2025 Cadillac Escalade costs more money for a lot more tech

Cadillac debuted the 2025 Escalade last month, but says the cultural icon isn’t expected to reach dealer lots until the beginning of next year. That gives shoppers plenty of time to move money around, now that we have pricing. Every trim is more expensive than before, thanks to a heavy refresh for the midway point in the current third-generation SUV. We’ll start with the sums, after destination, and their differences from 2024:  

Luxury: $89,590 ($5,700)
Premium Luxury: $98,790 ($$3,600)
Sport: $99,390 ($1,200)
Premium Luxury Platinum: $118,390 ($5,700) 
Sport Platinum: $118,890 ($6,200)
V-Series: $161,990 ($7,700)

These are prices for the two-wheel-drive variants for every trim but the V-Series, which only comes with AWD. Adding 4WD to the others is a $3,000 option. Cadillac didn’t mention the premium for getting the stretched ESV version, but that’s also another $3,000 on the 2024 model. The 2025 model year makes the Sport Platinum trim $500 more spendy than the Premium Luxury Platinum. Previously, those two trims were priced identically. 

Since the turbodiesel inline-six drops off the options list after 2024, every trim save the V-Series will be exclusively powered by the naturally aspirated 6.2-liter V8 making 420 horsepower and 460 pound-feet of torque. The V-Series turns that big-bore gun into a forced-induction weapon, making 682 hp and 653 lb-ft from a supercharged 6.2-liter. 

So what do those additional ducats pay for? The new iQ-inspired interior. Standard on all Escalades is a new 55-inch “pilar-to-pillar” screen incorporating the instrument cluster and infotainment systems (35 and 20 inches, respectively) for both the driver and front passenger. Beneath these sits the “Command Center” screen, which houses controls for in-demand functions, such as your heating and cooling, seat controls, vehicle safety functions and camera views. The massive touchscreen also comes with a redundant multi-function control knob (shown above right) for those who’d rather not lean forward to interact with the big display. 

The automatic gear selector quits the center console to make room for the Command Center and multifunction control interface. The shifter is now a column-mounted stalk behind a new steering wheel. Other features inherited from the iQ include a new auto-opening driver door option along with power-operated (but not automatic) passenger doors, a 126-color ambient LED lighting system and the available 40-speaker version of Cadillac’s premium AKG audio system. 

Updated styling tweaks include the an iQ-inspired signature lighting animation, 24-inch wheels and three new exterior colors in Aegean Stone (green-grey), Deep Sea Metallic (metallic blue) and Latte Metallic (light bronze). Inside, Renaissance Red and Sheer Grey join the palette, there’s an Executive Second Row Package that puts a command display on a center console for the back seaters, with tray tables because you can’t eat without watching something, even in a car. And the V-Series can now be optioned with a carbon fiber trim package.