When Cadillac took off the wraps to the 2023 Escalade V-Series last year, the world of high-performance SUVs got a reality check as the carmaker had launched a model with Porsche Taycan 4 levels of performance with all of the luxuries you could ever dream of.
Recently, Jay Leno had the opportunity to test out the Escalade V-Series and set out to discover what it is all about. Leno is a self-confessed Cadillac enthusiast and happens to own a Caddy from way back in 1918 that is driven by one of his favorite V8 engines ever conceived. The new Escalade-V is the ultimate example of the power and prestige that the brand has always been synonymous with.
In this episode of Jay Leno’s Garage, he spoke with Cadillac’s executive chief engineer Brandon Vivian about what makes the Escalade V-Series so special. It’s right up the alley of Leno as he just so happens to own a CTS-V with a manual transmission. He refers to it as a ‘four-door Corvette.’
Read: The 2023 Escalade-V Is The Most Powerful And Expensive Production Cadillac Ever
In creating the Escalade V-Series, Cadillac started with the engine, equipping it with a 6.2-liter supercharged V8 churning out a monstrous 682 hp and 653 lb-ft (885 Nm) of torque. This engine works alongside a 10-speed automatic transmission and the SUV can sprint to 60 mph (96 km/h) in 4.4 seconds and run down the quarter-mile in 12.74 seconds at 110 mph. Those are impressive figures for a vehicle of this size.
After taking a comprehensive tour of the potent SUV with Vivian, Leno headed out onto the roads around Los Angeles to see what an Escalade with almost 700 hp is like to drive. Obviously, it’s quick but Vivian is eager to point out that it also rides very well thanks to the advanced magnetic suspension system.