2009 Cadillac Escalade Hybrid to start at $71,685

By Rob on August 15th, 2008

Sadly, that is not a typo. Some bigshot exec at GM gave this $71k Caddy the green light - and I can’t for the life of me figure out why. In case you’re doing the math, that $71,685 is darn near $15k more than a base model Escalade. Sure, 20 MPG in the city is far better than the gas only 12….. but fifteen grand buys a whole hell of a lot of gas.

Plus, since when does a glorified Chevy Tahoe command over 70 large? That’s Lexus money, Mercedes-Benz money. It’s not Cadillac money ( XLR-V notwithstanding ). It’s certainly not Tahoe money. Sure, GM will probably move a few to image conscious celebrities who want to “look” green. Though 20 MPG isn’t exactly green in today’s world. But no doubt some overpaid celebs will trade in their Prius’s ( Prii? ) for Hybrid Escalades. Beyond that, I don’t see a market for this thing.

Did you enjoy this article? If so, please subscribe to our RSS Feed.

Categories: Cadillac, Hybrids

Share and Enjoy:

2 Responses to “ 2009 Cadillac Escalade Hybrid to start at $71,685”

Laine on Aug 21st, 2008 at 11:43 pm

I agree, the “regular” Escalade is the better buy, unless the new hybrid raises performance by the same percentage it raises fuel economy. However, calling $70k “Lexus” or “Mercedes” money while mocking Cadillac is out of date. Have you driven many Caddy’s lately? My perception is that GM’s superstar brand is head-and-shoulders above the cookie-cutter Toyota-plus brand. Now, Merceds…. well, I’ll give you that one. But Lexus isn’t on par with Cadillac and it definitely isn’t on par with M-B.
Leroy Brown on Aug 23rd, 2008 at 7:57 am

The last Cadillac truck I had the displeasure of driving was an 05ish Escalade. What I found was a Chevy Tahoe with very comfortable seats. Oh, and faux wood glued to seemingly random parts of the dash. The same cheap hard plastics were everywhere, and the dash looked like it came straight out of an 80’s pickup truck. The handling was beyond awful ( even for a large SUV ), and the third row seat didn’t even fold down flat! (For the record, I purchased a Navigator at the time.)

The Escalade of today is nicer, to be sure. But it’s not $70k nice. Few SUV’s are, and none of them are based on the Chevy Tahoe.

Houston Cars

Car Reviews, News, and Spy Shots