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Cadillac Escalade 600 D: got the diesel

The Cadillac Escalade is the most famous of all luxury SUVs in the USA. Despite all its exclusivity, the new generation is more European than ever – not just because of its diesel drive.

The new Cadillac Escalade has remained true to its design – as usual massive and mighty – but it presents itself as it always has been: elegant, self-confident and absolutely befitting. Those who are self-conscious in the USA are known to like to get into a European luxury sedan such as the Mercedes S-Class or the BMW 7, want to forget the broken road surfaces of New York in the Range Rover or treat themselves to a Cadillac Escalade – the luxury model domestic production. Of course, models like the Bentley Bentayga, the BMW X7, a Lexus LX, the Mercedes GLS or a Range Rover are a big number in the United States for well-heeled customers, but there is no getting around the Cadillac Escalade. The noble big brother of Chevrolet Tahoe, GMC Yukon or the extended Shuttle-Express Suburban is the American measure of all things when it comes to luxury and SUVs.

Its appearance is never restrained, it is almost always black, elegantly equipped and sometimes in the XXL version Escalade ESV with an extra-long wheelbase. Anyone who sees the new Escalade and thinks it was a rocket sling like in the early 2000s is mistaken. In the past few years and especially in the last two generations, the colossus from Arlington / Texas has just looked at the European competitors in order to be more up to date than ever, because the luxury SUVs of the top league are currently enjoying themselves in the USA of gigantic popularity. The new generation, now 5.38 meters long, has lost one of its striking details, because there are no longer any upright headlights on the front, but narrow LED slots that look like the helmet of a Cylon fighter to the left and right of the radiator grille. Only the indicators that frame the front like lightsabers are narrow and upright. The powerful shoulder and a mighty 22-inch wheel set have remained, as have the narrow, never-ending vertical lights at the rear.

The Cadillac Escalade was once mandatory with a 6.2 liter naturally aspirated V8 engine, but now many models on the road have the 600 D logo on the rear. Six liters displacement is a sham like the strange nomenclatures of most German car manufacturers, but the D stands like a bank. The new Cadillac Escalade is available for the first time with a diesel engine. While diesel engines are slowly but surely being sidelined in Europe, the situation is very different for large pick-ups and SUVs in the USA. The larger the car and the respective vehicle mass, the greater the desire to reduce consumption with a high-torque diesel engine. The Cadillac Escalade 600 D is on the road with the same Duramax diesel that powers models like the Chevrolet Silverado or the mighty GMC Sierra.

The three-liter common rail diesel engine has an output of 207 kW / 277 hp and a maximum torque of 620 Nm. For the 2.5-ton colossus, a manageable engine output is admitted, because the 6.2-liter V8 petrol engine offers 420 hp instead. But the lush torque and the well-coordinated ten-speed automatic attempt to skilfully override the noticeable starting weakness and get the luxury four-wheeler on their toes. Down below the diesel is a bit slack on the chest and you long for 350 or even 400 hp, but once you have flooded the turbo lag, the US colossus stands well in the feed and sounds quiet despite the diesel engine – pithy when power is requested. If you want, you can easily push the speedometer above the 110-mile mark and when the Cadillac Escalade comes to Europe in the coming year, it will undoubtedly achieve a top speed of more than 200 km / h. In the practical test, the Cadillac Escalade consumed just under 23 mpg – the equivalent of barely more than ten liters per 100 kilometers. In view of previous generations and especially in comparison to the vacuum V8, this is more than impressive. Despite the powerful 22-inch model, the chassis is comfortable and the Escalade continues to wobble more than the models from BMW or Mercedes when cornering quickly. But thanks to adaptive air suspension, it cushions even unpleasant uneven ground in a relaxed manner and gives its pilot the unique feeling of being the boss at the wheel.

In addition to the gigantic amount of space, comfort and safety equipment set standards even for the variant with a normal wheelbase (3.07 meters). The air-conditioned leather seats are comfortable, can be adjusted in many ways and are great for long journeys. In addition, there is the generously dimensioned interior with charging cradles and USB and power plugs wherever the eye looks. It’s just as comfortable in the rear, but the leather armchairs here cannot be adjusted electrically, only mechanically. Electrically, on the other hand, the seats in the third row fold out of the trunk floor, where, unlike some competitors, adults can sit if you don’t have that much luggage on board. Getting in and out of the US high seat is easy, because powerful electric running boards extend on the flanks with one grip on the doors. The cargo space offers 722 to 2,064 liters when the gigantic SUV is occupied by seven or five people. If you also move the second row of seats, the interior space is larger than some one-room apartments in downtown Manhattan.

The Escalade driver looks from his armchair at a gigantic digital display that extends over more than half of the dashboard on two levels. Touch and voice control work excellently and then there are the numerous extras that quickly swell the base price from just under 86,000 US dollars to just under 110,000 US dollars. Then there is AKG high-tech sound, electronic differential lock, night vision device, rear entertainment or the large driver assistance package in addition to the super cruise function, which keeps the Escalade safely on track on numerous US highways without the driver having to do anything. This works very well on longer journeys during the day and at night – indicated by LEDs in the top of the steering wheel when the system is in operation and then overrides the normal cruise control. That would also be something for the European version.

Source From: Stern

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