Escalade- THE Luxury SUV

Cadillac has been an extremely consistent company in producing quality luxury automobiles. The auto being reviewed is the 2006 Cadillac Escalade. This is seen as the mack daddy of all luxury SUVs not to mention SUVs in general. There is much room for variation and many ways to make this already beautiful car look better.

-Why/When I Drove the Escalade
My friend and I borrowed his uncles Escalade last year for prom. He, unfortunately, did not take care of it and went off roading. I honest do not believe it was washed once the entire time he had it(around a year). We had borrowed this simply because we wanted some gaudy way to show up at prom other than the typical limo.

-Exterior Description-
The Cadillac we drove was in a deep black. I have honestly never seen as deep of a black compared to this. Then, overall, the truck is massive. The brilliant design is one that wil turn heads no matter what. The truck is available in colors Black Raven, Blue Chip, Gold Mist, Quicksilver, Radient Bronze, and Red E.

Starting from the front, the Cadillac Grill shows exactly what the truck is all about. The chrome grill and chrome Cadillac symbol accent the entire front end of the car. The hood and fenders mesh at all exact beatiful angles. The wheel wells are large enough to fit some biiig rims as the Escalade comes with 18" rims or optional 22" rims.

Going down the side of the car, the running board helps hop up into this monster truck. The well designed doors make the car look more sleek than ever. Of course, these are accented by the chrome ESCALDE lettering above the outward push of the door. Next, the doorhandles and top strip of roof rack holer are chrome accenting more of the black exterior.

Finally, going to the back, the solid black trunk hatch is accented by yet another large Cadillac emblem. The ESCALADE lettering is in the lower right corner of the trunk hatch as well.

-Interior-
The interior of the truck is absolutely beautiful. The interior of our truck was Cocoa/Light Cashmere. The interior is also available in Ebony black.

The entire interior is accented with wood grain. Starting at the dash, the sleek design creates a beautiful appearance. Next, the front of the dash features the gagues in black with white lettering. The steering wheel has wood grain on the top and bottom. To the right of it contains the navigation system that doubles as a radio, dvd player(feature upgrade) and basically the highlight of the car. Underneath that is the climate controll system. This is surrounded by a rectangle of wood grain. Below that is the CD loader and other controls as well as a clock. This entire area is wood grain.

The seats are extremely comfortable as they can be adjusted any which way. The car is more than comfortable when it comes to room. The colors produce a very mellowing effect upon the entire atmosphere of the car.

The back seat has two bucket seats with a DVD player(feature upgrade) in the ceiling. The back back of the car has a bench seat that can fold down as extra storage room.

Features

Engine
The V8 Vortec this truck provides is extremely powerful. This truck is fast for an SUV. While accelerating you can feel yourself being thrown back into the seat while the Vortec whirrs. This engine provides 345hp @ 5200 rpm and 380 lb-ft of torque @ 4000 rpm. This engine is a 4 speed automatic.

The gas milage is not as nice as the car. The city/highway is listed at 13/17. This is under premium conditions and I have noticed it to be slightly less.

Interior Features
The interior features many hi-tech features with a slightly upgraded package. The Navigation system in the center doubles as a DVD player and tuner. The seats are mechanically adjustable as they also are available heated and cooled. Also availible is the sun roof which is great for the summer.

The back seats are extremely comfortable and are provided with a seperate climate control system. The back seat has a seperate radio available with headphones. The highlight is the flatscreen DVD player. This is great for long trips or just any time you have passengers who want to watch a DVD.

Driving
The car's handling is decent. Since it is so big, it is slightly top heavy. The system features Stabilitrak which will distribute power to each individual wheel accordingly. This provides a safer ride which is necessary in a large SUV.

The SUV is very quiet during the drive. The engine tends to be loud during fast acceleration, but that is due to the fact that the engine is so powerful. Because of this power, the acceleration is very quick. Still, because of the power, the steering feel is tense and not relaxed.

Overall, this car is extremely nice. The exterior is beautiful and second to none. The interior follows the same trend. The engine is loud and powerful but the drive is quiet. The only negative to this car is that the steering is tight and not easy. Great truck, get it if possible.