Last-Gen Cadillac Escalade Design Still Resonates With Buyers

The Cadillac Escalade design is instantly recognizable the world over, carrying with it all the associations expected of the luxury brand’s flagship SUV. Interestingly, even with the reveal of the all-new 2021 Escalade earlier this year, the styling of the last-generation model still resonates with buyers.

In an interview at the 2021 Escalade reveal event in February, Cadillac Escalade Global Product Manager, Dave Schiavonne, told Cadillac Society executive editor, Alex Luft, that the previous-generation Cadillac Escalade had the second best-liked exterior design among customers in recent clinics (studies). The all-new 2021 Cadillac Escalade design snagged the top spot.

“Five years into its lifecycle, the last gen is number two!” Schiavonne said.

The clinics, meant to gauge customer reactions prior to a vehicle’s release, compared the design of the 2021 Escalade to the SUV’s closest competitors, including the Lincoln Navigator, the Infiniti QX80, and the Lexus LX, as well as to the last-gen Escalade. To avoid any possible bias related to a brand perception or reputation, the clinics usually do not have any branding associated with any of the products shown to participants.

The results just go to show that the previous-generation Cadillac Escalade design still resonates even now, in 2020, half a decade after its release. As well it should – with a big, bold grille, tall, upright stance, large wheels, boxy proportions, upright headlamps and tail lamps, and loads of polished chrome and trim.

What’s more, the clinics show that the all-new 2021 Escalade is very much a worthy successor to the previous model in terms of styling. The all-new, 2021 model replaces the last-gen model’s vertically-oriented head lamps with horizontal units, while reimagining the signature vertical lights by separating them from the primary headlight cluster. Of course, the new model still rocks the usual Cadillac Escalade design cues, including a big grille up front and upright tail lamps in the rear, but the look of the all-new model is definitely more modern by comparison.

We’ll have a lot more about the Escalade, both new and old, in the coming days, so be sure to subscribe to Cadillac Society for more Cadillac Escalade news and around-the-clock Cadillac news coverage.