2021 Cadillac Escalade Orders Are Piling Up

The fifth-generation Cadillac Escalade was revealed to the world last February and has yet to begin production. Although this will soon get underway, demand for the all-luxurious SUV is quite strong. Cadillac has been accepting pre-orders for some time now and according to Cadillac Society, dealers have so far placed around 6,000 orders for the 2021 Cadillac Escalade, a figure provided by now-former Cadillac president Steve Carlisle. Carlisle has since been promoted to be executive vice president of GM North America.

With that solid pre-order number for a vehicle that carries a starting MSRP of $79,195 and can easily exceed the six-figure mark when fully-equipped, it's not surprising Carlisle said proudly that "Interest [in the 2021 Escalade] continues to be high."

Production will take place at GM's Arlington Assembly Plant in Texas, the same manufacturing facility that builds the new Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon. One interesting thing in particular about the new Escalade is that it'll offer, for the first time, a diesel engine option, specifically a turbocharged 3.0-liter Duramax V6.

The online configurator shows this will be a no-cost option over the standard gasoline-powered 6.2-liter V8. Another cool feature buyers will likely opt for is the Super Cruise semi-autonomous driving system. It's not available on the base Luxury trim but can be had as a $2,500 standalone option with the Sport and Premium Luxury trims. If you want to take your Escalade off-roading, then we'd recommend tacking on 4WD, a $3,000 option on all five trims.

The long-wheelbase Cadillac Escalade ESV has the same trims, but is slightly more expensive, beginning at $79,195. Inside, there's a new 38-inch triple curved OLED display that covers the dash space from the infotainment system to the driver's gauge cluster.

A few minutes on the Escalade configurator proves just how easy it is to rack up the dollars on the SUV with only a few optional features and package upgrades. Clearly, this isn't a problem for thousands of anxious and excited customers.