Comparing the Suburban with the Cadillac Escalade

The size of the Chevrolet Suburban is such that you just don’t find very many competitors outside the GM lineup. The GM competitors share the same platform, the same engine choices, and largely the same engineering. If you are considering a highly equipped Suburban, you may wonder: “For this kind of money, can I get a Cadillac Escalade?” Almost yes, but mostly no. Chevrolet of Spring Valley explains.

To start, the Escalade ESV is the size equivalent to the Suburban. The normal Escalade shares the same size as the Tahoe. They have the same 121.0-inch wheelbase, 25.5 cubic feet of cargo space behind the third row, and so on. The Escalade ESV, on the other hand, shares the Suburban’s 134-inch wheelbase and has the same 41.5 cubic feet of space behind the third seat. 

The most highly equipped Suburban is the High Country 4WD, with the optional 6.2-liter V8. It has a starting MSRP of $84,895. This engine produces 420 horsepower and 460 lb-ft of torque. When powered by the standard 3.0-liter Duramax turbodiesel, it has a starting MSRP of $83,395. The least expensive Escalade ESV is the 2WD Luxury model, which comes with either engine mentioned above and has the same MSRP of $86,990. Adding 4WD to match the capability of the Suburban brings the Escalade ESV price to $89,890. 

That gives you about $5,000 between the top-ranging Suburban and base Escalade ESV. A quick way to nearly make up the difference is with the Suburban’s $4,210 High Country Deluxe package, which includes several towing enhancement features as well as some other popular items:

• Integrated Trailer Brake Controller
• Hitch View
• Smart Trailer Integration indicator
• Trailer Side Blind Zone Alert
• Trailer Assist Guidelines – A remote camera allows you to have a view of behind the trailer from your center screen.
• Adaptive Air Ride Suspension
• Panoramic Power Sunroof
• Power Retractable Assist Steps

Now, you are up to $89,105, which is very close to the base Escalade ESV. But if you value the advanced towing features, they are not available on the base Escalade. To get them, you will have to step up to the Premium Luxury Escalade with an MSRP of $101,190. The Advance Technology Package features are standard on this model, and the towing features are optionally available, which brings the price up to $104,490.

For that six-figure sum on the Escalade ESV, you will also get the very effective Super Cruise system. If you want that on the Suburban High Country, you can order the $2,700 Advanced Technology Package, which gets you:

• Super Cruise
• Enhanced Automatic Parking Assist
• Reverse Automatic Braking
• Rear Seat Media System

If you still want the towing features, you can find them on the $465 Max Trailering Package and $750 Enhanced Trailer View Package. Adding all three packages will still bring you under the base Escalade ESV price. 

There are many ways to configure the Suburban that will get you within the Escalade ESV price range, and they will all give you an abundance of features you will not have on the Cadillac. Of course, these vehicles are more than the sum of their features. The Suburban will never look as exclusive as the Escalade, and you can’t option the Cadillac’s fancy dash on the Suburban. 

It is also true that neither the Suburban nor Tahoe offer an equivalent to the Escalade-V with its supercharged 6.2-liter V8 producing 682 horsepower and 653 lb-ft of torque. But for its $152,295 base MSRP, you may consider if you would better enjoy that kind of performance in a world-class mid-engine sports car rather than a 3-row SUV. For the price of an Escalade-V, you could purchase a 2024 Suburban High Country 4WD and a 2024 Corvette StingRay. 

So, if you want a large 3-row SUV, the original Suburban is still the best option, and we invite you to test drive one at Chevrolet of Spring Valley. And if that high-performance Escalade still sounds enticing, we also encourage you to test drive a Corvette.