2010 Cadillac Escalade Hybrid Auto Review

When the folks at GM delivered the Cadillac Escalade Hybrid for the week I admit, I was a bit intimidated. This car is BIG and for urban driving I was worried it would simply be too cumbersome. I also felt like it was somewhat unnecessary, all this space. But I have to admit, this vehicle surprised me. Despite its size it is easy to maneuver, parking was a non-issue, and the space was great for carpooling and long drives.

Model Tested: 2010 Cadillac Escalade Hybrid

Key Competitors: Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid, GMC Yukon Hybrid, Lincoln Navigator, Lexus LX 470, Mercedes-Benz G-Class, Infiniti QX56; Lincoln Mark LT

Price: $94,295

Urban Mom’s Rating:

Urban Mom Testers’ Topline: Overall our mom testers loved this car. Although some found it too big most felt it was easy to drive. We all loved the added safety features including the Ultrasonic Rear Parking Assist which includes a rear view camera and an alert while in reverse as well as the Side Blind Zone Alert which displays a symbol in your side view mirrors when a car is approaching in your blind spot. The navigation system with OnStar was also a huge help when trekking out to a hockey arena. We simply told OnStar where we wanted to go, it was mapped for us and our friendly navigation voice helped us on our way.

The greatest asset to this car is the built in Hybrid feature. We all felt a little better driving around in this big car knowing that it was environmentally conscious. The Hybrid feature offers a 32% improvement in city fuel consumption over the non-Hybrid model. Many people asked me how the Hybrid feature worked. How did the electric power regenerate? This was really cool. The key to Escalade’s two-mode hybrid system is that the hybrid system
itself generates the electric power used to propel the vehicle. When
the brakes are applied or the vehicle is coasting, the electric motors
within the hybrid system create electricity that is stored in the
300-volt battery. This stored energy is used to move the vehicle and
the regenerative braking cycle is renewed.

We did find the front dash console a bit confusing but I am sure with some time we would have figured it out. The greatest drawback of this vehicle for our mom testers was the price. I have to say I felt pretty slick motoring around in nearly $100,000 on wheels but for most of us this is simply outside of our price range and most mom testers agreed that this would definitely be a barrier.

Urban Kid Testers’ Topline: As we all know, kids love anything big and new and this car met both of these criteria but there were a few things that stood out for them in this vehicle. First, they loved the rear seat heaters. It may not sound like much but on a cold evening it is quite the luxury. Plus, there was plenty of room for three kids to sit in each of the back rows. Even with booster seats there was elbow room aplenty.

Plus, it was really easy for the kids to get in and out of this vehicle with the
retracting running board and for me, helping them get settled was a
dream because there was no bending. Finally, the entertainment system including Bose stereo was a dream. For long rides this, along with the built in DVD system, kept everyone happy.

Exterior Features and Style: The Escalade Hybrid is sleek and stylish without compromising functionality. The retracting running boards allows for easy entry and the big doors seemed surprisingly light considering their size. Plus, as my 10 year-old said, “Mom, this car is gangsta!”

Interior Comfort and Style: We found the dash a bit confusing and not all buttons were intuitive. However, we loved the interactive nav system and there is no doubt this car is stylish. The Escalade is a very comfortable ride with luxury seating and plenty of space.

Storage: Although this car is big the trunk space is extremely limited with the third row of seating up. In fact, we couldn’t even fit one hockey back without folding one of the rear seats down. Although folding down the seat is not difficult it limits your carpooling capacity and for items that need to be balanced on the ground you would need to remove the rear seats to have a level foundation.

Drive: In typical Cadillac form, this car drove like a dream. It was smooth and easy to maneuver and comfortable even over speed bumps. It was also very quiet with little outside noise making its way into the interior of the car.

Bells and Whistles: Of course, this is a luxury vehicle so bells and whistles abound but the ones worth mentioning are, of course, the Hybrid feature, the Ultrasonic Rear Parking Assist, Side Blind Zone Alert, and the OnStar navigation system. We also loved the retractable running boards for ease of entry and the Bose stereo system.