2007 Cadillac Escalade Test Drive

Glittering Like Cubic Zirconium

The redesigned Cadillac Escalade is a vast technical improvement over its predecessor. But look at all that chrome...

Cadillac may not have expected the original Escalade SUV to be such an overwhelming success with rich urban athletes and entertainers, but it quickly parlayed the interest into even more success. And when it came time to totally reengineer and redesign the corporation’s newest generation of full-size SUVs — including the Chevy Tahoe, GMC Yukon and Caddy 'Slade, all basically the same vehicle — the company did what comes naturally to rich white guys from Bloomfield Hills, Mich.: They decorated the 2007 Escalade with great big wheels and more chrome than you’ll find in a Chicago steakhouse men’s room.

Style is personal, and it’s not up to me to say whether you should like the look of the new Escalade. But when a vehicle has 22-inch wheels (optional on the Escalade, with 18-inchers standard) the brake rotors should be big enough so as not to be utterly dwarfed by the rims, making them look the size of dessert plates.

Under its glittering skin, the Escalade is structurally identical to the Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon; all three vehicles have simultaneously been re-engineered and re-styled as 2007 models. That total rework has made them more aerodynamic, more fuel efficient, better handling, less truck-like and assembled with more attention to interior fit, finish and material quality.

Which is all very nice for Tahoe and Yukon buyers, but Cadillac needed to do some serious work to differentiate the Escalade from its substantially less-expensive family SUV siblings. That’s the reason for the aggressive use of chrome, which is applied not in subtle trim lines here and there but broad slashes and bands slathered the length of the truck and across its nose and tail, plus shiny chrome wheels that glisten and sizzle at speed for the benefit of next-lane traffic. Escalade owners also get a 403-hp version of the same 6.2-liter aluminum V8 that puts out 380 hp in the top-of-the-line Yukon Denali, the Escalade’s closest equivalent.

One catchphrase that people used to associate with Mercedes-Benzes was that they had “doors like bank vaults,” and one slam was enough to hook ’em. Same goes for the new Escalade, and it’s inevitably the first impression this truck makes as you climb in. This is one solidly built automobile.

Cadillac’s update on “livin’ large” is, according to one Escalade marketing slogan, “Lives Bigger.” Lots of rich urban athletes and entertainers are super-sized, particularly ballplayers and rap stars, and the interior of the new Escalade has been sized and sculpted — thinner seats, scooped-out door panels and seat backs — to make room for them. Front-seat travel in every direction is huge, including seat backs on both sides that recline to a take-a-nap level. The steering wheel tilts (mechanically) but doesn’t telescope, though the foot pedals can be moved (electrically) forward and back through a range of a little more than two inches.

The rearmost, third-row seats are surprisingly spacious, thanks to foot wells that keep riders’ knees at a reasonable level, and the middle-row seats can be optioned to “power fold and tumble,” which means at the push of a button, the seat backs motor down and the entire unit then folds forward, out of the way. This can be done by the driver from up front or by passengers bound for the rearmost seats entering from either of the rear doors.

In its typical two/two/three seat configuration the center rear seat is almost limousine-like, with unlimited legroom between the two middle-row seats and a straight-on view of the optional dropdown, eight-inch DVD screen — airliner-size, it’s one of the biggest of any full-size SUV available as a factory option or dealer-installed accessory. Seat 3B should become the preferred spot for NBA-center passengers.