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Cadillac Escalade EXT hybrid truck/wagon beats all for power
Bob Plunkett
Date Posted: 5/10/2005
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CARMEL-BY-THE-SEA, Calif. -- It has the sturdy bed of a big truck stretching through various configurations to eight feet or longer so it can carry large-scale playthings like a pair of superbikes, perhaps an aqua scooter or even the hulking mass of a hefty snowmobile.
It also has the cabin of an extra-large sport-utility wagon with four passenger doors and two rows of seats with space for five.
That cab contains every conceivable appointment for luxury and comfort in a cushy space that's lined with soft leathers and rich Zebrano wood and rigged with a Driver Information Center, automatic climate system and a Bose music system with seven speakers and dashboard CD changer for six discs.
This unique vehicle also carries the latest in sophisticated electronic control governing braking, steering, skid prevention and four-wheeling traction.
And beneath the bold styling of a boxy front hood there's serious muscle from an enormous 6.0-liter high-output V8 engine that generates up to 345 hp at 5200 rpm plus massive torque of 380 lb-ft at 4000 rpm -- the best of any sport-utility or half-ton truck.
All powerful, totally luxurious, convertible from comfortable sport-utility to practical pickup, the biggest with the most-est: These are the parameters for this SULT, or Sport-Utility Luxury Truck.
It bears the round wreath crest of Cadillac and goes by the handle of Escalade EXT.
Think of it as the elite Escalade sport-ute but with the boxy rear bay discarded in favor of the shortened bed of a pickup truck.
But wait -- there's more: Escalade EXT has yet another unique feature because the back wall of the cabin also functions as a back door leading out to the truck bed.
The rear panel folds forward and flat into the cabin after the back seat tumbles forward. With door down, the truck box expands from 63 to 97 inches, which forges a bed that will hold 4x8 sheets of building material like plywood, drywall and particle board.
This back gate -- dubbed a Midgate -- consists of three parts that include a window at the top, mid-level brace and composite lower panel.
You may drop the panel, leaving glass and brace in place and creating a horizontal portal 49 inches wide to accommodate long and thin loads like tubular poles, lumber or those 4x8 sheets of plywood.
A three-piece rigid cargo cover tops the truck box and seals bed and contents from weather.
You may also detach the window and stow it in a special slot on the panel, then fold the panel with attached brace to completely open the rear space. That enables the EXT to haul bulky items, such as a stack of sacks filled with building material, a portable generator, or those adult playthings like the snowmobile.
Then too you could leave the Midgate locked in place but the rear seatback folded down to make a water-tight compartment stuffed with fragile goods while the truck bed in back carries other wares not sensitive to the weather.
And since the seatback of the rear bench divides 60/40 in sections, you might even carry a person as well as cargo in the rear quarters.
All of these configurations come about because of the Midgate, and Cadillac's Escalade EXT along with Chevrolet's Avalanche package the concept exclusively under the banner of a Convert-a-Cab System.
While Avalanche focuses on practicality and work tasks, the Cadillac version varies with lavish appointments for luxury, plus the application of sophisticated vehicle controls and best-in-class power.
EXT looks quite different too.
First, it's dressed in a monochromatic shade, such as ebony, sand or, as a special option, glossy White Diamond.
Then there's that bold face borrowed from Escalade: A thick but flat bumper and glimmering square headlamp clusters with stacked lamps behind polycarbonate lenses flanking an egg-crate grille that reflects bright chrome and bears the Cadillac crest in the center.
Essential lines follow the look of Escalade from the prow back to the trailing edge of second side doors, where the roofline ends and a pickup box begins. Diagonal braces run down from the back of the roof to the box rails as structural reinforcements for the chopped roofline.
EXT contains about 80 percent of the components of Escalade, but a revised suspension system brings independent front torsion bars and shock absorber tuning. In back, a five-link coil spring system produces a smooth ride.
Also aboard is Escalade's big engine, with aluminum cylinder heads and streamlined intake and exhaust ports in a design borrowed from the Corvette engine. It produces more power and torque than any other Vortec 6000 application in GM's fleet.
To translate all of that torque into propulsion, the engine employs a heavy-duty GM Hydramatic 4L60-E four-speed automatic transmission.
Then the power is applied to all four wheels through an all-wheel-drive mechanism that's always engaged. There are no levers to lock or buttons to switch to keep it working.
Also automatic is the Z55 Autoride suspension with continuously-variable road-sensing damping and air-leveling shock absorbers for precise ride control.
And Cadillac's Stabilitrak operates automatically on EXT. The computerized stability control system integrates the continuously variable road-sensing suspension damping with throttle response, steering force, anti-lock brakes and input from sensors that detect lateral as well as linear slippage of the vehicle. It can think and act to correct potentially disruptive vehicle movements.
Additional integrated safety gear includes frontal as well as side-impact air bags for front seat riders, a steel structural system around the cabin and OnStar communications equipment with a hands-free wireless link to personnel at the OnStar Center and 24-hour availability for in-vehicle safety, security and information services.
Further, Cadillac's Ultrasonic Rear Parking Assist is aboard using audio and visual signals as an aid when parking to warn about objects in the truck's rearward path.
Escalade EXT is so complete that it offers only two options -- a power moonroof for $1550 and the special White Diamond paint job at $995.
Base MSRP for the EXT tallies to $49,990.
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| Vehicle Specifications: |
| 2002 CADILLAC ESCALADE EXT Specs |
| Description: |
Full-size sport-utility truck |
| Model Options: |
Full-size sport-utility truck |
| Wheelbase: |
130.0 inches |
| Overall Length: |
221.4 inches |
| Engine Size: |
OHV 6.0-L V8 |
| Transmission: |
4L60-E HD Auto/4 |
| Drive: |
4WD Autotrac |
| Braking: |
Power 4-disc/ABS/ETC/ Stabilitrak |
| Airbags: |
2 (front) + 2 (side) |
| Gross Weight: |
7000 pounds |
| Towing Capacity: |
7900 pounds |
| Payload: |
1147 pounds |
| Gas Mileage: |
12/15 mpg |
| Price: |
$ 49,990 to $ 52,535 |
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