On the concrete arteries of America, one entity reigns supreme — the Cadillac Escalade. From Hamptonites to well-to-do Midwestern hockey parents to Texan oil barons to Hollywood stars, no luxury vehicle of the past 25 years has found such broad appeal in the land of the free and the home of the brave. However, it’s not alone. There’s an entire pack of luxury SUVs circling the Escalade like wolves, clamoring for the crown, so Cadillac isn’t staying still. The 2025 Cadillac Escalade gets more tech than ever before to remind everyone who still runs these streets.
Let’s start off with, there’s no other way to put it, some properly disappointing news that’s sure to put a damper on your afternoon. The diesel Escalade is dead, which is a shame because it was fantastic. Not only was the three-liter turbodiesel inline-six properly torquey, it was also shockingly economical. Along with a solid 528-mile cruising range, it gave Cadillac’s big SUV better fuel economy than a Kia Telluride, returning 20 mpg city, 26 highway, and 22 combined in EPA testing. Let me tell you, it’s not hard to beat that EPA highway fuel economy figure, which meant that the diesel Escalade was really a case of having your cake and eating it too. It will be greatly missed.
However, you know what gets to live? The all-beef Escalade V, complete with its 682-horsepower supercharged 6.2-liter V8. Not only does this enormous family hauler have a serious set of legs, it’s incredibly comfortable and now gets a whole bunch of carbon fiber interior trim to tell every passenger that they’re in a fast one.
Zooming out a bit, all Escalade variants are getting some changes for 2025, starting with the face part of the whole facelift thing. With a beadier lighting signature and massive combined vertical daytime running light and headlight clusters, the front end of the new Escalade looks a whole lot more like the one on the incoming electric Escalade IQ. Speaking of features ported over, how about available 24-inch wheels? Eat your heart out, “MTV Cribs.”
However, it’s on the insider where gargantuan changes have truly occurred. The 2024 Escalade may have featured more screen space than the average dorm, but the 2025 model kicks things up a notch by filling the entire dashboard with screens including a new passenger entertainment center with web browsing and streaming capability. We’re talking about 55 inches of total diagonal screen space in the first row alone, a shocking figure that makes you wonder if anyone’s checked in on Xzibit lately.
Oh, and screens aren’t just confined to the first row, so long as you tick the box for the Executive Second Row package, which turns the second-row captain’s chairs into proper thrones. Not only does this package add twin 12.6-inch screens for second-row occupants, it also adds a separate panel for controlling vehicle functions from the rear seat, stowable tray tables, massaging second-row seats, two wireless smartphone chargers, and it turns available 36-speaker AKG audio system into a 40-speaker surround sound setup thanks to headrest speakers in the second row. BMW X7, who?
Oh, and while we’re on the subject of toys and trinkets, the 2025 Cadillac Escalade gets even more knurled controls, available power exterior doors, optional night vision, fourth-generation magnetorheological dampers on all trims except the base model, standard Super Cruise Level 2 advanced driver assistance, and an available full-color HUD. Nice.
With the luxury SUV arms race at an all-time high, a king doesn’t rest on his laurels. The fact of the matter is that the 2025 Cadillac Escalade isn’t just a formidable name in the posh family hauler space, the Escalade brand might even be stronger than the Cadillac brand itself. With more tech, updated suspension, and an available posh rear seat package, Cadillac seems intent of keeping ahead of the pack. Shame about the death of the diesel, though.
(Photo credits: Cadillac)
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I’m expecting to be dodging these in my neighborhood soon. They are big, but drivers somehow believe them to be even bigger than they actually are. They drive down the middle of the neighborhood streets allowing for parked cars, but not oncoming.
The screens are terrible, but on the other hand if they didn’t have an obnoxious amount of screen real estate everyone would call it “dated”. We have no one to blame for this mess but ourselves.
reeeeee its big and I don’t like it. Just kidding, long live the BURB in all forms. If I wasn’t so practical (and poor) I’d have a V in a heartbeat.
Ridiculous car for a world gone mad. Somehow fits our times and also feels completely out of touch. This kind of stuff makes me question if the auto industry is worth saving at all.
I get that this sort of thing is very subjective, and I have no problems with big SUVs existing or anything but this has always struck me as the tackiest full size SUV on offer. If this is what qualifies as luxury these days, America’s wealthy have truly lost whatever aesthetic taste they once had.
