On Wheels by Brooks Peterson

Saturday, August 4, 2001

Plushest ride in SUV-dom

David Adame/Caller-Times

The 2002 Cadillac Escalade has been reworked by its designers to provide new features, technological and otherwise.

In trying to sort out the impressions generated by a week spent with Cadillac's pull-out-all-the-stops, in-your-face, no-apologies 2002 Escalade, I find a couple of images popping to the surface of my subconscious:
   Here is Joe Motorist, a virtuous citizen and a stranger to excess, motoring home from work in his sensible Japanese econobox. He has the easy-listening station dialed up on the radio, and is looking forward to decompressing from the day's toil, when - COWABUNGA! What's that in the rear-view mirror? It's an enormous and seemingly carnivorous something filling up his rear-view mirror, blotting out the sun and showing every intention of ushering him to Valhalla (suburban division) post-haste.
   It is, of course, Cadillac's Carnivore, the All-American Animal With Attitude . . . The Escalade.
   My own experience

David Adame/Caller-Times

The driver is at the controls of an advanced sound system, quick-acting climate control and endlessly adjustable seats.

   Then there is a vignette from my own experience: I am seated behind the wheel, having just powered up this, the last word in Cosmic Ute-ness, and out of curiosity I set the Driver Information Center - sort of like a mini-computer monitor - into motion. Big mistake. Messages flash across the tube with dizzying speed: Do I want the seat memory function activated at the touch of the remote door opener button, or upon insertion of the ignition key?
   Uh . . .
   Do I wish the driver's- and/or passenger-side exterior mirrors to tilt down automatically when Reverse is engaged, or not?
   Er . . .
   Do I desire automatic Exit Recall of the seat when the key is removed from the ignition? What about personalizing the alarm system? Monitoring fuel economy? Overseeing the automatic locking functions!
   Overload! Overload!
   Lots of electronics

David Adame/Caller-Times

The Wreath-and-Crest design is embroidered into the headrests of the first- and second-row seats, but not into the headrests of the third-row seats.

   Suffice it to say the Escalade, with its zillions of electronic functions, is probably not the best of choices for those who have, shall we say, issues with indecision.
   OK, that's kind of a circuitous route to coming to terms with the hunky, chunky new Escalade. But there's a reason: A vehicle this opulent, this extroverted, must be approached more carefully than your Toyota Camry.
   The Escalade has of course been with us for a couple of model years. In its original form, it was simply a gussied-up Chevy Tahoe, with the extra chrome fillip here or there, and plenty of leather inside. While it was a perfectly satisfactory vehicle, it was all too clear that the Escalade had been cobbled up in some haste to wear Cadillac's livery in the Sport Ute Wars. As Cadillac and GM knew all too well, Lincoln's Navigator had been harvesting a rich crop of hi-buck buyers with virtually no domestic competition.
   Meanwhile, the wizards of Cadillac busied themselves with creating an Escalade with more panache, more flash, more punch, and more technology.
   Ultra-angular styling

2002 Cadillac Escalade Seven-passenger all-wheel-drive sport utility vehicle: Base price: $49,290 Price as tested: $51,540 Drivetrain: Fuel-injected 6-liter V-8, 345 hp; four-speed automatic-overdrive transmission Brakes: Front and rear discs, power-assisted, with standard antilock (ABS) EPA mileage: 12 city/15 highway Web site: www.cadillac.com

   The results are before you. As you can see, there is not even a whiff of diffidence about this machine. For one thing, there's that ultra-angular styling, particularly up front with that carnivorous grille more than faintly reminiscent of the Cads of the '50s.
   Stuff goin' on under the hood, too: The 6-liter V-8 that's standard on the all-wheel-drive version (our tester) cranks out a lusty 345 horses, which - just by the way - nudges the Navigator aside and gives the Cad the right to Most Powerful SUV honors.
   And make no mistake: This behemoth steps out right briskly: Cadillac claims 0-60 mph in 8.57 seconds. By SUV standards, that's volcanic acceleration. It is of course accompanied by a lusty thirst, but at least the big V-8 is drinking regular. Count your blessings.
   Whatever you think of the face the Escalade presents to the world, you'll almost certainly be impressed by its composure in motion. This is almost certainly the plushest ride available in SUV-dom, and the all-wheel-drive combined with the StabiliTrak wizardry (essentially, an ultra-techy system of sensors and computer magic that sense problems way before you do - and deals with them) takes a good deal out of the worry out of being inherently tall and tippy, which is of course the natural state of every SUV.
   Interior features
   Killer sound system? Need you ask? Ultra-sophisticated, quick-acting climate control? But of course. Cushy, endlessly adjustable seats? Soitinly. Massive, and effective, sound-proofing? Absolutely.
   You may buy into the Escalade experience, or you may find the, well, exuberance of its persona a little off-putting. But there's no question the Wreath-and-Crest contingent has been doing its homework.
   There is, however, one little issue that I think cries out for attention. I noted with some concern that the aforementioned Wreath-and-Crest design is embroidered into the headrests of the first- and second-row seats - but not into the headrests of the third-row seats.
   I wouldn't want to make too big a production of this, but it does strike me as mildly troubling. Do we have a caste system built into this vehicle? Are those consigned to the (snug) third seat considered Steerage Class?
   A trifle, but mighty upheavals have grown out of such trifles. Remember the War of Jenkins' Ear?
   Happily, class warfare can be headed off with the judicious use of needle and thread. A quiet recall should suffice to head off pointless strife.
  
  

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