Cadillac limousine owned by the President of the United States (U.S.), Barack Obama, equipped with eight-inch-thick armor plate, and can be summed up as'monster' who climbed the President of this, anti-bomb. (click the image for large)
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Review: Tim Pollard, Carmagazine
PRICE : £72,317
CADILLAC Escalade really does represent all that was wrong with old GM. It might have briefly enjoyed a cult status as the preferred vehicle of choice for rap artists, overpaid footballers and other bling merchants but - believe me - the Escalade is so off the pace, it never really made it off the starting line.
We tested the latest Escalade Hybrid as part of Cadillac's relaunch in Europe. Dutch importer Kroymans went bust in the economic downturn, effectively halting Cadillac sales in Europe, but now General Motors' upmarket division is having another crack at European sales itself. Not for the volumes (they'll be lucky to sell 2500 in a good year across the continent), but for the prestige. Selling luxury cars in Europe bolsters the reputation - especially in China, say the bosses.
English teachers could practically hold up this car as an example of an oxymoron. The Escalade is GM's tough-as-old-boots seven-seater SUV, a 5151mm long off-roader mixing the profligacy of a 6.0-litre petrol V8 with a full hybrid system.
This is a full time four wheel drive hybrid. Bolted to the V8 is a 300v nickel-metal hydride battery located under the second-row seat, used to drive the electric motors. The petrol engine cuts out at a standstill and shuts down four cylinders on a light throttle, running as a V4. The transition between each mode is impressively seamless.
Good news! The hybrid set-up works really quite well. I managed to hit 30mph on full whispering silent EV mode for nearly a minute and that sort of party trick will prove useful on such a wastefully large car. You have to stroke the throttle, as most acceleration claims will require the V8 to lug around this 2729kg beast.
Sadly, the plaudits stop there. The Escalade feels outmoded by virtually every other dynamic measure. It's not even that efficient. Cadillac claims 264/km of CO2 and 25mpg, but we failed to match that on our road test covering a combination of hilly country roads, around town and some faster, flatter A-roads.
The build quality is shocking – the first thing you notice when you open the doors is a 2ft swathe of sound deadening material just flapping loose. Panel gaps are enormous, the inordinately heavy automated tailgate refused to work on our example and the interior plastics would be more at home on a Proton than a £72k upmarket SUV. It's also hugely naff: the (optional £1294) running boards descend down when you unlock the car to help you step up into the high-up cabin.
Once inside, the Escalade feels gratuitous. It's so wide! The front-seat armrest is the width of a third pew and you kind of wonder what the point of all this excess size is. This car is badly packaged too: the driver’s seat doesn’t slide far enough back, tall pilots will rub the headlining and you can't comfortably seat adults in the third row of seats (unlike a Land Rover Discovery). There’s no bootspace with all three rows erected, either.
All the worst bits of old-school Americana in here: the gearlever is an unwieldy, column-mounted affair, the plastics are straight from Fisher Price and the steering wheel seemingly has a tenuous, long-distance relationship with the front axle. It's so bad you end up sawing at the wheel even in a straight line, like a badly produced episode of the A-team.
And don't even talk about corners. Here's what happens. A curve approaches, you heave at the wheel, the Escalade lurches with enough body roll to alarm bystanders. It's natural habitat is straight roads and the brakes suffer from poor modulation between energy recapture and active braking and a remorseless, wooden pedal feel.
Considering the size of the tyres – 285/45 rubber on 22in wheels – the ride is actually not too bad.
The Cadillac Escalade Hybrid isn't just the worst car I've driven this year, it's one of the worst I've ever tested period. At the end of our review we parked up next to the new SRX, a much smaller, more modern crossover. The Escalade felt like a dinosaur by comparison.
