The 2023 Cadillac Escalade-V Is a $153,815 Extravagance with Redneck Charm

The Cadillac Escalade has always played to the distinctly American flavor of luxury where more is always more. In the hot-rod 2023 Cadillac Escalade-V, that excess finally crosses into the absurd. Hand over $68,125 on top of the Escalade's $85,690 starting price and Cadillac will deliver a whole Toyota Supra's worth of horsepower beyond the standard 420 horses.

Is this a good deal? That's the wrong question, my friend, because while the Escalade-V has enough space to accommodate the Dallas Mavericks starting lineup, it leaves no room for rational thinking. Drive it and you'll understand. The supercharged 682-hp Escalade isn't merely an SUV—it's the kind of experience you can't put a price on.

A Cadillac with a Corvette engine is a foolproof formula, as hard to screw up as stirring chocolate chips into peanut butter. The Escalade-V's LT4 6.2-liter V-8 borrows most of its parts from the 2015-2019 Corvette Z06 with one significant difference: The big, bad Cad's performance is inflated by the larger supercharger that boosted the 2019 Corvette ZR1's LT5 V-8 to 755 hp. The bigger blower makes this Escalade the most powerful Cadillac ever built with 682 horsepower and 653 lb-ft of torque. It's also the reason that the Escalade-V sucks its 24-gallon gas tank dry in less than 300 miles.

A deep, unfiltered V-8 rumble follows the Escalade-V everywhere it goes and regardless of how you drive it. It's exactly what you might expect from a leather-lined luxobarge that starts at $153,815. The classic Corvette soundtrack fills a big space without attracting constant attention, much like the Escalade itself.

But in the Escalade-V, the small-block thunder is only the bass line. On cold starts, at full throttle, and on overrun, the LT4 barks a violent, metallic cough that's more menthols and malt liquor than Madison Avenue. It's preposterous. It's incongruent. It's friggin' fantastic.

The dichotomy doesn't end at the quad tailpipes, either. With the Escalade in V-Mode and both pedals pinned, the engine bounces off a 1,500-rpm rev limiter with the staccato tut-tut-tut of a bona fide launch-control program. Who needs an Escalade with launch control, you say? Hush now.

Let off leash, the V tricks you into believing it's quicker than it is. That's partly because it makes such spectacular noises (there is a quiet mode, although we're not sure why you'd use it) and partly because we're not used to lumbering dinosaurs moving with this kind of urgency. The V-8 hits as hard as a hammer right out of the gate and the 10-speed clicks off gears with trigger-like reflexes. We clocked a 4.7-second 0-60-mph blast, 0.3 second slower than Cadillac's claim but a healthy 1.4 seconds quicker than the Escalade powered by the naturally aspirated 6.2-liter V-8. The V model rushes the quarter mile in 13.1 seconds at 108.3 mph.

By any objective measure of performance, the Escalade-V is no hero. Every BMW M, Mercedes-AMG, and Audi RS SUV will leave the Cadillac huffing exhaust in a drag race, while minivans, economy cars, and Jeep Wranglers can embarrass it on a cloverleaf on-ramp. The Escalade-V's lousy 0.67 g of max lateral acceleration is dictated not by the tires' grip but by the always-on stability control that's been programmed for a corporate lawyer's idea of fun.

But no number of unflattering comparisons can make the Escalade-V any less charming. Pulling away from stoplights, powering onto a wide-open freeway, or thundering down a country road, the V throws a rowdy party.

Despite their Titanic dimensions, all of GM's full-size SUVs feel confidently planted in corners thanks to the independent rear suspension introduced in the latest generation. The Escalade-V takes that achievement even further with its premium hardware. There are air springs and magnetorheological dampers and Brembo front brakes, all of which have been expertly tuned by GM's uncelebrated chassis wizards.

Every time you step on the brake pedal, you're dispatching strings of 1s and 0s to modulate the calipers, and yet the V's brake feel and response is better than what you'll find in many full-size SUVS with conventional hydraulic systems. The steering, which turns race-car heavy in Sport mode, places all 6,280 pounds of Escalade with precision and authority. Turn down the intensity, and the big wheels announce every pothole strike and frost heave as a nicely muted thump.

The tires are the one real head-scratcher. Perhaps because of that hard-coded cornering limit, the V's 22-inch wheels are wrapped in the same all-season touring Bridgestones that get fitted to middle-management-spec Escalades. Even if they wouldn't dramatically alter the handling, proper performance tires would rein in the V's long 122-foot 60-mph stopping distance.

For all the money you'll spend to get one, it would be nice if the Escalade-V better distinguished itself from the next-best Escalade Sport Platinum. Aside from unique fascias, wheels, and badging, there's almost nothing to help the V standout or justify its steep premium. The consolation prize is that the Escalade's interior is as luxurious, attractive, and functional as any cabin GM has designed in my lifetime, and it feels rich enough to pass muster in a $150,000 truck.

The V comes standard with seemingly every feature you could want, from wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto to massaging front seats and a 36-speaker audio system. The massive digital panel in front of the driver combines three screens under a single sweeping pane of glass that makes a striking first impression. It holds up to further scrutiny thanks to clean graphics and intuitive interfaces.

Similarly, the Super Cruise hands-free driving system continually impresses. In addition to holding the vehicle in its lane with the discipline of a Catholic nun, it will now automatically change lanes on divided highways to pass slower traffic. The first time it happens will leave you laughing with child-like wonder, and while the novelty will wear off, it is not a gimmick. Automatic lane changes are the killer feature that adaptive cruise control has been waiting for since its inception. With this tech, you'll never look down to realize you've been loafing along behind another car well below your set speed for who knows how long. And $2,500 for Super Cruise feels like a veritable bargain, although be aware you'll also have to shell out $25 a month for a subscription to use it.

The Escalade-V's performance numbers serve as a tangible reminder that the V badge isn't what it used to be. If you were expecting a three-row, body-on-frame SUV that channeled the same spirit as Cadillac's world-class sports sedans, you must have missed the memo about the new CT4-V and CT5-V Blackwing models. Instead of being the pinnacle of performance, the V badge now represents what we'd call a less-discerning style of performance.

That's not a knock on this SUV or its buyers. In the case of the big, body-on-frame SUV, the modern V treatment feels natural. No amount of power and technology will ever make this bruiser move as nimbly as the smaller, unibody competitors from the European marques. By embracing the Escalade's bigness and creating a V model with an even more massive presence, engineers have delivered more entertainment than the 0-60 time and skidpad grip suggest is possible. The Escalade-V is a loud, not-so-subtle reminder that it's not always about the numbers.