Well it has been a great ride (literally ).... I helped found this forum back when the 07 GL came on the scene ....there are only a few left here from those days! Stayed with the GL through the 2011 MY and my current 2013.

....but as of today, I shift to a 2015 Escalade Premium.....I hope i am not making a big mistake, but my test drive was fantastic...the interior and amenities are way beyond my 450 and the 4WD is perhaps a bit more rigorous (ability to lock the rear diff ) which at times I need. Yes...the exterior looks a bit like it came from a Transformer movie! My Benz dealer has been the best i have ever worked with....the Caddy guys seem like they are up to the task, I was impressed with the process and what I observed....we will see. .....but there is no question, the new 2015 version of the Escalade is a powerful competitor....I would have to move to the 550 do come close.

Thank you to all who help make forums like this THE place to be if you truly want to be knowledgeable about the vehicles you own....I will check back here once in a while just to see how things are going AND to see what the reaction is when the cid-cycle refresh hits the market. Finally....if anyone in the vicinity of Pennsylvania is considering an MB purchase, I highly recommend MB of Lancaster.....over 47 years of car buying, probably 20 different dealerships.....the best of them all!! Take care...

 

When you consider what you ended up with when comparing cost of Escalade to GL, what are your thoughts on that aspect. Do you feel the MB warrants a premium or did you end up where price was not a factor? Just wondering.

I must say that I was surprised to see this today and it does support my desire to reexamine the marketplace when I go to purchase a 2017 model.

 

I could not believe how rough the escalade rode. I thought GM would have improved things there. Otherwise it is a quiet nice truck. I couldn't get over the tiny cargo area though, the way they raised the floor a few inches to get the folding third row really killed it for me....

 

Congrats Brad. Sometimes change is a good thing. I was a Lexus buyer for 12 years before buying a GL550. That was a good move for me as the MB is a much more refined SUV. The other thing that caught my attention was how many GL's Mercedes was selling each month compared to the competition. They were out-selling all other large SUV's by a large margin. The Cadillac Escalade was consistently the second best selling large SUV with sales roughly half that of the GL brand. The Lexus LX570 I traded for the GL is way down the list each month.


I'm not surprised the Escalade has more amenities than your 450. What does it have that you didn't have in the 450?


Let us know how you like it after a year of driving. Did they treat you fare with your trade-in? And can you post some photos?

 

A colleague of mine just purchased the 2015 Escalade ESV over the GL, mainly because he needed more storage space. He is very happy with the car and I must say, it is damn nice inside. I'm just not too crazy about the exterior look. He has had it for 3 - 4 months and has not a single complaint about the vehicle.

Good luck with yours!

 

Congrats blittle and thanks for your contributions! I too have been looking at the new GM SUVs as I am now the proud owner of a 30' camper. Mostly using my son-in-laws F150 but it's a bit beyond the GL550's towing capacity and tongue weights. Sadly the Escalade doesn't include the trailer brake controller like the GMC and Chevy versions do. Go figure. For a body on frame vehicle I thought it rode pretty well. The tech goodies make the GL seem pretty old school for sure. But none of them will outperform the 550 in terms of acceleration and handling. Good luck with your purchase!!

 

Congrats and enjoy!
Always enjoyed reading your comments and insights. Thank you.
See you soon...

 

The storage space is the problem I've always had with rental Escalades. I was never able to place a standard size suitcase upright behind the raised third row. Have they changed this or has it gotten even worse with the raised floor? The ESV is just unnecessarily big for all but one or two trips a year. The GL is a perfect size.

 

What tech can you get on the Cadillac that you cannot get in a GL550? I get that some buyers may prefer the bling of a Caddy, but what actual tech does it offer that is not available on the Benz?


And I understand beauty is in the eye of the beholder (or buyer), but the 550 looks great compared to any SUV:

 

JoeMa - Mostly referring to the LED headlights and cornering lights, the reconfigurable dash, HUD, etc. I love my GL but go try one of these Escalades in the showroom and it is fun. Phone integration and 4G LTE is implemented better but then again they have had a couple years lead time to integrate. Just not sure I would jump on the first year model. But I do need to step up my towing capacity in the near future.

 

WOW! What a surprise!

We go back a long way, enjoyed your contributions here. Good luck with the Caddy. I'd love to hear what you think of it after a few months.

At this point I think I'm driving my last GL, but I can't say when I'll make the transition. I'm nervous risking warranty coverage on my diesel due to the biodiesel mandate in MN, so a new GL350 is out. I'm not going to buy a V6 GL450, and I'm never going to convince the boss I should spend the money for the GL550. Normally I wouldn't be upgrading my 2013 for a few more years, but biodiesel has me considering shopping around. If I make a move before my base warranty expires I could get a refund of my extended warranty.

 

Gotcha. The 2016 mid-cycle refresh may address several of those tech areas:

• LED lighting (front and rear)
• 8" COMMAND display
• Heads Up Display (haven't heard any rumors on this one)

My son leased a new C400 which comes with LED headlamps. I followed him home one evening and the LED's light up the path in front of the car with an almost daylight appearance. The difference between my Xenon lights and his LED's was noticeable.

