2011 Cadillac Escalade Platinum Hybrid Reviews
The hybrid drivetrain gave the vehicle far more range than I would have expected in a regular Escalade, allowing me to travel longer distances without worrying about gas stops. Dang nice truck, though.
COPY EDITOR CYNTHIA L. OROSCO-WRIGHT: This Escalade seems to be a contradiction in terms. All of that aside, this Escalade is indeed a nice vehicle. The brakes, though, are another story and don't elicit much confidence in their stopping power. You have to mash pretty far down on the pedal to get the big ute to stop.
The 2011 Cadillac Escalade Hybrid, for example, relies on similar tech, yet it’s effectively the Toyota’s polar opposite. Possessing the elegant style of a fashionable fat kid, the Escalade Hybrid manages to produce brutish noises and surprising bursts of speed. The Escalade integrates touches of the Wreath and Crest’s design language with a giant mass of Art Deco futurism that harkens back to Caddy’s bygone classics. Can you say, “222-inch-long 1957 Eldorado?”
Like the coupes and sedans before it, this Escalade features larger-than-life styling. An abundance of hybrid badging is notably absent from the exterior. For 2011, the Escalade uses much more discrete hybrid logos on each fender vent and one on its rear.
Besides the variety of temperature controls, audio/visual options abound in the Escalade’s cabin. Second- and third-row passengers have multiple video viewing options via a pair of headrest-mounted screens or a centrally-mounted eight-inch flip-down monitor. If the Escalade is in Park, the driver and front passenger can even watch DVDs thanks to the eight-inch touchscreen mounted in the center stack.
Interacting with the Escalade’s various controls and switchgear is where this Caddy begins to show its age. Rather remarkably, compared to its rivals, the Cadillac Escalade is actually on the shorter side. The 2011 Infiniti QX56 spans 208.3-inches and a 2011 Lincoln Navigator is 206.5-inches from grille to liftgate. Only the 2011 Mercedes-Benz GL-Class is stubbier, at 200.6-inches in length. Despite all this, the Escalade still manages to supply 172 cubic-feet of passenger volume. The 6.0-liter unit produces 332 horsepower at 5,100 rpm and 367 pound-feet of torque at 4,100 rpm. The engine may not have the slugging power of the 403-hp 6.2-liter V8 found in the non-hybrid Escalade, but this engine and motor combination still throws a punch, and puts its body into it, too.
The 300-volt nickel-metal hydride battery powering the pair of transmission-mounted 60 kilowatt motors offers a quiet contrast to the Escalade’s sonorous V8. comprise the heart of the two-mode hybrid system. As you might expect, this Escalade Hybrid also utilizes a different cogswapper than its gas-only counterpart.
This transmission, along with the hybrid powerplant, helps the Escalade sip gas at an EPA-estimated rate of 20 miles per gallon in the city and 23 mpg on the highway. The 13-inch front and 13.5-inch rear brakes slow the titanic vehicle down like… well, like a wayward iceberg wandering into the path of steamship.
The all-wheel drive Platinum Hybrid seen here – an admittedly loaded to the headliner example – rings up at an eye-watering $89,090. There’s no way to sugar coat this: the Cadillac Escalade Platinum Hybrid is overpriced, and it’s fallen behind the competition. If you need this much space and are dead set on a Caddy, though, we can see a good argument for going with the Hybrid. At a modest premium of around $3,300, if you drive a bunch, you’ll probably even earn your money back. And despite not being the latest and greatest in its class, the Escalade Hybrid remains surprisingly enjoyable to drive, and it’s loaded with top-shelf features that help make it a comfortable cruiser for trips long and short. The competition may have nothing to worry about at the moment, but for the moment, this King Caddy still offers inimitable style with a green lining.
The 2011 Cadillac Escalade Hybrid is possessing the elegant style of a fashionable fat kid. An expensive eight-passenger luxury barge, this full-size hybrid SUV, the Escalade Hybrid manages to produce brutish noises and surprising bursts of speed.
This Escalade features larger-than-life styling. A Bose 5.1 surround sound audio system pumps music through 10 speakers. If the Escalade is in Park, the driver and front passenger can even watch DVDs thanks to the eight-inch touchscreen mounted in the center stack.
The 2011 Infiniti QX56 spans 208.3-inches and a 2011 Lincoln Navigator is 206.5-inches from grille to liftgate. The Cadillac Escalade Hybrid also utilizes a different cogswapper than its gas-only counterpart. This transmission, along with the hybrid powerplant, helps the Escalade sip gas at an EPA-estimated rate of 20 miles per gallon in the city and 23 mpg on the highway.