It's risible that this car costs £72,317 in the UK. I can see no valid argument for buying one and can only imagine the mental faculties of a footballer mad enough to have a go. GM should really do the kind thing and send the Escalade to Europe for a different reason: the euthanasia clinic. (crs)
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Price: $69,465
Performance
• Engine: 6.2L V 8 overhead valve with VVT ( 10.5 :1 compression ratio ; two valves per cylinder)
• Fuel: E85 and/or unleaded
• Fuel consumption:
• Multi-point injection fuel system
• 31.0 gallon fuel tank
• Power: 403 HP ( 301 kW) @ 5,700 rpm; 417 ft lb of torque ( 565 Nm) @ 4,300 rpm
• Secondary fuel economy:
Handling
• ABS
• 3.420:1 axle ratio
• Four disc brakes including two ventilated discs
• Electronic brake distribution
• Electronic traction control via ABS & engine management
• Immobilizer
• Rear limited slip differential
• Responsive suspension electronic
• Spacesaver steel rim spare wheel
• Stability control
• Wishbone front suspension independent with stabilizer bar and coil springs, beam rear suspension rigid with stabilizer bar and coil springs
• Automatic rear suspension levelling
Exterior
• Painted front and rear bumpers
• Day time running lights
• Driver power heated chrome door mirrors with automatic and automatic operation indicator lights, passenger power heated chrome door mirrors with automatic indicator lights
• External dimensions: overall length (inches): 222.0, overall width (inches): 79.1, overall height (inches): 74.5, ground clearance (inches): 9.2, wheelbase (inches): 130.0, front track (inches): 68.2, rear track (inches): 67.0 and curb to curb turning circle (feet): 39.0
• Electric foldable mirrors
• Front fog lights
• Projector beam lens Xenon bulb headlights
• Luxury trim alloy & leather on gearknob, wood & leather on doors and wood/woodgrain on dashboard
• Metallic paint
• Straight side pickup bed insert liner with cover
• Driver side and passenger side rear side windows
• Removeable rear window with defogger
• Removable roof rails
• Side platform step power retractable
• Glass electric front sunroof
• Underbody protection for engine
• Weights: gross vehicle weight rating (lbs) 7,200, curb weight (lbs) 5,971, gross trailer weight braked (lbs) 7,500 and max payload (lbs) 1,150
• Windshield wipers with automatic intermittent wipe and rain sensor
Interior
• 12v power outlet: front and rear
• Air conditioning with fully automated climate control 2 and auto
• Anti-theft protection
• Front ashtray
• Bose RDS audio system with satellite and CD player CD player reads MP3
• Cargo area dimensions: length (inches): 63.0, front width (inches): 50.0, width between arches (inches): 50.0, height (inches): 25.0 and loading floor height (inches): 31.9
• Cargo capacity: rear seat down (cu ft): 54.3 and all seats in place (cu ft): 45.5
• Cellular phone
• Front seats cigar lighter
• Clock
• Coming home device
• Compass
• Computer with average fuel consumption and range for remaining fuel
• Delayed/fade courtesy lights
• Cruise control
• Front seats and rear seats cup holders
• Entertainment display screen front and single rear middle
• DVD/VCD
• External temperature
• Floor covering: carpet in passenger compartment and plastic/rubber in load area
• Floor mats
• Driver front airbag with multi-stage deployment, passenger front airbag with occupant sensors and multi-stage deployment
• Bucket heated electrically adjustable driver ventilated seat with height adjustment, lumbar adjustment, six adjustments and tilt adjustment climate controlled, memory, memory and memory, bucket heated electrically adjustable passenger ventilated seat with height adjustment, lumbar adjustment, six adjustments and tilt adjustment climate controlled, electric, electric and electric
• Height adjustable 3-point reel front seat belts on driver seat and passenger seat with pre-tensioners
• Front seat center armrest
• Garage door opener
• Two height adjustable head restraints on front seats and rear seats
• Headlight control with dusk sensor
• Height adjustable pedals
• Internal dimensions: front headroom (inches): 41.1, rear headroom (inches): 40.0, front hip room (inches): 64.4, rear hip room (inches): 62.3, front leg room (inches): 41.3, rear leg room (inches): 39.1, front shoulder room (inches): 65.3 and rear shoulder room (inches): 65.3
• Low tire pressure indicator
• Memorized adjustment with two settings on door mirror position with six driver's seat positions
• Navigational systems : information type: full map and voice other and color
• Parking distance sensors rear and radar & camera
• Remote power locks
• Power steering
• Front power windows with two one-touch, rear power windows
• Front and rear reading lights
• 3-point reel rear seat belts on driver side, passenger side and center side
• Rear seat center armrest
• Three asymmetrical split bench front facing reclining rear seats with zero adjustments
• Rear separate audio control
• Automatic operation rear view mirror
• Steering wheel mounted & rear remote audio controls
• Front and rear side curtain airbag
• Leather seat upholstery with additional leather
• Seating: five seats
• Service interval indicator
• Smart card / smart key manual, includes central locking and includes memory seat adjustments
• Eight speaker(s) Bose
• Wood & leather heated steering wheel with tilt adjustment
• Tachometer
• Telematics includes engine shut down
• Illuminated driver and passenger vanity mirror
• Ventilation system with automatic recirculation
• Voice activating system includes radio settings, includes phone and includes navigation system
source: _http://www.automotive.com
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