For sure, but people don't want to plunk down $125,000 for an Escalade that does 0-60 in 8.9 seconds, versus a small block V8 that will do it 3 seconds faster. I'm sure the diesel is nice to drive, no doubt, but it's slower than hell. My old 2003 5.3 liter Yukon is slightly quicker than that. Diesel only had a 5% take rate, that sounds just about right. Overwhelmingly people want the rumbling V8

Nobody cares about gas mileage with expensive vehicles like this (car, truck, whatever), never have never will no matter what the tv tries to tell us.

I mostly agree with you but not totally... Escalade has always been fast, since gen 2 when it had 345hp. For comparison the 2003 LX470 had 115hp LESS.

Now it's not the quickest anymore but I don't think too many people are dissatisfied with the V8. It was always part of the appeal.

More people care about engines than a lot of people think...

I also think the Lyriq looks good but they have lots of buggy software issues, or they did not so long ago.

 

Escalade IQ will not be a big seller...the diesel Escalade didn't sell because people in the US don't like diesels. Its not a performance issue.

I also am impressed by the range, 450 miles. I would consider it but its too long to fit in my garage.

 

You don't know that... Not everyone is just a mindless vessel that eats up whatever is thrown at them.

Would you really be fine with 9 seconds 0-60 in a $125,000 brand new Escalade?

Why is there a Denali in our driveway rather than a regular 5.3 liter Yukon if nobody cares about performance?

 

right, but it wasn’t so much about the mileage as you correctly note as much as it was about everyday drivability and how it well they worked. The most recent GM diesel had 305 hp but more importantly nearly 500 lb/ft of torque, and more importantly still almost all of that available at just 1250 rpm. So absolutely effortless to drive, quiet, and a little quicker than I think you remember. The Silverado 1500 with the duramax took 6.8 per car and driver. If you ever have an opportunity to drive the current gen I think you’d Iike it.

 

I'm sure I would like it, just not over the V8 and not taking off fast from lights. And yes they did increase the torque so I'm glad it's quicker now.

 

I know because I have watched the sales performance of diesels in the US over my lifetime as a car enthusiast. If the diesel Escalade did 0-60 in 6 seconds people in the US still would not buy it. We just don't like passenger vehicles that are diesels in this country.

It would depend how it felt around town but probably not. My point wasn't to say the diesel Escalade was fine it was just that even if it were faster people still wouldn't buy it.

Because you care. For other people they get the 6.2 because thats what comes in the upper trims they want. You obviously do have some big truck enthusiasts that buy those who do want the 6.2 for the engine itself, but almost all the Yukons and Tahoes and Suburbans I see around here are driven by moms in their 30s and 40s, like my wife..those people don't care what kind of engine the vehicle has. We've talked about this before, my wife has no idea what kind of engine any of our cars has, nor does she care to know. Its a means to an end for her. Most people are like her, not like us.

This is the EV forum though...

 

I just don't get how you say all this when you made it CLEAR you had to have a V8 in your S-Class. You're not the only American who like the better engine.

The I6 S500 is morrrre than fast enough....

But alas, this is EV chat so I'll say no more.

 

I bought the better engine because of the feel it gives the car, not the power. I'm an enthusiast like you though, more people who buy $130,000 luxury sedans are enthusiasts. My wife would never spend that kind of money on a car. To her my S Class is the same as any other sedan.

 

This extends to $130,000 SUVs, too. I could tell you all I see driving S-Classes are 30-40 year old women, it's sorta true actually now that you mentioned that demographic.

The big fast SUVs I see people of all walks of life driving. Young, old, male, female....etc. But Knoxville is a very SUV heavy area.

I haven't seen any of these IQs at the dealer yet but the GMC Sierra EV is out. It's not my thing but I think it looks decent. Still like a legit truck but different than a gas Denali Sierra.

 

Absolutely it does. People who don't care about cars don't spend $130,000 on them, by and large. You do have people who just drive them because of the status. Escalade certainly has those buyers.

"You could tell" me things that aren't true. I'm telling you my real observations. I hardly ever see a woman driving a big S Class, I see a few but most are men. Almost all the big SUVs I see though are driven by women. It tends to be a family vehicle and women typically daily drive the family vehicle so that makes sense. Pickup trunks almost always driven by men.

If my wife were going to buy a car that was just for her, with no other consideration other than what she wanted and was comfortable spending, she would buy another Prius. Or something like a Tesla Model 3 because she wants an EV.

 

Valid, but that goes for luxury cars too.

I'm telling you my real observations as well, lol. I have no right to tell you you're wrong, you live there and I don't.

S class drivers are driven by noticeably more women now that I think about it in Knoxville, older ones. Different strokes for different folks in different places.

Big SUVs the drivers are incredibly diverse, but again.... it's a very heavy SUV area. People are gonna plunk down big bucks, it's gonna be for one of those.

 

So more S Classes are driven by women than men where you live? I find that surprising.

 

The number of car owners/drivers is obviously huge. Reportedly it's reasonably close to 1 car per US resident at around 300 million vehicles.

The number of people who like and appreciate cars is going to be a decent amount but clearly much smaller number.

The number of people who would reasonably qualify as enthusiasts probably isn't that big.

The number of people who spend the time we do discussing cars etc is very small.

We're not at all representative of the general population.

 

I mean, pretty much now that I really think about it since we got talking about it. Yes. The "average" S-Class driver I see is a woman at least 50. I'll definitely have a real eagle eye once we get home so I'll see what I see (if I ever make it out of hereeeeeee ugh staying another day) and report. How many S-classes do you see a day?

The only S-Class owners I know personally or know of who have one are women, one is someone my Mother's age.

I'm not saying there aren't Knoxville men who drive them or anything...

This is true. I'm not saying we are, I'm just saying what the demographics are around where I live. It even surprises me a little that I see more woman S-Class drivers than men now that we got to talking about it.

But alas I hate to drag this EV thread further OT.

 

Nobody buys an Escalade because it's fast. They buy it because it's smooth, quiet, and spacious. Nobody winds them out on canyon roads... unless they are running from the cops, or are absolutely bananas.

I don't know if an EV Escalade will sell or not, but in my experience, once people get behind the wheel of an EV, the experience of driving one blows them away. My coworker is an example, owns two 911's, after test driving my Y, 6 months later he now owns his first EV and absolutely loves it. If people just take them out for a drive, in most cases they sell themselves