We say You just can’t justify buying an Escalade, even if you’ve got the cash.Performance The Escalade’s 6.2-litre V8 petrol engine suffices in shifting this behemoth, which is a task in itself. Surprisingly, it does so with a fair bit of speed to boot – sprinting to 62mph in an unfeasibly fast 6.6 seconds – through a slushy five-speed autobox.Emissions 342g/km is dreadful, as is 17.4mpg combined for fuel consumption. Buy an Escalade; kiss goodbye to your savings.Driving The Escalade handles like a bus, jiggling around uncontrollably on anything but smooth surfaces, while the steering is very imprecise and uninvolving.Feel The engine reacts as it should at speeds, but it’s surprisingly quiet at cruising levels and road-noise is well blocked out. The Cadillac Escalade is just not set up for UK roads so is wafty and uncomfortable unless you’re on the motorway.Space With the back row of seats up, the boot is very small, and taking down this third row of seats isn’t as easy as it sounds – they can’t be folded. If you manage to remove them you get 479 litres of boot space.Equipment Base models get heated seats, climate control, parking sensors, cruise control and leather upholstery – the Escalade doesn’t skimp on kit.Price The Escalade is hideously expensive to buy and run – even if you do get lots of car for your cash. Assuming you ever find a buyer for it you can expect to lose eye-watering amounts at resale.Quality It’s tinny, and the fit and finish isn’t coherent with the pricetag. The Escalade is reliable however.Safety Front airbags, side and curtain airbags (on all three rows) and stability control come as standard across the Escalade range.Pros Strong kit levels, road presence.Cons High running costs, disappointing residuals, poor quality materials, uncomfortable.Alternatives Range Rover, Volkswagen Touareg
