Cadillac's Rs 50 lakh Escalade has brawn dressed to impress

Cadillac's full-size sport-utility vehicle, the Escalade, is all-new for the 2015 model year. Some elements have changed, but its colossal proportions remain the same. The Escalade is one of the few SUVs that makes a Range Rover seem modest in size.

The General Motors Co (GM) SUV is tough enough to be part of a security detail and also upscale enough to impart a dose of menacing prestige. No other Americanmade SUV is quite as expensive.

The model we drove, the 4WD Premium, starts at $82,795 (Rs 50 lakh approx). That's a heap of money for a SUV that's not a Porsche, BMW or Land Rover. Both the exterior and interior of the Escalade are new.

The details are nice for a vehicle this big. There's a crisp character line running just below the windows. The grille is bigger and has more bling. Still, Cadillac has reined in excessive chrome additions.

Physical attributes

The nose is bordered by a row of stacked LED running lights; the lower ones have a distinctive 'L' shape. It plays in nicely with the latest design philosophy at Detroit-based GM's luxury brand. It's almost 17-feet long and the hood is momentously high.

Our test model had 22-inch wheels, which is totally nuts, yet they didn't look out of proportion to the rest of the truck. So you have to step up to get inside. One trick feature is an optional, $1,695 running board, which automatically descends when you open a door. There are three rows of seating.

Space available

Maximum cargo room is 94.2 cubic feet (2.7 cubic meters). To put that in perspective, a Honda Civic has 12.5 cubic feet. The fit and finish on the interior are far better than before. The digital gauges in front of the driver look very cool indeed.

Unfortunately they're hard to read. So too goes Cadillac's CUE touch-screen infotainment and navigation system, which has made its way to the Escalade and it's lousy. Even raising the radio volume is a pain.

New engine

The 2015 model gets a new engine as well: a 6.2-liter V-8 with 420 horsepower and 460 pound-feet of torque. It is able to deactivate four cylinders under some circumstances, helping efficiency. It's "about 17 per cent" more efficient on the highway, GM says.

The tank is capacious (98 litres). Cadillac says it gets to 60 miles per hour in less than six seconds. There's a "sport" setting, which must have been some engineer's idea of a joke. Ultimately, the Escalade is happiest at repose.