Compare the2025 Cadillac Escalade ESVVS 2025 Chevrolet Suburban

The Cadillac Escalade ESV has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags help prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Suburban doesn’t offer knee airbags.

A passive infrared night vision system optional on the Escalade ESV (except Luxury) helps the driver to more easily detect people, animals or other objects in front of the vehicle at night. Using an infrared camera to detect heat, the system then displays the image on a monitor in the dashboard. The Suburban doesn’t offer a night vision system.

The Escalade ESV’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Suburban doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the Escalade ESV and the Suburban have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, around view monitors, rear cross-path warning and available all wheel drive.

The Escalade ESV comes with a full 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck. The Suburban’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 14,000 miles sooner.

Cadillac’s powertrain warranty covers the Escalade ESV 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than Chevrolet covers the Suburban. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 6 years or 70,000 miles. Coverage on the Suburban ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

The Escalade ESV’s 6 year corrosion warranty has no mileage limitations, but the corrosion warranty on the Suburban runs out after 100,000 miles.

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the Escalade ESV has a 800-amp battery. The Suburban only offers a standard 730-amp battery.

The Escalade ESV’s 6.2 V8 produces 65 more horsepower (420 vs. 355) and 77 lbs.-ft. more torque (460 vs. 383) than the Suburban’s standard 5.3 V8.

As tested in Motor Trend the Cadillac Escalade ESV is faster than the Chevrolet Suburban 5.3 V8:

The Escalade ESV has a standard locking fuel door which locks and unlocks with the power locks. The fuel filler door is not lockable on the Suburban. A locking fuel door helps prevent fuel theft and vandalism, such as sugar in the tank.

The Escalade ESV stops much shorter than the Suburban:

For better traction, the Escalade ESV has larger standard tires than the Suburban (275/50R22 vs. 265/65R18).

The Escalade ESV’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 50 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Suburban’s standard 65 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Escalade ESV has standard 22-inch wheels. Smaller 18-inch wheels are standard on the Suburban.

The Escalade ESV has standard front and rear stabilizer bars, which help keep the Escalade ESV flat and controlled during cornering. The Suburban’s suspension doesn’t offer a rear stabilizer bar.

The Escalade ESV Sport 4WD handles at .71 G’s, while the Suburban High Country 4WD pulls only .53 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Escalade ESV Premium Luxury 4WD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.9 seconds quicker than the Suburban Z71 4WD (29 seconds @ .56 average G’s vs. 30.9 seconds @ .5 average G’s).

The Escalade ESV (except Luxury) offers available computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The Suburban doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

The Escalade ESV has .2 inches more front hip room, .1 inches more third row legroom and .1 inches more third row hip room than the Suburban.

The Escalade ESV’s cargo area provides more volume than the Suburban.

The Escalade ESV’s front and rear power windows all open or close with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside of the car. The Suburban’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to close them fully.

If the windows are left open on the Escalade ESV the driver can close them all from a distance using the remote. On a hot day the driver can also lower the windows the same way. The driver of the Suburban can only close the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

To help drivers see further while navigating curves, the Escalade ESV has standard adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle. The Suburban doesn’t offer cornering lights.

The Cadillac Escalade ESV has power folding mirrors that offer unparalleled convenience while maneuvering in tight places or parked. With the mirrors folded it’s easier to walk past and help prevent parking damage. The mirrors can be quickly unfolded when the driver is ready to leave. Power folding mirrors costs extra on the Suburban and aren't offered on the LS.

The Escalade ESV Premium/Platinum/Sport has standard front air conditioned seats and the Escalade ESV Platinum offers them optionally in the second row. This keeps the passengers comfortable and takes the sting out of hot seats in summer. The Suburban doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats for the second row.

The Escalade ESV has a standard heated steering wheel to take the chill out of steering on extremely cold winter days before the vehicle heater warms up. A heated steering wheel costs extra on the Suburban.

The Escalade ESV Platinum has standard massaging front and optional massaging second row seats. Massaging seats aren’t available in the Suburban.

The Cadillac Escalade ESV has a standard Homelink wireless remote control system for garage door operation and device management, conveniently located on the overhead console. Homelink® eliminates the need for separate garage door openers and associated risks of losing, breaking, or having dead batteries. Chevrolet charges extra for Homelink® on the Suburban.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Cadillac Escalade ESV has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. Only the Suburban LT/RST/Z71/Premier/High Country offers wireless charging. The Escalade ESV also offers Qi charging for two devices in the second row seat. The Suburban doesn’t offer wireless charging in its second row seat.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Escalade ESV is less expensive to operate than the Suburban because typical repairs cost much less on the Escalade ESV than the Suburban, including $10 less for a starter, $6 less for fuel injection, $3 less for a fuel pump and $246 less for a timing belt/chain.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Escalade ESV second among large premium suvs in owner reported satisfaction. This includes how well the vehicle performs and satisfies its owner’s expectations. The Suburban isn’t in the top three in its category.