2025 Cadillac Escalade Adopts IQ Features, Dumps Diesel Engine

Cadillac has updated the Escalade for the 2025 model year and the end result is a vehicle that has tilted to embrace the design of its battery electric siblings. While the Escalade has retained most of its combustion engine options, its styling now resembles what we’ve seen from the forthcoming IQ variant — including an interior touchscreen that spans the entire dashboard.

Hoping to drive interest in its flagship SUV, Cadillac is adding new packaging options, some novel standard equipment and several high-end features to the Escalade for 2025.

A 19-speaker AKG audio system is standard and can be upgraded to 36 or 40 speakers, depending on which package drivers select. Another rather slick option is the automatic doors (standard on Platinum and V-Series). All four doors can now pop open with a press of a button via the door handle or center console, with the driver’s door capable of being set to pop open whenever approached by the person holding the key fob.

OnStar remains obligatory and offers a 5G Wi-Fi hotspot, along with HD streaming and browser compatibility with most popular applications. Customers likewise receive 3 years of the OnStar Super Cruise plan as standard and will need to pay for a subscription after that. A head-up display will be standard on certain trims, with General Motors night vision being standard on V-Series or Platinum trims and available to option elsewhere.

But the star of the refresh is the pillar-to-pillar 55-inch diagonal display. The huge screen controls just about everything on the vehicle and features voice control, navigation, an app store, and is compatible with both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Despite massive screens becoming a hallmark of modern luxury vehicles, they’re actually fairly polarizing inside of the North American market. Many customers simply don’t enjoy having to use touch-based controls while driving. The same can be said for some of the electronic nannies that have crossed over into the mainstream. But they’re extremely popular in China, with practically every high-end EV built there being previewed with a dashboard completely dominated by screens.

While your author isn’t terribly fond of them, the main concern is that numerous studies have shown that touch-based interfaces are distracting inside of a moving vehicle and are often much harder to use than their button or switch-based predecessors. There are also questions about what happens when the manufacturer stops offering support for the operating system and concerns about repair costs should these components need to be replaced.

Super Cruise also invites major privacy concerns, as General Motors includes a driver-monitoring camera system. Similar complaints could be made about any vehicle with voice command, including the Cadillac Escalade. But they’re both standard equipment here.

Others will definitely like that they’re there, as they are very showy and give you a way to flex on the neighbors. However, your author would argue that it’s actually the new second-row upgrades and fresh upholstery/trim options that are the bigger get.

Cadillac is adding new “Renaissance Red” faceted quilt and perforated seats and “dark open pore” wood veneers. There’s also a Jet Black and Sheer Gray option that mixes leather and heathered gray fabrics onto the same quilted and perforated seats — those also get glossy wood veneers.

The end result is rather handsome, though the many screens may make it look dated sooner than previous model years. Escalade-V shoppers get carbon fiber instead of wood and everyone gets a staggering amount of customizable interior lighting options. This is something that’s on most modern vehicles these days. But it’s always appreciated when done well.

As if that wasn’t enough, the Executive Second Row package opens the door for stow-away tray tables, 12.6-inch-diagonal personal screens, a rear command console, dual wireless phone charging pads, and massaging seats that put extra speakers in the headrests.

On the outside, the 2025 Escalade receives a few new paint options (a greenish gray, dark blue metallic, and light bronze metallic) and embraces even more touches from the all-electric IQ models. This includes an illuminated front crest and swapping exterior lighting from a traditional horizontal arrangement to one that’s more vertical and on brand with Cadillac’s current design language. V-Series and Premium trims receive an illuminated grille as well.

The back half of the car hasn’t had as much work, though still distinct from prior model years.

Engine upgrades are nonexistent, however. The 6.2-liter V8 is still here churning out 420 horsepower and 460 lb-ft of torque, with the 10-speed automatic sending the power to either all wheels or just the back set. The Escalade-V (pictured in red) likewise sticks with its supercharged V8 offering a very healthy 682 hp and 653 lb-ft of torque. But the 3.0-liter diesel seems to be absent, which makes sense considering I’ve never once seen an Escalade equipped with one.

Cadillac hasn’t shared any pricing or EPA estimates for the 2025 Escalade. But we don’t expect fuel economy to change by much, if at all. Pricing could be another story, however. New features will undoubtedly be used to raise MSRP. We’ll likely find out by how much as we approach the SUV’s official launch date. As of now, production is slated to commence near the end of this year.

[Images: General Motors]

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