2010 Cadillac Escalade - Review

The interior of the 2010 Cadillac Escalade is roomy, comfortable, and luxurious despite its truck roots

Enlarge PhotoLarger passengers will welcome the Escalade’s abundant elbow and shoulder room. The wide cabin means the seats are among the roomiest and most supportive of any vehicle. In both models, the second row is barely a downgrade from the front, and in the ESV, the third row is spacious enough, though getting back there can be difficult. The high, pickup-like driving position is likely something its buyers will enjoy, as is the 2010 Cadillac Escalade’s attractive, luxury sedan-like instrument panel.

Safety is a priority for the Escalade, with head-curtain side airbags covering all three rows and front side airbags standard. Rollover mitigation from the StabiliTrak stability control system helps keep the shiny side up, but despite the digital wizardry, the Escalade still gets a low three-star rating for rollover likelihood in government testing, thanks mostly to its high center of gravity, but five-star frontal and side crash protection ratings bring the 2010 Escalade back up to snuff.

A power-tilting steering wheel, automatic-up power windows for the front row, a new light Cashmere/Cocoa interior color combination, and rear-seat audio jacks were new for 2009 and carry over to the 2010 model. Optional upgrades include an eight-inch touch-screen navigation system, a Bose 5.1 Digital Surround Sound system, cooled front seats, and power-actuated running boards. Getting that boat out to the lake is a breeze with a maximum tow rating of 7,800 pounds when properly equipped.

Overall, the 2010 Cadillac Escalade does best what it has all along: delivering solid, luxurious and spacious accommodations with an advanced feature set and enough on-road capability to make it an all-around vehicle - provided you can live with its thirst for dino-juice.2010 Cadillac Escalade