September finds me back in the USA for another road trip and this time I’ve gone for the full beans option with a Cadillac Escalade 600 as my conveyance. When in Rome…..
Flying into Charlotte, I was greeted by a driver as I walked out of the terminal building and handed the keys to the Caddy there and then. A word of warning though, for anyone coming in through the Charlotte International airport – there’s no foreign exchange booth in the arrival area. In fact, there’s no forex booth in the area at all, so make sure to get those US dollars beforehand.
Straight into it, I had to stop 200 yards down the road so that I could tune the radio, connect my phone and switch off the bloody lane assist nonsense. And, once the lane assist is off, it stays off, rather than needing to reset it every time you start the car. Lovely.
The plan is to drive to Atlanta and then on to Watkins Glen in Upstate New York before returning to Charlotte and heading home. That’ll be well over 2000km with some detours, so plenty of time to absorb the motoring scene and get to know to Cadillac.
To date, I’ve spent several days in and around Mooresville, north of Charlotte, and have had the opportunity to put a few kays on the Escalade. This area is close to the centre of NASCAR activities in the US, with almost every team being based in the vicinity.
There’s no doubt at all that this Cadillac an exceptionally comfortable and well appointed SUV. It’s extremely easy to drive although even in it’s home environment it feels large. The basis of the Escalade is the same body-on-frame architecture that underpins so many of the GM products, from the Silverado to the Suburban and all the derivatives. That includes the GMC Yukon which will be on sale in Australia soon. The Cadillac is really just a Yukon with more lipstick. It’s powered by the same LS V8 engine that oozes torque and is, for me, the essence of American motoring.
The version I am driving retails for the equivalent of $150k Australian dollars in the US, so it’s not a cheap car. On the other hand, a similar spec Range Rover will cost you way more. It does represent value for money in the upper echelons of the SUV paddock.
The Escalade, like many other large SUVs, isn’t actually as big on the inside as you’d expect, frankly. It’s extremely accomodating for four people, for sure, and their luggage, but once the rear, third row, of seats is deployed, there’s no real room for anything but shopping. That’s when you need the long wheelbase version, but that would create a real parking monster back home.
Early doors, the quality of the car appears first class. The panel gaps might not be quite Lexus standard but they match up and suit the lines of the car. I reckon that’ll be true of the Yukon as well, given that I’ve been out and about in, and impressed by, the Chevrolet Tahoe as well this week which is the sister of the GMC version.
Now, contrary to popular opinion, not all roads in the USA are actually really wide enough for all the large SUVs and trucks (Utes). Rolling around the thoroughfares of North Carolina, it’s clear that many of these smaller lanes date back to the days of horses and carriages, even if they’ve gained a layer of tarmac since. Considerable care needs to be exercised when meeting your identical twin coming the other way. And that’s when I’d prefer to have a good, old fashioned, saloon car like the Cadillac CT5 underneath me.
Get back on the highway over here though, and the width of the Escalade soon disappears.
It is surprising though, just how many saloon (sedan) cars there are on the road in the US, even when crossovers, utes and SUVs are so popular. The Honda Accord and the inevitable Toyota Camry proliferate.
One feature that stands out straight away with this Cadillac is the superb dashboard and screen interface. It’s probably the best that I’ve used to date. There’s a pleasing combination of touchscreen and buttons which seems just about right. The heating/air conditioning controls are all buttons that are easy to read and to operate, whilst the car’s own satellite navigation system is exemplary, and better than using Apple Car Play. Oh that all cars were this good and intuitive. I’ve also got used to the rear view mirror actually being a camera. In the Camaro I had a few years ago I hated it, but this one is way better.
I’m looking forward to now to getting on the road and chewing up some miles. America really is a difficult place to understand and only by travelling through the country and talking to everyday folk is it possible to even have a little bit of a real insight into it.
A country that had yet another school shooting this wqek, and yet almost no-one in the countryside around Charlotte would dream of locking their houses when they’re out, let alone having a fence around the garden, is clearly one of huge contradictions. Most people are so friendly and happy to chat, with none of the tall-poppy syndrome that infects too many Australians, that it’s weird to hear of the violence that’s clearly also only too prevalent.
Anyway, here’s to some gas guzzling and great motor racing in the next couple of weeks.
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