As someone who sells GMC Yukons, the Escalade buyer is shockingly simple in philosophy. They want a Mercedes or BMW but they also want the biggest car on the road. We literally get people in our dealership that ask “Is this the biggest one they make?”
It’s crazy to have all of that when they only need to take Haeyleigh and Braeydyn to lacrosse and water polo, but they literally don’t care. As long as it’s the biggest and most expensive that they can afford.
If they got rid of the drivetrain completely, they could fit more screens under the hood…
giving Mad Mike some mad ideas here
I don’t get the “why” of this car. OK, it tows. It holds stuff. But why pay for one of these if what you need is a utility vehicle? I guess the idea of a high-status, high-luxury vehicle that will be used for towing and hauling plywood doesn’t really make sense to me. And if you don’t plan on towing stuff or hauling stuff, then what excuse would there be for one of these?
Just me, of course. Obviously, plenty of others understand the “why”.
They make a lot more sense if you think of them as the spiritual descendants of the full size Devilles and such.
Spacious, comfy, loaded with amenities, reliable, sufficiently powerful.
If true full size BOF V8 sedans were still being made, I think a lot fewer of these would sell. But this is what we have, thanks to different rules for light trucks.
because you can afford it and you want it. That’s what luxury is actually about.
COTD
If I won the lottery tonight, I’d order a ’25 ESV V tomorrow, for my wife. She needs a 3-row with lots of room behind the second row for the dog crate & equipment. She also loves power and creature comforts. There’s nothing else in the market that compares.
If they made a V-power version of the Suburban/Yukon, I’d consider one of those.
Just found that the Escalade IQ is just a tiny bit smaller (inside, bigger outside) than the ESV… So, probably would opt for the electric.
I posted this to a different comment
Yeah, that’s what I don’t get. It’s what I think about while stuck behind one on the freeway and wishing that it didn’t completely block my view of the traffic ahead of me.
Oh yeah, everytime I write up a Yukon Denali or luxury truck I think to myself “how much sport sedan could this money get me?”
Can’t let the soccer balls get wet in the bed, and they have a LOT of them.
Glad to hear the V-series continues! The exhaust cut-out system on those is something to behold. At Sebring, the Cadillac tent fired up a burnt orange one in full racecar-mode and the sound was epic – simply the loudest, most obnoxious thing imaginable to ever emanate from such a vehicle.
It was the first time I’ve ever been interested in further checking out an SUV.
I was pretty close to getting a Diesel ‘lade for my wife this year, I’m not sure the changes for 25 are enough to still sway me from a lightly used diesel model. I’m a wagon guy but I LOVE the Escalade, I’d get myself a 2nd Gen EXT if I had more space. The real challenge is getting my wife on board with an SUV of this size.
Such a big dumb vehicle.
And…this will be my next purchase. Gosh Dang.
I might never have a passenger, other than myself, but I’ll sure enjoy the view from the “Uber” seat on the back right.
Just when you think Caddy has gone to sleep…it totally redeems itself.
(as much as sarcasm abounds here, I am not kidding. Gimme the V in Hunter Green w/tan and I’ll see ya around town.)
p.s. I guess I’ll have to find someone to attach a wreath. The good one. Like this…
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/1b/54/d3/1b54d3bbf572736856a5b22bc457115a.jpg
Why are we not talking more about the hideous front-end? Like, yeah, the screen is overkill and the diesel didn’t make sense, but this thing is fugly!
Yea the screen is for the occupants to deal with, the front grille is an eye sore for the rest of us.
How can a dashboard be both completely boring and ugly, yet also induce feelings “what kind of hellscape is this?” Yet somehow, Cadillac has done just that. Sad day.
On one hand, this is *the* luxury SUV – if anything is going to have this interior it’s an Escalade.
On the other hand…every day we stray further from God’s light
The diesel never made sense in these; efficiency and Escalade are not usually on the same shopping list, and it couldn’t tow any more than the 6.2 either.
The full strength Duramax might have got some buyers, but the small one would have needed an odd customer.
the highway mpg swayed me, otherwise I’d normally want the full fledged V. If only my wife was ok with the size.
Have you actually priced out the cost to operate the diesel vs the gasser? With the price of diesel in some states, you’d need a crazy high fuel economy improvement to make it cheaper to run than the gas, especially when you consider the higher upfront cost and other higher costs.
To be fair in this particular case, the diesel is a $100 (lol, why?) option and the gas engine needs premium. So it probably would be a decent savings in absolute terms, though maybe not large in the context of a $100,000 SUV.
