2007 Cadillac Escalade AWD

Could we be seeing the last gasp of the big American SUV? If so, Cadillac is doing its best to go out in style. The 2007 Cadillac Escalade is big, powerful and audacious, swaggering down the road oblivious to the target on its back. Base price for an all-wheel drive 2007 Cadillac Escalade is $57,280 with 4 year/50,000 mile warranty. Expect 13 mpg city/19 mpg highway, according to EPA estimates. A quick drive in the new Escalade will make you check both your finances and your conscience.

I'm not a fan of overstatement in automotive design. I can usually measure my appreciation for an SUV's design by how embarrassed I am to be seen behind the wheel. The Escalade of old always struck me as too brash, too bold for its actual abilities. Not so with the 2007 Escalade. The lines have been simplified, the stance has been tweaked and there's a new sense of elegance to the ornamentation. Like the entire Cadillac lineup, the Escalade bears the inspiration of the Cadillac Sixteen concept car. Cadillac's renewed vigor coincided with its commitment to these design cues a few years ago -- I think the new unified look of Cadillac is greatly responsible for its increased sales.

Escalade adds a few flourishes to keep ahead of the pack. The SUV comes standard with some great looking 18" aluminum wheels, or you can choose a set of optional 22" chromed aluminum wheels for $2,995. The engineers hate big wheels -- they create a lot of handling and comfort challenges -- but a lot of buyers want the biggest wheels possible on their Escalades, so Cadillac is delivering. The aftermarket has been very active with Escalade in the past, so you can expect a whole line of exterior dress-up kits for the '07 model to hit the parts stores soon.

Cadillac claims to have benchmarked European luxury cars for the interior of the Escalade, especially with regard to materials. Finally! An American luxury car with great dash materials, lush leather seats and high quality wood and metal throughout the cabin. Everywhere you look and touch, the Escalade rewards you with quality. Even the sculpted headliner is soft and firm to the touch. Nicely done.

The beauty is more than skin deep. Cadillac engineers expended a lot of energy making the Escalade safer, installing head curtain side air bags with rollover protection for all seating rows, and front seat belt pretensioners with 360 degree sensors. In the event of a collision, from any direction, the front seat belts tighten up within milliseconds to keep passengers in the safest possible position in their seats.

Escalade comes equipped with three rows of seating. A power fold and tumble middle row is a cool option ($425). The back row is for kids and small adults only. Cadillac decided to go with removable seating rather than folding into the floor, which is understandable from an engineering standpoint, but disappointing. The split seats are heavy and awkward, and leave an ugly metal track on the load floor when they're removed.

Escalade surprised me. I expected it to be fast -- after all, Cadillac stuffed a 6.2 liter V8 under the hood, capable of 403 hp and 417 lb-ft of torque. Even with the Escalade's 5459 lb curb weight, the SUV can scoot from 0-60 in about 6.5 seconds. What I didn't expect was the great steering feel, the tightly controlled body roll and the whisper quiet of the cabin during operation. I was always aware that I was driving an SUV, but everything about Escalade's handling belied its size. The all-wheel drive system on Escalade adds a measure of agility in tight situations, especially when matched with a tight 39' turning radius. The driving position is also great, with a comfortable, highly adjustable seat and lots of room up front.

Escalade would be a great choice for a cross-country trip, if it wasn't for the gas mileage. Even with best-in-class fuel economy (13 city/19 highway), you're going to be filling up that 26 gallon fuel tank frequently. So, make the trip more pleasant: Equip your Escalade with the optional ($1,295) Entertainment Package and you can hypnotize your rear seat passengers with DVDs. Opt for the $2,495 Information Package and you can program your destination into the GPS navigation system, a luxury essential.

If you're thinking about buying a 2007 Cadillac Escalade, congratulations. You must be a big success! Your Escalade will certainly announce your status wherever you go. You should check out some other SUVs before you make your decision, though. There are some great alternatives out there.

First, check out the GMC Yukon and Chevrolet Tahoe, which share their basic mechanical underpinnings with Escalade. You'll find a slightly lower level of luxury, but a commensurately lower price. You can load up a Yukon Denali to pretty close to Cadillac luxury, and still save a few bucks. If you value function over form, this might be the way to go.

Lincoln's Navigator has a lot of fans, though it doesn't approach the Escalade's drivability. The Range Rover Sport takes a different approach and adds real off-road chops to the luxury. Japanese manufacturers have entered the luxury SUV market in a big way, and they're well worth a drive. Check out the Lexus LX 470 and the Infiniti QX56, and don't neglect the near-luxury Nissan Armada.

It's never been cooler or more fashionable to be behind the wheel of an Escalade. It's a good thing that the Cadillac looks good parked -- that may be the only way to enjoy a big SUV in the near future.