Cadillac just gave its flagship gas powered, and we mean gas powered since the diesel is dying in 2025, model a facelift. Like many of its buyers, the current Escalade has been around for a while, but its had its best features accentuated with a new, more chiseled look and a more luxurious interior than ever before. The Escalade has been Cadillac’s best-selling model in North America for three years, so this is just a little refresh that brings the best seller in line with the recently revealed Escalade IQ EV.
Before you ask, yes, the brutally loud and fast supercharged Escalade V soldiers on with this refresh. The 3.0-liter Duramax diesel powertrain, however, is being sent out to pasture. As of now, the Escalade and Escalade ESV will remain available in rear or all-wheel-drive, and are powered by the unchanged 6.2-liter V8 with 420 horsepower, and the Escalade V keeps its 682-horsepower supercharged V8. For the first time ever, the Escalade is offered from the factory with 24-inch wheels, though it comes standard with 22s. It’s also offered with three new paint colors.
Updates are most significant inside this big boxy bruiser, with a 55-inch (measured diagonally) curved display stealing the show that reaches all the way from the driver’s side A-pillar to the passenger side A-pillar. The driver gets a 35-inch display which is nearly as large as the current Escalade’s entire display, and the passenger gets their own totally new 20-inch touchscreen to play with. Unlike the Lincoln Nautilus’ door-to-door display, these screens are close enough to the occupants to be used as touchscreens. Opening the Escalade’s doors becomes less of a chore, too, with power opening and closing doors now available.
The 2025 Escalade gains the same Executive Second Row package as the Escalade IQ, which uses the same exact heated, cooled, and massaging seats that front seat passengers get, just mounted further back in the second row for more legroom. Super Cruise is now standard equipment in every single Escalade with a three-year complimentary subscription, and magnetic Ride Control 4.0 is standard on every trim level above base.
The face lifted fifth-generation Escalade seems like a massive step-up in interior luxury, and should prove significant enough to get current Escalade owners to trade up for a 2025 model. If excess is your definition of luxury, then the 2025 Cadillac Escalade is the definition of luxury, offering more features, more luxury, and more colors than before. Pricing has not been announced yet, but the 2024 Escalade starts at about $85,000, and given all the new model’s updates we wouldn’t be surprised to see that jump up to $95,000.
