Used 2022 Cadillac Escalade

The Cadillac Escalade has become an American icon. It’s a symbol of success with its large, imposing size, upscale appearance, and luxurious interior that boasts a 38-inch curved OLED screen. Inside its enormous interior with roomy 3-row seating — and plenty of cargo space to boot — you can get features like an AKG 36-speaker premium audio system, the Super Cruise hands-free driving system (temporarily unavailable due to microchip shortage), night-vision assistance, and much more.

The Escalade is the most luxurious choice in a trio of full-size SUVs from General Motors. The other two are the Chevrolet Tahoe/Suburban and the GMC Yukon.

Cadillac calls the extended-length, long-wheelbase variant of its biggest SUV the Escalade ESV.

The 2022 Escalade is a carryover with almost no changes aside from a few things like a standard Buckle to Drive safety feature.

The most direct competitor to the Cadillac Escalade is its long-time cross-town rival, the Lincoln Navigator. Both SUVs are at the top of their game with vast, luxurious interiors and available hands-free driving systems. Which is better comes down to personal preference and what you want under the hood, so be sure to test drive both if you’re in the market for a plus-size American luxury SUV.

The 2022 Cadillac Escalade drives like a huge SUV, but it carries its girth quite well. The seating position is taller than almost anything else on the road, giving you a commanding view of the world in front of you. This is the smoothest and most comfortable Escalade yet, which is saying a lot.

Thanks to its independent rear suspension, it drives less like a truck than previous generations. The Escalade glides over imperfections in the road, and it’s especially comfy with the available Magnetic Ride Control.

The standard 6.2-liter V8 engine is a good match for the hefty Escalade. It moves this big SUV with confidence, and we love the 10-speed automatic transmission with shifts so smooth they’re almost unnoticeable. The optional Duramax turbo-diesel inline-6 has the same torque rating as the V8 but returns much better fuel economy.

Sitting inside the Cadillac Escalade is quite an experience. When the latest generation of this SUV came out in 2021, it introduced independent rear suspension, which yields more interior space for passengers and cargo. There is plenty of seating space in all three rows, plus generous cargo room behind the third row, making it a good SUV for affluent families. The long-wheelbase ESV model has even more room.

Cadillac didn’t cut corners with this interior. No one can accuse it of just being a Tahoe with plusher leather seats. This is a genuine luxury SUV inside with a premium interior design and high-quality materials throughout. The standard 38-inch OLED display is truly stunning, and it’s more user-friendly than you might expect. We also love the standard wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

Seating for seven with second-row captain’s chairs is the standard layout, but you can get a bench second row, increasing seating capacity to eight at no extra cost. The base trim has simulated leather seats, but you get genuine leather in every other trim.

The styling of the Cadillac is conservative yet premium. We wouldn’t call it subtle, but it’s arguably a little more subdued than the previous generation of the Escalade. It employs a tasteful use of chrome, a handsome light signature, and stylish wheel designs. The Escalade is an SUV that’s large and in charge, and it looks the part.

The look of the Escalade changes a bit depending on the trim. The Luxury and Premium Luxury trims use more chrome trim, while the Sport models have a blacked-out mesh front grille and black exterior accents. The Premium Luxury Platinum model turns up the premium look with a distinct chrome grille and unique wheels.

The Escalade has two wheelbases. The standard Escalade is the size of the Chevrolet Tahoe, and the long-wheelbase Escalade ESV is similar to the Chevy Suburban. The Lincoln Navigator is the only other luxury SUV in this class with two wheelbase options.

SUPER CRUISE (temporarily unavailable due to microchip shortage)
Super Cruise is a semi-autonomous driving system that allows you to drive with your hands off the wheel on roads mapped by Cadillac.

CURVED OLED SCREEN
The massive OLED display is high-tech yet user-friendly with wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay and natural voice recognition.

The base Luxury trim of the Cadillac Escalade is well-equipped with standard features. The standard powertrain is a brawny 6.2-liter V8 engine linked to a 10-speed automatic transmission.

Other standard features include a 38-inch curved OLED display loaded with wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, SiriusXM, wireless charging, augmented reality navigation, AKG 19-speaker audio, ambient lighting, tri-zone automatic climate control, a 110V power outlet, push-button start, a power-adjustable steering column, power front seats, memory settings, leatherette seating, and second-row captain’s chairs.

Standard safety tech features include an HD surround-vision camera, Buckle to Drive, forward-collision alert with automatic emergency braking, lane-keep assist, rear pedestrian alert, rear seat reminder, a safety alert seat, front and rear parking sensors, automatic high-beams, and rain-sensing wipers.

The long-wheelbase Escalade ESV gives this SUV more room for passengers and cargo. Like most SUVs in this class, 4-wheel drive is a popular option. An uncommon option available in the Escalade is a turbo-diesel inline-6 with plentiful torque and good fuel economy.

The Sport and Premium Luxury trims of the Escalade have similar feature content but with different appearance packages. Premium Luxury uses more flashy chrome, and Sport uses more black accents.

A few features that you can get on both include the Super Cruise (temporarily unavailable due to microchip shortage) semi-autonomous, hands-free driving system with adaptive cruise control, a head-up display, a rear camera mirror, rear cross-traffic alert, heated and ventilated front seats, a panoramic sunroof, enhanced automatic parking assist, enhanced automatic emergency braking, reverse automatic braking, and more.

The Sport model further adds various trailering features, Magnetic Ride Control suspension, and an electronic limited-slip differential.

A Touring Package available for Sport and Premium Luxury adds soft-close doors, illuminated sill plates, and Air Ride Adaptive suspension.

Premium Luxury and Sport both have their own Platinum variants available, which vault the Escalade into the next level of luxury. Some features that come with both include the contents of the Touring Package, AKG 36-speaker audio with 3D Surround, more leather inside and a suede headliner, and massaging front seats.

There are two engines available for the Cadillac Escalade: a 6.2-liter naturally-aspirated V8 or a 3.0-liter Duramax turbo-diesel inline-6. When this generation of the Escalade came out in 2021, it was the first Cadillac available with a diesel engine since 1985.

The standard V8 delivers satisfying muscle that will be familiar to anyone who has driven a full-size GM SUV before. The diesel has the same torque rating as the V8, but it reaches peak torque much earlier in the rev range. The diesel is also more fuel-efficient than the V8.

Both engines are mated to a 10-speed automatic transmission. This is one of our favorite transmissions in a big SUV with its quick and smooth shifts that are hardly noticeable. It seems to always be in the right gear, no matter your driving style.

Par for the course in this segment, rear-wheel drive is standard and 4-wheel drive is optional.

6.2-liter V8
420 horsepower @ 5,600 rpm
460 lb-ft of torque @ 4,100 rpm
EPA city/highway fuel economy: 14/20 mpg (2WD), 14/19 mpg (4WD), 14/20 mpg (ESV 2WD), 14/19 mpg (ESV 4WD)

3.0-liter turbodiesel I6
277 horsepower @ 3,750 rpm
460 lb-ft of torque @ 1,500 rpm
EPA city/highway fuel economy: 21/27 mpg (2WD), 20/26 mpg (4WD)