Cadillac has done to the Escalade something it should have done nearly two decades ago: give its full-size SUV the V treatment. Admittedly, the ethos of the American luxury brand's performance arm has become somewhat muddled in recent years, what with the V lineup now split between tamer V-badged models and full-on V Blackwing high-performance variants, such as the 10Best-winning CT4-V Blackwing and CT5-V Blackwing. But there's nothing confusing about the new 2023 Escalade-V. Its mission is one of power and prestige.
We certainly won't call the Escalade-V tame, as it packs a 682-hp wallop from a supercharged 6.2-liter V-8—a hand-built mill that's closely related to the 668-hp supercharged V-8 found in the CT5-V Blackwing, though the engine in the SUV trades the sedan's 1.7-liter Roots-type blower for a larger 2.7-liter unit. With the help of standard all-wheel drive and a 10-speed automatic transmission, this blown V-8 propels the standard-wheelbase Escalade-V to 60 mph in 4.3 seconds—1.7 seconds quicker than a 420-hp 2022 Escalade Sport Platinum we tested.

Set aside the stopwatch and the Escalade-V feels properly quick from the driver's seat. A tap of the model's V mode button in front of the shift lever activates this brute's highest dynamic settings and engages its launch-control feature, which holds the engine's revs at around 1500 rpm when the driver has both pedals mashed to the floor. Lift off the left pedal and the immediate acceleration provided by the torque-rich V-8—Cadillac claims 80 percent of the Escalade-V's 653 pound-feet of torque is available from 2000 rpm—is akin to the initial surge of a moderately powerful electric vehicle.

HIGHS: NASCAR-worthy exhaust note, fade-free Brembo brakes, no loss in on-road comfort.

Unlike an EV, though, the subtle whine of the Escalade-V's supercharger and the raucous wail of its active exhaust system bring a symphonic quality to its straight-line acceleration. Even at idle, the V's quad pipes emit a menacing burble (Stealth mode does let you quiet things down for the school pickup lane). At speed, the system exhales with loud crackles and pops when you abruptly lift off the accelerator. Flat-footing this 6290-pound SUV results in 85 decibels of mostly exhaust noise entering the cabin. That's 10 more decibels than an Escalade Sport Platinum, which sounds roughly twice as loud. Yet, like the aforementioned Sport Platinum, just 66 dB of sound finds its way inside the V at 70 mph.

Cadillac also altered the Escalade's suspension and braking systems for V duty. Tweaks to its air springs and adaptive dampers lessen this elephantine SUV's body motions with little sacrifice to its ride quality. And six-piston Brembo front brake calipers endow the V with a firmer and more responsive brake pedal. Though the brake pedal of an Escalade-V ESV we drove around Arizona struck us as a tad too grabby, the short-wheelbase model Cadillac sent to our Ann Arbor, Michigan, office for testing exhibited ...