Cadillac Escalade Overview

No other SUV on the road shouts bold, brash luxury quite like the Escalade, available for 2011 in Base, Luxury, Premium and Platinum Edition trim levels. Powering the full-size luxury SUV is a 403-hp 6.2-liter V8 with cylinder deactivation, running on either regular unleaded or E85 ethanol. Fuel economy is nothing to write home about at 13 city/18 highway mpg. The V8 is mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission and either rear-wheel drive or 40/60 torque-split all-wheel drive.

The Escalade seats 7 passengers with second-row bucket seats, or 8 with the second-row bench seat. Standard interior equipment is generous even on the base model, including a 10-speaker Bose surround sound system, leather seating with heated and cooled first and second rows (with second-row buckets), a voice-operated navigation system with real-time traffic, Bluetooth, On Star and tri-zone climate control. Towing capacity measures 8,300 lbs. with rear-wheel drive, or 8,100 lbs. with all-wheel drive.