​​AutoGuide Tells Us What It’s Like to Launch an Escalade-V​ 

Cadillac has now applied its high-performance “V” treatment to its biggest and best-selling model, the Escalade. AutoGuide sampled it, and while their editors plan to write a full review of the model, they dedicated a preliminary article solely to the experience of launching the model from a standing start. Michael Hohl Cadillac shares their experience.  

There are several high-performance enhancements to the Escalade-V, but it’s hard not to focus on the powertrain alone, as AutoGuide’s account does. Simply put, it’s incredibly powerful. It leverages GM’s LT4, a hand-built, supercharged 6.2-liter V-8, which produces a whopping 682 horsepower and 653 lb-ft of torque, peaking at a very accessible 3,600 rpm. Power is sent to all four wheels through a reinforced version of GM’s 10-speed automatic transmission before . 

AutoGuide’s  editors were at Canadian Tire Motor Sports Park, leaving them free to conduct acceleration tests to their heart’s content. In the author’s first turn with the Escalade-V, he chose to bypass the launch control system and just see what it would do if you simply mashed the go-pedal. This is after pressing the V button on the steering wheel, which unleashes all of the supercharged V8’s power.  

The full impact of the initial launch was dulled by a road that had been rained upon, causing the traction control system to mitigate the initial tire-slip. Still, the bellow from the supercharged V8 was unmistakable. He used the launch control system the second time around, and describes the experience this way: “The 6,361 lb condo-on-wheels holds the line and tilts skyward before I let off the brake, and it lunges both forward and upward. One of our on-site coaches for the day remarks that he thought it almost popped a wheelie”. 

“From there, the speed comes so fast I’m tempted to lift. Our instruction is to brake at the tall cones, so I land inside the coned-off box. But the speed is so tremendous, I almost second-guess myself, and the machine wiggles slightly as it shifts gear and keeps on pulling before grabbing third. Then onto the brakes. Hard. I’ll add to this that it’s all going on in the rain, which can give you some serious doubts.” On a dry surface the Escalade-V can reach 60 mph in 4.4 seconds.  

The author was also invited to run similar sprints in the Lyriq-V, the new performance-oriented variant of Cadillac’s signature electric crossover. The Lyriq-V’s motors combine to produce 615 horsepower and 650 lb-ft of torque. That torque is a near match for the Escalade-V, and being produced by electric motors, it is all on hand nearly immediately. While the Lyriq-V is significantly smaller than the Escalade, the large battery between the front and rear axles keeps it from being significantly lighter. Although it’s 370 pounds lighter than the Escalade, the Lyriq-V shaves 1.1 seconds off the Escalade-V’s sprint to 60 mph.  

Reaching a mile-a-minute in 3.3 seconds is certainly dramatic, even if it is done in near silence compared to the Escalade. You are certainly pushed back into your seat, but beyond that, it may be a bit like watching a Michael Bay movie with the mute on. The author points out, “If I had to choose, that snarling V8 is just too much fun.” 

In any case, there is no doubt that there is substantial performance to be found across the Cadillac model line, in addition to overt levels of luxury and style. We invite you to visit Michael Hohl Cadillac to experience it all for yourself.