Vistiq. These changes will also appear on the Escalade-V. More importantly, the 2025 refresh should introduce the pillar-to-pillar screen that was first shown in the Celestiq and will also be used in the Escalade IQ. The current screen setup in today’s Escalade looked great when it debuted, but vehicles like the Lincoln Nautilus have come along to steal Cadillac’s thunder. The interior changes, more than the minor heritage touches on the 2024 model, are worth waiting for.
Could It Be Sillier?
We doubt the 2025 Escalade-V will introduce any major changes under the hood, but there is still one way that Cadillac could make it even sillier. If Cadillac truly wanted to send off ICE with a bang, it could drop the ZR1’s LT5 engine into the Escalade. As a reminder, the LT5 engine was similar to the LT4, using the same 6.2-liter displacement and supercharged setup. That supercharger was larger, combined with a beefed-up throttle body, crankshaft, and dual fuel injection system. The LT5 dished out 755 hp and 715 lb-ft of torque, numbers that still pale in comparison to some EVs.
Related
Cadillac Will Continue Offering ICE Cars Beyond 2030 As All-Electric Plans Change
Cadillac will continue to expand its EV portfolio but will offer gas-powered models alongside them.
Still, it would put the Escalade-V into territory that no production ICE SUV has ever approached. Along with the LT5, we’d like to see Cadillac upgrade the handling components. It may have six-piston Brembo brakes, but the Escalade still feels like it needs more stopping power. Cadillac could also re-tune the Magnetic Ride Control to make it more aggressive. The Escalade-V rides exactly like a standard Escalade, for better or worse. Some firmer suspension would help it be more than a straight-line performer.
EVs Outperform The Escalade-V
|
2024 Cadillac Escalade-V Performance At A Glance |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Models |
Horsepower |
Torque |
0-60 MPH |
Quarter-Mile |
|
Cadillac Escalade-V |
682 hp |
653 lb-ft |
4.4 seconds (4.76 CarBuzz testing) |
12.74 seconds |
|
Rivian R1S |
1,025 hp |
1,198 lb-ft |
2.5 seconds (2.92 CarBuzz testing) |
10.5 seconds |
|
Tesla Model X Plaid |
1,020 hp |
1,151 lb-ft |
2.5 seconds (w/ rollout) |
9.9 seconds |
|
Kia EV9 |
379 hp |
516 lb-ft |
4.5 seconds |
13.34 seconds |
It might seem impossible to believe, but the 682-hp Escalade-V just isn’t as impressive as it would have been 10 or even five years ago. 0-60 mph in 4.4 seconds and a quarter-mile in 12.74 seconds sounds like a ballistic missile next to competitors like a Lincoln Navigator or Jeep Grand Cherokee, but compared to some of the high-performance EVs on sale today, it’s more like a child’s slingshot.
The 2025 Rivian R1S, for example, packs up to four electric motors producing a V8-crushing 1,025 hp.
Related
New Rivian R1T And R1S Arrive With Performance To Match A Lamborghini
The new Quad-Motor produces 1,025 hp, hits 60 mph in 2.5 seconds, and covers the quarter-mile in 10.5 seconds. What else is new?
Those four motors can rocket the R1S up to 60 mph in a little over 2.5 seconds and propel it through the quarter-mile in under 11 seconds. Likewise, the Tesla Model X Plaid matches the Rivian to 60 mph and can run the quarter-mile in under 10 seconds. These two are the most extreme examples, but even the 2024 Kia EV9 can nearly match the Escalade-V’s 0-60 time (4.5 seconds) and only trail it by a little over half a second (13.34 seconds). When a normal electric Kia crossover can match the pinnacle of gas-powered performance, you know you’ve lost the battle.
The IQ Is Coming
It isn’t just EV-only brands like Rivian and Tesla that will make the Escalade-V seem like a performance fossil. The threat is also coming from within Cadillac’s own house. The upcoming Cadillac Escalade-IQ will produce 750 hp and 785 lb-ft of torque from dual electric motors, outmatching the Escalade-V in both metrics.
Related
Cadillac Escalade IQ Vs. Escalade-V: Battery Or Supercharged V8 Power?
The Escalade IQ dukes it out with the Escalade-V.
In the V’s defense, it will beat the IQ to 60 mph (4.4 versus 4.9 seconds), but the electric Escalade will actually go further before needing to stop. A massive battery pack will enable a 450-mile range on the Escalade-IQ, while the Escalade-V’s thirsty V8 engine will drain the 24-gallon tank in less than 312 miles (under 300 miles if you drive aggressively). Straight-line performance is the only area where the V still holds a slight advantage, but based on how other Ultium vehicles like the Chevrolet Silverado EV beat their estimated 0 to 60 mph times, we believe the Escalade-IQ will as well.
Last Of Its Breed
Not everyone purchases a vehicle based on the numbers; other emotional factors influence the decision. The Escalade-V may not be the quickest SUV money can buy, but it’s still one of the most entertaining driving experiences you can have while carrying seven people and their stuff.
We’ve watched as the last examples of manual transmission sports cars and supercars increase in value as the world moves away from analog and towards electrification. The Escalade-V will likely be the last bastion of supercharged SUV performance with an exhaust note that would make a Corvette blush.
The $152,295 starting price will make it unobtainable for most, but those who can afford an Escalade-V will enjoy an ultra-luxury SUV with massaging seats, rear entertainment screens, and even an optional refrigerator in the armrest. We can’t say for certain that it will hold its value in the short term, but there may always be a market to experience one of the final iterations of the gas-powered performance SUV before they go away forever.