When the Cadillac Escalade first appeared in 1999, it was nothing more than a badge-engineered version of the GMC Yukon Denali. If we were being blunt about, it was more a hastily rebadged Yukon Denali.
But a quarter of a century later, Cadillac’s first SUV is also its cash cow. So, for its birthday, it gets a comprehensive facelift and a tech upgrade inside. Oh, and it isn’t what we’d call subtle, either. The low-profile types need not apply.
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For the 2025 model year, the Cadillac Escalade gets a totally reworked front end. The pre-facelift version already had bags of presence, but this one takes it a step further. For starters, the headlights are now vertical and have been moved to the bumper corners. Just a slim LED strip sits just below the hood line to further emphasize its size.
The new look takes inspiration from the Escalade IQ, Celestiq and Lyriq electric vehicles. If that’s not enough, the Cadillac crest is illuminated just to remind everyone what it is, while higher trim levels get an illuminated grille surround. Forget chrome and bling, Cadillac’s going for lit now.
The rest of the body is carried over unchanged. However, there are new color options available, as well as wheel designs. Cadillac also did tweaks to the signature vertical tail lights, adding a different pattern and Cadillac crests within them. Lit up, of course.
There are six variants of the 2025 Escalade to choose from, namely Luxury, Premium Luxury, Sport, Premium Luxury Platinum, Sport Platinum and V-Series. As always, there are also two body styles available, namely the already sizable standard wheelbase version and the gargantuan Escalade ESV that stretches the SUV by around 400mm.
Hop on board and you’ll be greeted by wide screens. It’s part of the major changes made for the 2025 model year. The instrumentation and infotainment system are housed in one giant display, and the passenger gets their own screen, too. All in all, it measures a whopping 55 inches, and we haven’t even included the climate control panel in that count.
Also new is the steering wheel with a two-spoke design that’s a throwback from classic models. The door skins have also been updated, as well as the center stack and center console. There’s a choice of wood and metallic trims available, while the sporty V-Series models come with carbon fiber.
Over at the back, there’s something called the Executive Second Row package. This option adds power captain chairs over there, along with stowable tray tables, 12.6-inch-diagonal personal screens, a rear command center, dual wireless phone charging pads, massaging seats and headrest speakers.
Audio is channeled through an AKG Studio 19-speaker audio system. If that’s not enough, there’s the option to go for the AKG Studio Reference 36-speaker system. But for those who want the ultimate experience, the Executive Second Row package further bumps the speaker count to 40.
There’s ample passenger entertainment options, including HD streaming and browser compatibility. That allows them to log into any streaming app and catch up to whatever series they’re binge watching at the moment.
Other tech highlights? Cadillac’s Super Cruise driver assistance technology is standard on all trims. Most variants get a full-color head-up display, as well as Magnetic Ride Control 4.0 to keep the ride as level as possible. Meanwhile, night vision is fitted to the top two grades. The same goes for the power open-and-close exterior door entry system.
Moving to the powertrain department, all Escalades use a 6.2-liter V8 with Dynamic Fuel Management. No downsized turbo here, folks, and that massive eight-cylinder powerplant punches out 420hp and 623Nm of torque.
Opt for the V-Series and the same engine gains a supercharger and cranks the output to 682hp and 885Nm of torque. Should anyone be daring enough (or don’t mind scratching up the paint) to take any of these off-road, both standard and V-Series models get four-wheel drive with terrain select models. Both also use a ten-speed automatic transmission, albeit beefed up for the V-Series models.