 

Will miss you on the forums. Maybe I should check out the Caddy too as that decision is soon to be upon me.

Can you give us the pros and cons as you see them? Would also be interested to see your build and any insights into their pricing.

 

blittle, I don't blame you. We were looking at GL till we test drove the Escalade. The tech in it puts GL in shame. The only complaint I have is the transmission. The rumor is that 8 speed will be used in 2016 Escalade and at the same time, we are hoping 2016 GLS will really get all the S treatments.

 

I'm not entirely surprised.

We had 3 Escalades and then switched to our GL 18 months ago. The Escalades were a much better value. But my wife loves the GL. I'm just luke-warm to it.

Will be interesting when the refresh to the GLS is available. BMW X7 will be out in a few years also. Then it will be interesting.

 

Thanks for all the great comments.....and questions! I will be back here soon with more thoughts on the comparison......however,already I can say that IF you have kids , the 3rd row in the Escalade is fine....NO ADULT will last long back there! But I'm way past those days....hardly ever used the 3rd row in my 8yrs of GL's..... I do haul lots of "stuff"! I love the Capt. chairs in the 2nd row of the Escalade and so will our adult "riders"! ...and when you fold them up...even more "stuff" space than I had in the GL's. Also...the power retractable running boards make getting in and out ten times easier for my wife and I....the running boards I had on the GL's were nice looking , but almost useless. The leather work is better than what I had and the wood trim is American walnut with a satin finish....equal to the beautiful satin Ash I had. Forty mile round trip today.... 19mpg....17 at best on the GL.....420HP V8 on the Escalade, 8spd tranny. More performance stuff later.....

 

The LED headlights on this thing are amazing....!

 

Here's the pics.... looks like something out of the Presidential motorcade

I'm still very partial to my Cinnibar Red....beautiful color! Other than the black....not much moved me on the Caddy choices. Yes.... it does look like a hearse! The interior, however

....does "swallow you" in the luxury of it all...sorta like when you sit in a loaded S class! My peak trade value on the 450 was NOW....to get what I wanted in the GL line, I would have had to move to the 550, and this Escalade beat that price substantially. I had thought I was going to wait for the mid-cycle refresh.....but that was a gamble and the economic stars were lined up perfectly for NOW...the result is what you see.

 

Actually, it looks quite good in black. And I like the saddle interior. It looks very roomy in there.

 

The "Kona leather" as they call it is a 2K upgrade , but really beautiful....and brought the MSRP up to 89K.....but we negotiated down from there! The 8 speed tranny is fantastic....BUT, when cold...is NOT as smooth as the Benz 7...once warmed up, it does its job just as well. There are no paddle shifters....you can manually handle the trans and it is indeed electronic just like the Benz but it is a bit more convoluted and "old school" would be the best description! The dash display is totally programmable and WAY beyond the GL.....the NAV system is SO smooth and voice commands easy to work with. Remote start built in.....YES!

 

Hi Blittle,

Sad to see you go, hope 2016 model brings you back
Anyways good luck with your Caddy I too liked it very much it was a tough decision between GL550 and Caddy but honestly I was little turned off with the long tail lights on this SUv other than that as you mentioned it is an awesome car, and I felt the suspension was more smoother than GL.

 

Hi.

Congrats with the new purchase, but also sorry to see you go. You are one of the biggest contributors of this forum and I'm sure we all will miss your comments. Enjoy your new car and please post your comments about new Caddy.

 

MB has always been a leader....they have always set the benchmark for the others to follow.....when I bought my 2007 GL , there was nothing else that compared out there....the Range Rover was close, but MB had wrapped it all together in a much more "exciting package!" Pretty much still true today.....but the move to the 6 cylinder was what made me think..."I want an 8, do I move now... or wait till another year, and be forced up to the 550 at a very large premium...OR...look at another alternative now while I still have big trade value" The big thing....enjoy what you buy and drive, life is short....don't hesitate!

 

Thank you..... I have enjoyed this forum tremendously! Jim Barnhart and I go back to the beginning! I belong to the Ford Fusion forum, the Corvette forum, and now the Cadillac Escalade forum......all people who take a serious interest in the cars they drive.....and we all benefit from the "give and take!" Again....thank you all, and keep on enjoying! I have a really nice supply of Cinnibar Red touch up paint if anybody is interested!!! FREE!

 

Brad, you mentioned that the MSRP for your Escalade was 89K. The base price of a GL550 is $89,950 ($94K with options). You mentioned the GL550 is 'large premium' to remain in a V8 but the Escalade is priced very similar to a GL550. So I'm curious why decided to go with an Escalade over a new GL550? I understand that going to V6 is not for you (or me)but a well equipped GL550 is 5K more than an Escalade. Were you having any issues with your GL450 that made you want to look elsewhere? Do you feel MB is falling behind? If so, what would you have them improve in the next full redesign? You never know, MB designers may read these message boards. Thanks.