2019 Cadillac Escalade

The last few years have seen Cadillac expand its SUV and crossover offerings in response to changes in market demands, but the brand’s SUV heritage began in the late 1990s with the first Escalade, a not-very-attractively modified version of the GMC Yukon Denali.

Since then, however, Cadillac has worked much harder at differentiating the Escalade from General Motors’ various other full-size SUVs, which also include the Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban.

Now, as then, the Escalade is Cadillac’s most ostentatious model, but it boasts styling that really works if you want to look like you just drove off the set of an R&B music video.

For 2019, the Escalade carries over unchanged following last year’s addition of a 10-speed transmission to replace the previous eight-speed.

It’s easy to hate the Escalade, but this big utility is a guilty pleasure of ours for its combination of a spacious, comfortable interior and healthy performance. Cadillac fits GM's magnetic ride control to all Escalade models as standard, along with two selectable performance modes, and it does a good job quelling body motions in this 2,600-kg SUV.

We’d sooner choose a Land Rover Range Rover to go off-roading, but the Escalade is made for the rough stuff thanks to standard 4WD with low-range gearing and a locking rear differential.

Performance-oriented options include a Brembo brake system that brings red calipers adorned with the Cadillac wreath-and-crest logo.

Meanwhile, tech options include Cadillac's rear camera mirror, which uses a rear-mounted camera to broadcast an image to the rearview mirror that's free of visibility obstructions like headrests, pillars and passengers' heads.

For all the Escalade is loaded with technology like passive keyless entry and wireless smartphone charging, it still uses a column-mounted transmission shift lever that gives away this truck's relationship to its lower-rent siblings.

Standard features in the base model (simply called Escalade) include navigation, heated and cooled front seats, a heated steering wheel, hands-free tailgate, power-adjustable steering column and a 16-speaker sound system.

By the time you’ve skipped past the Luxury and Premium Luxury trims to arrive at the Platinum model with its six-figure price, your Escalade includes adaptive cruise control, automatic seat belt tightening, forward and reverse automatic braking, electric parking brake, power-retractable side steps, a cooled centre console box and a rear-seat DVD entertainment system with dual screens.

Fuel consumption estimates are 16.6/10.9 L/100 km (city/highway).