2002 Cadillac Escalade - Cars Worth Noting - evaluation - Brief Article - Column

Automotive Industries, Jan, 2002 by John Peter

Me and Sonny in the Escalade/TV where yo'head lay/Uptown, Harlem World, seein/With some bran-bran, got a jaw hit/Hun'ned G's for the suit/the hood like "oh man"/Bendin corna's, twenty-two's, no dubbin.

The first thing my kids did was find the local rap station and crank up the bass. To them, the Escalade is a rapper's ride. In their world of expensive champagne and expensive jewelry, no successful rapper would feel complete without a fully-optioned-out Escalade in their garage. While to some the Escalade is just a dressed-up Chevy Tahoe, there are still those that elevate it to status-symbol heights, right up there with Jaguar, Range Rover and Rolls-Royce.

The Escalade does have its benefits. The interior is all Cadillac style -- gorgeous leather and shiny wood trim from the front all the way back to the third row of seats. The Bose premium audio system can crank with the best.

The ride is smooth and comfortably shielded from the road thanks to GM's Road Sensing Suspension System (RSS). This fully automatic system controls shock dampening and improves body stability, ride comfort and handling under all loading conditions.

Though you probably won't need it while cruisin' the 'hood, the 345 hp Vortec 6000 V-8 is impressive, moving the big Escalade from zero to 60 in 8.57 seconds.

Though Cadillac comes with lots of fly standard equipment, you'll have to add your own TVs, platinum hardware and 22-inch wheels, like Sonny and Ali have above; but with a $100,000 budget, you could add a lot of stuff.