Cadillac Escalade – Christian Wardlaw’s Opinion of the Design:
Kill the side vents, and you’d have a handsome machine in the 2007 Cadillac Escalade. Maybe a little over the top with the chrome, sure, and those cartoonish twenty-twos don’t benefit from a slammed suspension resulting in a look akin to a Hot Wheels car, but the ‘Slade is handsome nonetheless. The imposing grille, inspired by the Cadillac Sixteen concept car, is a hint of things to come from Cadillac, debuting next on the replacement for the CTS. The front lights and other details also fit nicely with the division’s now signature Art & Science design vocabulary, but aft of the A-pillars there’s precious little except for chrome trim to separate the Escalade from a Tahoe or Yukon. Maybe that’s why the logo on the rear door is the size of a Times Square billboard – THIS IS A CADILLAC!

Inside, the Escalade shares its low cowl dashboard mounting with the Tahoe and Yukon, but the detailing is different, from the materials to some of the switchgear. I particularly like the retro-style analog clock, the blue-and-white nighttime lighting, and that most of the buttons are marked with clear lettering, but given the amount of real estate on the dashboard, I cannot figure out why the controls are all crammed together, why the buttons are so small, why so many of them are exactly the same size, and why the climate system is located so low that operating it becomes a distraction while driving. While you’re peering around down there, check out the rear defroster button, which must be an eighth of an inch square inside a vehicle that measures 79 inches wide. Finally, what is up with auto-down front windows that don’t also auto themselves right up with the touch of a button? At this price, all four doors should feature automatic down/up – like an $18,000 VW Jetta.

One last thing: I know I’m gonna avoid parking next to any new Cadillac Escalades. When the driver’s door is opened, a chrome spear of trim extends beyond the door’s edge, which is gonna put a nice little ding in my car after some nitwit squeezes this rig into a “Compact” space and then tries to wriggle his 250-pound butt out from behind the driver’s seat. Consider yourself warned.

Cadillac Escalade – James Fabin’s Opinion of the Design:
Design and visual appearance is the one place where the Escalade is difficult to beat. From its very upscale front featuring a large eye-catching grille and triple-stacked lights to its clean rear, the Escalade looks good. The interior design is not as successful. The layout and location of buttons and switches is not user friendly, with some being difficult to decipher based on their cryptic markings. Many luxury vehicles feature an elegant analog clock in the dash which Cadillac attempted to copy with its own clock that looks anything but elegant. Overall, these are minor quirks that most Cadillac buyers will learn to accept.

Cadillac Escalade – Ron Perry’s Opinion of the Design:
There is a reason the Cadillac Escalade is so popular, it is a work of SUV art. The Escalade isn’t really that different in design from other SUVs, but there’s something unique enough about it to capture the attention of young and old, hip and square. Cadillac has really listened to the buyers of the Escalade and built it accordingly. What other company puts 22-inch rims on an SUV from the factory?

Design is really open to opinion and taste, but there are design issues that could help the Escalade project an image of higher quality. One issue that caught my eye is how the wheel well liners attempt to sit flush to the edge of the wheel openings. The thin plastic doesn’t stay flat and the warping results in a sloppy, rough edge that looks cheap. It would also be nice if pushing the buttons that tilt the seats forward would also lower them.

Under the hood I expected to see an engine bay reminiscent of the nice plastic covers found in a Mercedes, but what you get is a typical exposed engine with a flimsy, cheap half cover that might as well not be there. Maybe it’s a guy thing, but looks under the hood matter too. I would also like to see the giant Cadillac emblem and surrounding chrome reduced in size. It brings visions of rappers with giant gold chains and oversized medallions hanging from their necks to mind. A one-piece DVD system with the ability to load DVDs from the back seat and operate push buttons without the use of a remote would also be ideal. One other small design issue I didn’t get is the layout of the gauges. Why do you need the water temperature and fuel gauge dead center? I would rather have the speedometer and tachometer more prominent and the other gauges smaller and off to the side.