Although it’s based on a lowly half-ton pickup truck, the Cadillac Escalade isn’t exactly cheap. Whether you’re getting the 6.2-liter small block or the 3.0-liter turbo diesel, GM's luxury division is charging more than $80,000 for the most basic configuration. By comparison, the Silverado 1500 High Country 6.2 Crew Cab Standard Bed will cost you approximately 68k.
We’re only scratching the surface, though. Introduced for the 2023 model year, the most expensive Escalade of them all is the V series that retails from a simply ridiculous $149,990 excluding freight. Customers who prefer the long-wheelbase variant have to shell out $3,000 on top of that, and somewhat greedy of Cadillac, the adaptive headlights cost $1,095 extra.
There is, however, a reason for this insane pricing. The V-series Escalade is the most powerful full-size SUV in production today, made possible by the LT4 supercharged V8 borrowed from the CT5-V Blackwing. Gifted with a 2.7-liter blower compared to the 1.7-liter unit in the mid-size luxury sedan, the Escalade-V cranks out 682 horsepower and 653 pound-foot (885 Nm).
Pretty impressive for a cam-in-block powerplant, for sure, but we also have to remember that Cadillac’s muscled-up SUV is a pickup truck underneath. The Escalade-V in the featured clip weighs 6,217 pounds (2,820 kilograms), which is quite a bit more than the 5,842 pounds (2,650 kilograms) of the Mercedes-AMG G 63. The other contender, namely the Range Rover P530, is lighter still (make that 5,530 pounds or 2,508 kilos) because of its unibody construction.
The question is, can these full-size leviathans keep the Escalade-V at bay over the quarter mile? Thomas and James of Throttle House are much obliged to answer that question with a dig race that starts at the 8:36 mark of the video. The Caddy launches unexpectedly well for its curb weight, yet the hand-built V8 engine of that G-Wagen immediately gets its turbos spinning.
Unfortunately for Gelandewagen enthusiasts, the Escalade-V takes the win by a small margin. The roll race, on the other hand, sees the G 63 obliterate the Escalade-V. As expected, the BMW-engined Range Rover finished dead last.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News