SPY SHOTS: Spies Catch First 2021 Cadillac In The Flesh In SoCal.

It's hard to argue that no modern Cadillac has had more of a positive impact than the Escalade. In 2007, gave the Escalade ESV our best large SUV award.

If you remember it instantly knocked the Lincoln Navigator off its block and never looked back. And the only real challenger came recently in the form of the NEW Navigator.

And we all know Lincoln has begun to not only eat up market share but the 'coolness' 'hollywood' image Cadillac OWNED in this segment.

So enter the 2021 all new Escalade.

In our eyes at first glance, the exterior is nice but somehow lacks that BALLSY look of the last model. Can't put our finger on why. Just looks more toned down and understated. SO, not what an Escalade should be.

But when I saw the press pics I really liked how the interior looked, especially how they did the screen setup.

But check out these photos closeup snapped by one of our UK Spies Agent SimonSays @simontrumpers

Is it just us or does the interior look cheaper than in the press shots? The switchgear in particular. Looks VERY Coupe DeVille to us.

Spies, chime in with your opinions and tell us if you will be or are in the market for a large SUV.

runninglogan1 - 8/6/2020 12:12:16 AM

+3 Boost

Coupe de Ville? No. Beautiful interior IMO.

Car4life1 - 8/6/2020 9:55:24 AM

+2 Boost

Hmmm it’s missing something that it’s predecessors nailed...oh I know....presence

NewQ - 8/6/2020 1:02:05 AM

+1 Boost

Cadillac did a great job with this one.

The leather steering wheel cover is nice.

The assorted controls to the lower left of the steering wheel are a huge improvement. That was always an Achilles Heel of Cadillac, no matter how expensive the car, they always stuck the same 10-cent Chevy panel down there. They thought people wouldn't notice, but in this price bracket, they do.

I wish the windows switches et. al. were metallic, since that's kind of table stakes nowadays for this class of car.

I'm interested in the lower parts of the door, and the very very bottom of the center console. Did Cadillac give us leather all the way down there? Or just soft-touch? Certainly not hard plastic, I would think; but I won't rule anything out from GM.

I also want to know what the material in the light grey section surrounding the gear shift and control knob. *Surely* those can't be cheap hard plastic, can they?

skytop - 8/6/2020 6:59:52 AM

0 Boost

The Caddy front emblem has been bastardized and look terrible. It bears little to no resemblance of the original badge used in the 1960's.

MDarringer - 8/6/2020 9:21:52 AM

-1 Boost

The new Escalade has a Chevy Traverse wannabe face. It totally lacks the formidable presence of its predecessor. This is good news for Lincoln.

mre30 - 8/6/2020 9:31:52 AM

+1 Boost

It's a GM Product, what do you expect?

I'm not sure what was meant by the "Coupe de Ville" comment. Last time the Coupe de Ville was in production (1987 or thereabouts?) it had a nice, expensive interior for the time.

Coupe De Ville = Poor word choice!

Basic Elements of Style – Diction, Syntax, Point of View, Tone, Theme

Diction = word choice – A study of diction is the analysis of how a writer uses language for a distinct purpose and effect, including word choice and figures of speech.

“The difference between the right word and almost the right word is like the difference between lightning and the lightning bug.” (Mark Twain)

MDarringer - 8/6/2020 5:41:08 PM

-1 Boost

Poor word choice is simply poor word choice, but that is not an example of "diction".

Diction is the word choice made to appear to an intended reader/audience.

Perhaps you should have gone past high school in your education.

Moreover, it could be argued that "Coupe de Ville" isn't an example of poor word choice at all, but the contrary.

cidflekken - 8/6/2020 12:16:41 PM

+1 Boost

The interior is definitely nice, though I don't understand the need for the two-tiered look. It's like they took Mercedes' expansive display approach and made it look better integrated. They did rip BMW's gear select knob. But a good job.

The exterior I'm not sold on. I do like the front end with the larger grille and "squinty" headlights, similar to the X7 design. That works for some reason. But the rest of it just doesn't say premium.

TauronB2G - 8/6/2020 5:22:57 PM

+2 Boost

Not a Cadillac fan... but this is a home run. Definitely the best looking of the current large SUV’s. I would personally buy a GLS because I like Mercedes but the Caddy is super cool. Up close and in Person it’s really nice.