Assessing a car from the features of its digital technology is not a wise move. But sometimes some cars emphasize the digital sophistication side. The majority of them are electric cars, but there are also several conventional cars. One of them is the 2021 Cadillac Escalade.
For about two decades, Escalade has indeed been the flagship model of the carmaker. Luxury has been a single keyword that has always been associated with Escalade from the start, and now the company is adding the word “sophisticated” to the SUV.
The exterior design of the 2021 Cadillac Escalade follows the latest Cadillac design language which means that the SUV has LED Daytime Running Lights which are placed vertically where it also functions as a turn signal.
At first glance, the new Escalade looks similar to the Cadillac XT6 which is a mid-size luxury SUV. But on a closer look, the Escalade’s headlamps look smaller in size. But the car radiator grille has a larger dimension than the XT6 and the whitewashed chrome accents add the luxury impression. Just like the previous generation, LED taillights are positioned vertically and extend from top to bottom.
There are two engine options offered for the customer of the 2021 Cadillac Escalade. The first option is a 6200 cc V8 petrol engine producing 420 hp and 623 Nm of torque. And for the first time, Escalade has a 3,000 cc 6-cylinder inline cylindrical diesel engines equipped with a turbo. The power of the engine is around 277 hp with 623 Nm of torque.
Moving on inside, a glance at the dashboard immediately presents an unusual view. There is a screen with a diagonal span of 38 inches that was so dominating. The screen is also not arbitrary, but the curved OLED panel to provide optimal visibility.
Since it is an OLED, the screen does not require a kind of canopy to be able to display content with high contrast levels even though the car is passing in the sunshine. Cadillac didn’t release the detail of the resolution, but they claimed the pixel density was twice as high as a 4K TV.
This massive screen is divided into three parts: the 7.2-inch touchscreen on the left end, the 14.2-inch instrument panel just behind the steering wheel, and the 16.9-inch infotainment screen in the middle of the dashboard. In the cabin in the middle, there is a pair of the touchscreen to entertain the passengers.
The audio system relies on 36 speakers and 3 AKG amplifiers. Interestingly, this is the first AKG debut in the automotive realm after more than 70 years of work in the audio industry, and what needs to be highlighted here is not limited to the number of speakers or amplifiers that are embedded alone.
There are three interesting features offered by the AKG audio system. The first one is Conversation Enhancement, which involves some microphones and 36 speakers to clarify communication between passengers in the front and behind. Furthermore, specifically for the front cabin, the driver and passenger can adjust their audio volume separately.
The navigation guidance on this car is made more intuitive thanks to verbal instructions coming out of the speakers on the left or right side, adjusting to the direction of the instructions. When it’s near the turn, the verbal instructions will also be heard getting closer to the driver.
Cadillac also embeds an augmented reality-based system, presented through its instrument panel. There is the night vision system that will be projected onto the same screen so that visibility in the darkness is maintained properly.
Finally, Cadillac did not forget to boast of its Super Cruise driver assistance system, which is claimed to be even superior to the Tesla Autopilot in several aspects. The sophisticated system already supports line switching where drivers simply turn on the turn signal, then the car will move by itself.
