Cadillac Escalade Offers Lots of Room and Loads of Luxury–#TravelReview
(Note to readers: I was provided an Escalade for one week to properly review the vehicle. I was not otherwise compensated and my opinion remains my own.)
The thing that makes the 2013 Cadillac Escalade stand out is the very thing that made me nervous about driving it on a recent family road trip: it’s size.
With a journey planned that included five adults and one child, you could understand why space was important. First, with eight hours on the road, everyone needed the space to stretch out, but we also had to fit three full-sized suitcases, four carry-ons, and a car seat—still in its box—that was being delivered to a friend at our destination.
We had plenty of room for all of that in the Escalade.
Was I intimidated by its size? You bet.
Sitting in my driveway, it looked more like a bus than an SUV.
However, it didn’t feel like a bus when it was on the road. The only challenge was with parking, which made me nervous in the parking garage where we kept it while on our road trip. We solved that by having passengers get out before I slid the vehicle into the tiny parking spaces.
It’s big, but has some serious ‘get up and go’. Its HP 6.2L V8 can hit 60 miles an hour in less than 7 seconds.
You expect a Cadillac to look classy, and the Escalade does, both inside and out, with brushed aluminum accents and polished chrome.
On the journey, we were comfortable. The leather seats were cushy, yet firm.
The heating option went beyond the front seats to the steering wheel. Yes, the steering wheel could even be heated with the touch of a button. Other parts of the vehicle were separated into zones, with each of the three zones able to differ up to 30 degrees.
And the challenge of getting in and out of the vehicle was erased with the neat automatic, retractable assist steps that lower whenever you open the car door, then disappear again when the door is shut. The middle row seats easily fold down with the push of a button.
Safety features like the Side Blind Zone Alert help keep you safe, showing a blinking yellow light when there’s another vehicle in your blind spot. The rear park assist helps ensure that you don’t back into anything while moving in reverse.
The fun features like DVD players integrated into the back of the headrests made the trip more bearable for the little one, and the wireless headsets make it much more enjoyable for the rest of us who didn’t want to listen to her movies played over and over (and over) on our trip.
The biggest downfall was gas mileage. The 2WD gets 14 miles in the city, 18 on the highway. In this case, you trade in fuel economy for comfort and luxury.
In our case, with a full load, it was worth it.
[hana-code-insert name=’cadillac escalade’ /]