The blingtastic Cadillac Escalade is an American icon, the perennially best-selling mega-ute in a segment it defined. For the 2025 model year, it’s not sitting on its laurels.

The Escalade gets a major mid-cycle refresh with a upgrades like a 55-inch curved dash screen, auto-opening doors, and updated exterior lighting. The new features come as the Escalade competes, not just against Motown rivals from Jeep and Lincoln, but also against European SUVs at a similar, six-figure price point.

Where the Detroit Three have separated themselves from their European competition is in size — putting luxurious top hats on ladder-frame truck chassis with towing and cargo numbers that foreign models can only dream about. To complement its inherent advantage, recent models of the Escalade, Jeep Grand Wagoneer and Lincoln Navigator have also reached into the same toolkit as German luxury brands with gorgeous materials and digital goo-gaws.

The internal-combustion-engine Escalade is the second of two major reveals this year as Cadillac has also introduced an electric Escalade IQ into the portfolio. The SUV’ share interior features — but the IQ adds a big frunk for storage where the engine would be in ICE models. Cadillac has said the brand will eventually go all-electric, but for now the EV replaces a diesel-powered Escalade as an alternative drivetrain for the lineup.

“The Escalade franchise has defined Cadillac for five generations,” said John Roth, vice president of Global Cadillac. “As the best-selling luxury full-size SUV in North America since 2014, the expansion of the portfolio to include a refreshed Escalade and the all-new all-electric IQ positions the brand well to offer an Escalade that meets the needs of all customers.”

Like those big Mercedes screens? The Escalade ups the ante with its pillar-to-pillar 55-inch jumbotron that wouldn’t be out of place in a movie theater. The jumbotron contains the 35-inch instrument/infotainment driver displays and 20-inch passenger screen. It is complemented by two more screens — a head-up display that projects information over the hood in the driver’s line of sight, and an 11-inch console screen within easy reach for climate controls.

Second-row customers fly first class with a central tablet controller as well as 12.6-inch personal entertainment screens when the Executive Second Row package is optioned. That package includes stowable tray tables, dual wireless phone charging pads, massaging seats, headrest speakers and a stewardess (kidding about that last one). With all three rows deployed, the mega-ute can seat up to eight passengers.

Enjoy rolling out the red carpet? Like the BMW 7 series and other exotic sedans, the Escalade’s four doors will open automatically with a touch of a screen button. The driver’s door goes one better — it senses an approaching operator’s key and swings open automatically. Once seated, the driver may touch the brake pedal and the door will automatically close behind them.

If that isn’t enough, the Escalade’s air suspension will kneel like a trained elephant to make ingress easier.

Like European power? The Escalade brings V-8 grunt from GM’s toolkit — the reliable, 6.2-liter beast that also motivates the Chevy Corvette supercar. If you need more horsepower, a 683-horse supercharged V-8 is on offer in the V-Series trim.

Like your luxury over the top? The Escalade will drive itself with standard, hands-free Super Cruise on divided highways, at which time you can pop open a cold soda from the console’s (optional) fridge and turn up the volume on the 40-speaker AKG Studio sound system.

Manhattan penthouses never had it so good.

This opulence is wrapped in an upgraded exterior with new front and rear fascias. You can tell the new Escalade from the 2024 model by its mid-mounted headlights — a design trend established by its Chevy Tahoe, Suburban and GMC Yukon stablemates. The vertical mid-lights are complemented by LED “eyebrow” running lights. Though based on a truck frame, the Escalade rides like a magic carpet on its magnetic shocks and independent rear suspension.

Other blingtastic details include a standard illuminated front crest and — on the V-Series and Premium Luxury Platinum trims — an illuminated grille surround. There are six trims on offer, and, for the first time, Escalade will offer outrageous 24-inch wheels.

“Escalade is about being bold, arriving with style, and making a statement. The 2025 Escalade continues the design story introduced in the 2021 Escalade, but with thoughtful and dramatic updates,” said lead designer Vicente Beire.

The Escalade has been a favorite of celebrities over the years and Cadillac leans into its Hollywood tradition. “Entourage” actor Jerry Ferrara drove an Escalade in the 2015 movie. He will post content this week paying homage to the movie and his character, Turtle.

The 2025 Escalade starts production later this year at GM’s Arlington Assembly plant in Texas.

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