Cadillac's Escalade on Lookout Mountain

I fell in love with a Cadillac Escalade on Lookout Mountain off Mulholland Drive  last week.  OK it was a 2006 model, which was barely updated from 2005,  and which gets a massive overhaul for 2007, but perhaps this was the big attraction to my roving eye.

So the 2006's transmission was a gear or two short, and the chassis is due a bit of work, but, hey, the Escalade's always been a looker, its fine lines bedecked in Bulgari-infused bling.  And once you get under the hood to find that this is the most powerful seven-seater passenger vehicle on the market -  you're hopelessly head-over-heels.

Lookout Mountain, all winding, cracked roads with a once-secret film studio at the top,  is probably as far off-road as these particularly luxurious behemoths will explore, though this made the experience no less thrilling.

Escalade with LA in the distance

And even though the tundra here is too prone to landslides to fully off-road, especially in a 5,570lb vehicle, the Cadillac was clearly made for roads that are slightly tricky, rather than under a foot of water and mud, or whatever.  Perhaps this is why I saw at least six Escalades in my whizz around the Hollywood Hills, including one longer-wheelbase ESV, and at least two  coveted Platinum Edition EXTs.

Its massive low-down torque ensured that the vehicle could be maneuvered nimbly with impressive traction delivered through all four wheels.  Pin-sharp steering allowed unyielding confidence as I negotiated the narrow hilltop passes with no barriers to the steep drop below just inches to my left, where the earth had given way previously.

The view across LA  was worth it though, obviously from a peak so named, but then it was back down the hill to test the Escalade's all-wheel disc brakes, which were superb.  It takes a good deal of force to stop the world's most powerful seven-seater at full tilt -  and indeed full of people -  but Cadillac engineers have evidently succeeded.

On to the 101 Freeway to test the Escalade's ability on the flat (well, the nearly flat).  Which is where the new-model upgrades come in to play.

The 2007 will boast a six-speed Hydra-Matic automatic transmission with driver-shift control (by clicking up and down), a more robust chassis and frame, and, if this is possible, improved brakes courtesy of Bosch.  The Escalade will also have the first V8 overhead valve engine with variable-valve timing (VVT), which improves low-rev torque and high-rev horsepower.  Be sure, the Escalade's 6.0-liter, 345h.p. unit, soon to be upgraded to a 6.2-liter 403h.p., is not short of power.

From standing, with the foot down, in a straight line, the test-model Escalade bucks like the Audi TT Quattro I tested a few years back on the west coast of Scotland, with of course fewer lags for changing gears, the massive torque, and therefore acceleration,  almost making up for the transmission's calibration.

But again this will be fixed in the 2007 model, which we will test in a couple of months or so, before its release date next spring.

Inches from a verticle drop

Inside was everything and more expected of this most luxurious marque, with the test-car's $4,490 Select Edition package ensuring extra bling-factor.  As did the Bose stereo, central sat-nav console, and superbly supportive all-leather seats.

But wait, because in 2007 it's gonna get a whole lot better. All the plastic switchgear - the dials and knobs for the windows, mirrors, etc - will be refined to match customers' expectations,  alongside lots more wood, leather and brushed aluminum. 

Not that the interior isn't in any way outstanding at the moment, with 14-way power-adjustable seats, heated and with nuance leather  - i.e.,  perforated, to provide air-pocket relief -  chrome doorhandles and premium Bose sound system.  Back-seat DVD players with headphones will keep kids, and indeed adults, quiet in the back, which seats seven comfortably with split-folding seats.

All leather - all luxury

Safety features include driver and front-passenger airbags, frontal and side-impact airbags; this car will also monitor your tire pressure, should those 20-inch chrome/aluminum rims as a $2,200 option distract you every time you examine the wheels. 

Outside is everything required of what could be the most desirable vehicle in its luxury class, alongside German imports the  Porsche Cayenne and VW Touareg.

But everyone knows that German is not the language of love  (and I still think Porsche makes sports cars best).

Test-car came with express-open sunroof and sat-nav add-ons for an on-the-road price of $64,265.  Of course, if you take this article with you to your friendly local dealership, you could maybe get them  knock a few thousand off that, in lieu of the newer model's spring release date. 

Scaling impressive heights in the Cadillac

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