The 2025 Cadillac Escalade will look much like the 2024 Cadillac Escalade. At least until you open the door. Slide into a seat, and Cadillac’s big cruiser will look worlds apart from any prior Escalade next year.
Well, not any prior Escalade. The gas-powered 2025 Escalade borrows many of its new interior furnishings from its relatively new electric cousin, the Escalade IQ. The all-electric Eskie is so new you may not have known it exists, yet the long-running gas-powered model is already adopting its style.
Diesel Gone, V Returns
The Escalade retains its most popular engine for 2025. Most trims get the same 420-horsepower, 6.2-liter V8 mated to a 10-speed automatic transmission, which has always moved the big beast with ease.
But one option disappears from the lineup. There will be no diesel option in 2025.
The extraordinary Escalade-V, with its 682-horsepower supercharged V8 and 4.4-second 0-60 mph time, however, is still on the order sheet.
Bolder Lighting, Bigger Wheels
The big Caddy’s shape won’t change for 2025, but that doesn’t mean nothing has changed from the outside.
As we enter the electric era, automotive designers seem to spend more energy designing with light than ever. This may not be the electric Escalade, but new light designs are the most important updates to its look. Cadillac admits that the lighting theme is “inherited from Escalade IQ.” Already, the elder inherits from the young.
The tall vertical lines of light that have been Cadillac’s signature in recent years are even more pronounced for 2025. They now stretch almost the entire height of the exceptionally tall front fascia.
The daytime running lights are now tiny horizontal slits. That has the effect of adding more sheet metal to its already imposing visage. V-Series and Premium Luxury Platinum trims get an illuminated grille surround.
Cadillac will also offer 24-inch wheels from the factory, “the largest ever offered on an Escalade.”
Tech-Heavy Cabin, New Second-Row Seats
Inside, the makeover has been thorough.
The show-stopper is the dashbo…scree…screenboard? Dash screen? The dashboard is close to all screen, with a huge 55-inch total diagonal display stretching almost from door to door.
A single 35-inch pane stretches from the driver’s instrument cluster across the center and almost to the passenger’s side. The passenger gets their own, 20-inch screen, shielded from the driver’s view when in motion so they can watch streaming entertainment without distracting the pilot.
Only the Mercedes Hyperscreen and the setup in the 2025 Lincoln Nautilus rival it for sheer size. It’s not reserved for those who spring for the highest trim. The massive display is standard at every trim level.
It’s not enough screen, apparently. Cadillac placed a second, 11-inch touchscreen beneath it that handles climate controls, ambient lighting, and the power-operated doors. A full-color head-up display is also standard on most trim levels to keep your eyes off the many screens.
As ridiculous as this sounds, the cabin may feel more spacious than it already did. Cadillac has moved the shifter from the center console to the steering column (it’s now a tiny stalk), opening up more space in the cavernous space.
A new “Executive Second Row” package adds massaging captain’s chairs with stowable tray tables.
Finally, Cadillac has increased the number of speakers available. If you’re familiar with the 2024 Escalade, you know we saved the most shocking sentence for last. The Eskie currently on dealer lots has an optional 36-speaker AKG system. For 2025, the upgraded system adds four more.
The Escalade already stood as a testament to everything General Motors could do. The 2025 version appears to be more of an already extraordinary thing.
When the 2025 Cadillac Escalade arrives later this year, shoppers will still want to compare it to the Lincoln Navigator, Jeep Grand Wagoneer, and perhaps the Lexus LX. But there will likely be nothing like the 2025 Cadillac Escalade-V on the market – except the Escalade IQ. That one is quite a bit like it, especially inside.