Oh, I was expecting the typical $3k to $6k if not more, but I forgot the base engine is the 6.2L and not the 5.3L.
Even then, I think the diesel still has higher running costs. I’m not familiar with the 3.0L Duramax, but the last diesel I had took relatively expensive fuel filters ever 10k miles, the oil cost like 50% more than “normal” synthetic oil. Luckily it was a cheating VW so it sipped DEF and the fuel economy was fantastic (I average like 45mpg over the ~60k miles I tracked it).
Don’t worry, your wife will always be happy with a little more size.
I’d agree. Per fueleconomy.gov it’s a $1500 savings in fuel per year for the diesel based on whatever the EPA has a typical use case. $1,500 per year isn’t enough to get me (or I’d guess most people) away from the 6.2 let alone living with the headaches diesel brings these days (less availability, usually pretty gross pumps, higher running cost in oil/filters, DPF, emissions equipment issues, etc).
The sound of the 6.2L alone is worth $1,500 per year over the diesel.
And yeah, dirty diesel pumps suck. I’d be curious what the DPF lifespan is like on these 3.0L’s.
I actually meant to type DEF, not DPF, but the point still stands. Modern emissions controls (while I agree they are necessary to keep the air clean) kinda ruin diesels for me. I’d just stick with a gasser unless I was some kind of hot shot towing all the time.
Yeah I guess that’s really not a worthwhile savings. But then if I have the 6.2, I’m just gonna want the V
Cruising range for long distance travel makes the diesel a great option. Around me I see plenty of escalades towing, making a 300+ mile trip to lake Powell pulling a boat? Much more comfortable in a diesel knowing you’ve got 500 miles of range and won’t have to stop at every fuel station along the way.
Imagine if Cadillac put this kind of effort into its whole lineup.
These are like those prized cattle. These get all the attention, while the rest of them just get lined up and put onto the back of a truck.
This trend of imense screens for no meaningful content is utter bs
The big problem with diesels is that as they age and the emissions equipment starts to fail, the 2nd, 3rd or 4th owners will often just remove the emissions equipment instead of fixing it properly… and thus eventually results in a vehicle that pollutes far more than it should.
And given that my daughter and I have asthma, I’m not sad at all that they killed off the diesel.
Actually, I look forward to the day that diesel engines are completely replaced with BEVs and plug-in gasoline hybrids.
BEVs and plug-in hybrids are the way of the future.
This is now legally considered a AMC Theater franchise in several states. Please consult with your local DMV before ownership. As you may be required to show Dune 3 in IMAX.
This has got to be best comment/comment of the day material right here
Today I learned there was a diesel escalade and that it was dead. You simultaneously put Schrodingers diesel in the box and murdered it.
That design facelift is very… unfortunate. The last thing anyone needs inside their new luxobarge is MOAR SCREENS. They had perfectly integrated the curved digital cluster into the current version.
Oil Burner Escalades, the choice of Odd Ballers.
$125,000?
Quite possibly. (2.5 times what my first house cost which was decent 4 bedroom colonial on an acre lot in a suburb in OH)
Adjusted for inflation? If you paid $50k for your house in 1980 it would be $190k todsy., and the escalade would be 40% cheaper.
That’s not to say a giant SUV costing $125k is a reasonable proposition.
My house is a $180k two bedroom shitshack on an acre. I’d probably be more comfortable living in an Escalade.
If you still want the diesel get the Yukon or Tahoe/Suburban
I worry they are going to outright kill the motor altogether. It’s the only interesting motor from them at the moment for me. Granted, I’ll never be able to afford, much less want, one of these land barges but I will always like that motor.
Well they just updated it for the 2025 MY, so knowing GM it’s probably dead soon
Too bad no more diesel 🙁
They should also bring back the barn doors.
Yes to barn doors!!! Although I dont think there ever was an Escalade with them. I know you could option your Tahoe/Suburban/Yukon that way until 2006 or so(gmt400 and gmt800)
Oh yes they absolutely did make barn door Escalades 😀
I know they were available with barn doors for the very short first gen 1999-2000
http://images.gtcarlot.com/pictures/12524713.jpg
They might have been discontinued after that on the Escalade, as I can’t find a picture of a GMT800 Escalade with the barn doors 🙁
Forget the barn doors, bring back the tailgate with the window that drops down into it!