Page 51 - Motor Trend (May 2020)

Big Screen, Big Tech
Improved communication will come in
handy, given the more spacious interior.
The second row has a choice of a bench
seat or captain’s chairs, which move and
fold easily at the tap of a lever for better
access to the third row. That third row
now has 34.9 inches of legroom—it grew
a full 10.4 inches—and occupants no
longer sit with their knees in their chest.
And behind the third row, the cargo
space has increased by 68 percent.
Much of this basking is courtesy of the
switch to a four-link independent rear
suspension, which gives the Escalade a
lower, flatter floor, as well as a smoother
ride and better steering and handling.
There are several suspension choices.
The base suspension uses coil springs
with passive dampers. The first step up is
to coil springs with the fourth generation
of Magnetic Ride Control, with new
sensors that collect more precise data to
adjust for every inch of the road. The top
level is an air-spring adaptive suspension
with magnetic dampers. The ride height
can be raised or lowered by up to 2
inches, and it will dip three-quarters of
an inch for better aerodynamics.
The limited-slip differential provides
better traction control, sending torque
to the wheel with the most traction, and
all-wheel drive is available on all models.
For trailering, nine camera views help
you hitch and trailer like a pro, and
there’s a trailering light test, trailer theft
alert, and an air pressure monitor.
Finally, Cadillac’s big dog is back, and
now it’s hungry. Q
New wave: 38 inches of curved OLED screen displays graphics sharper
than your TV at home with blacker blacks and more vibrant colors.
It’s Really Three Screens
The Escalade’s 38 inches of display
space gives you a lot to work with.
Starting from the far left, there’s a
7.2-inch driver control touchscreen.
Centered behind the steering wheel is a
14.2-inch cluster display screen. Then to
the right of that is a 16.9-inch infotain- a live camera image of the actual intersec-
ment touchscreen (also manipulated by tion, exit ramp, etc., with arrows overlaid to
a rotary controller). indicate where to turn. Mercedes has offered
this in its higher-zoot models for a few years.
High and Wide The broad horizontal Night vision This projects a thermally
format and high placement of the three enhanced view of what’s in front of the
screens on the dash keeps the driver’s vehicle, complete with colored boxes around
attention up closer to the windshield,
pedestrians, animals, or other dangers.
and the bright, high-contrast OLED
technology means no sunshades are Blackest Black OLED pixels generate
needed. The thin-film technology allows their own light, whereas most other current
a leather-wrapped binnacle with a TV/display screens employ a liquid crystal
backlit Cadillac crest on the back that’s to generate color while an LED positioned
visible through the windshield. behind it generates the light. LCDs can block
light pretty effectively, but the light source
Four Cluster Display Modes behind them tends to bleed through a bit,
The bottom left edge of the screen resulting in grayer blacks.
is permanently devoted to a linear
tachometer display and the odometer; Thin to Win Because the single layer of
the bottom right edge shows a similar OLED material mounts to a flexible plastic
linear fuel gauge and readouts for range substrate, the displays can easily conform
remaining and gear selected. The main to virtually any shape that glass can be
area above displays: curved into. Likewise, there’s no technolog-
Gauge view The normal program- ical restriction to a rectangular or square
mable gauge cluster view typically form factor—note the tapering corners at the
centers an analog-look speedometer, outboard edges. Frank Markus
flanked on either side by displays of info
like time, date, and temperature.
Navigation map mode This offers
multiple map views to choose from.
Augmented reality When naviga-
tion is active and a route instruction is
coming up, the screen switches to depict