Cadillac Escalade (2025) Review

The Escalade sells on presence and on space, and the 2025 update leans harder into both. The dashboard is now a single curved panel running most of the width of the cabin, and against expectations it works: the resolution is excellent, the menus are logical, and the passenger section is polarized so the driver cannot see it from the left seat. Material quality has climbed to the point where the interior no longer embarrasses itself next to a German rival, and the third row is the only one in the class an adult can use for a long trip without resentment.

Air springs and the independent rear end make it ride better than a vehicle of this mass has any right to. The six point two liter V8 is smooth and effortless and returns about sixteen miles per gallon in combined driving, which is why the economy grade sits two tiers below the rest of the card. The turbodiesel six that used to sit beside it was the sensible choice almost nobody ordered, and Cadillac dropped it for this model year, so the V8 is now the only engine in a non-V Escalade.

Reliability is the other soft spot, because GM's recent record on electronics and early build faults trails Toyota and Lexus, and this is a vehicle carrying an enormous amount of electronics. Depreciation is steep once the lease cycle turns, and brakes, tires and air springs are all priced to match the badge. None of it slows the sales. Nothing else arrives like an Escalade.