Cadillac Escalade vs Mercedes-Benz GL 500

Back on the road, the combined grunt of two V8s mean we’re up to speed quickly, and back down again shortly after as we wait for the Acadia to catch up. “Which is faster?” my walkie talkie chirrups, and since AJ and I are both secretly 8 years old, we decide to find out with a quick sprint from 40kph to a perfectly legal 139kph. Mercedes territory. The Caddy may house almost 1.5-litres of displacement more than the GL under that enormous bonnet, but GM’s V8 also kicks out 15bhp and a sizeable 246lb ft of torque less: a previously confident AJ in the Escalade is now in trouble. The Cadillac holds its own impressively for the first gear change, but soon the Merc’s might pulls it cleanly ahead, the turbocharged ‘whoomp’ and accompanying pick-up a war cry over the V8’s more linear acceleration.

The highway portion of our journey nears its end as we hit two-thirds distance, only 50 clicks lying between the C&P team and our luncheon table at the Hatta Fort Hotel. From hereon in the roads take us through the mountains, dipping and climbing in unison with the changing terrain, long straights now breaking into high and low speed corners: utopia for sports cars, but one that could ultimately be the undoing for either one of our Luxury SUVs. I’m keen to see how the Escalade handles itself, and dutifully swap keys. The results, as it turns out are mixed.

Supple suspension means that even with those enormous 22-inch wheels, the ride is pillowy soft in the Escalade, give or take the odd quiver across the rougher tarmac. And even though it couldn’t quite match the GL in outright pace, the V8 bolted down under that enormous bonnet is still pretty sprightly on the straights: downshift with the thumb switch on the column-mounted gearshifter (not the most user friendly setup), wait a beat as the V8 takes a big breath, and there’s some urgent pull as 414bhp hits the road through all four wheels. As the road begins to weave more emphatically about the mountain range though, a few issues do arise.

For this stretch I switch the suspension from cushiony to Sport, and even though the suspension stiffens accordingly, there’s little tangible difference: through the turns, there’s quite a lot of bodyroll as 2739kg swings from side-to-side. Surprisingly, despite the rather awkward setup for manual changes, the six-speed automatic lends itself well to the changeable road surface, solid changes and little electronic nannying allowing me to get the Escalade at least partially settled heading into the longer, higher speed turns. There’s a limit to how far I can push the big Caddy though, despite the grip from the front tyres. The high centre of gravity, coupled with the body roll, doesn’t give me a huge amount of confidence to push overly hard, and as a result, AJ in the pursuing Merc is having no trouble staying on my tail (we’ve left the Acadia far behind). The steering doesn’t particularly help in this regard either. At low speeds it’s light, making the big Caddy easily manoeuvrable in tight confines. But on this stretch it feels a little numb, with little feel for the road surface through the still soft suspension and very little connection with the front wheels. Slightly smaller wheels could dial in a little more responsiveness, but it’s clear the Escalade does not feel at home here.

It’s a marked difference to the Mercedes. Sitting lower to the ground than the Caddy (boasting a lower centre of gravity as a result) and fitted with stiffer suspension and smaller wheels, the GL is immediately more composed than the Escalade. Even into the sharper turns, there’s remarkably little bodyroll for such a large vehicle, the grip from the front tyres limiting the amount of understeer too. As such confidence to push the GL much deeper into the corners is far greater than a vehicle of this size has any right to, despite the hefty 2445kg kerb weight. Perhaps more impressive though is the agility through the turns as power from that V8 is fed in: feather the throttle (yes, you actually can do that in the GL), keep the nose as tight as you can, and the nimbleness of the GL is quite extraordinary. Stand on the loud pedal a little harder and there’s a definitive kick from the turbocharger as it sends 429bhp to all four wheels. There’s no denying that the GL’s ride is stiffer than the Escalade’s, and as such arguably not as comfortable, but it’s a compromise that ultimately produces a sportier drive.

Once again, steering is not particularly direct. These are SUVs and not superlight Caterhams after all, so some slack is a given. Even still, the power-assisted steering feels overly-servo-ed to really provide a crisp connection to the front wheels, heft lock-to-lock intercut with a little wooliness. It’s not enough to dump us into the rock face however, solid gear changes through the seven-speed automatic maintaining an extraordinary amount of balance through the turns. I can’t imagine many GL owners would give the big Merc a thrash like this though, and do wonder if paddle shifters are  necessary…

The mountain route dutifully comes to an end just a few kilometres from the Hatta Fort, and though the thrash hasn’t been the experience I’d hoped for in the Escalade, it’s a run that nevertheless has proven the quality of the Mercedes: perhaps not quite at the same level as the Cadillac as a premium highway cruiser, there’s no doubt the GL 500 has outperformed its hefty SUV DNA impressively. It seems unlikely though that limited dynamism will hinder the Escalade’s sales figures, the quite superb build quality and comfort – plus that aggressive design – still the benchmark for the segment. Its rivals may prove sportier and nimbler but I’m not sure the Cadillac has been usurped just yet.

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