The Escalade has presence. How could it not, with that massive chrome-laden grille stretched across its expansive face? Without a shadow of doubt, it’s the largest passenger vehicle I’ve ever tested (the only thing bigger that comes to mind is a Mercedes Actros truck), stretching 5.7 metres from stem to stern, and more than 2 metres across the bows. It’s not too much of an exaggeration to say the bootlid and grille reside in two separate postcodes.
But sheer size has been Cadillac’s hallmark for many decades. Remember the 1966 Eldorado, with its sea of sheet metal and razor-sharp fins? Well, the Escalade is in many ways the modern-day counterpart to that.
The ballistic CTS-V saloon may well be the fastest vehicle in Cadillac’s line-up, but the Escalade is the flag bearer, embodying all the brand’s traditional core values. Apart from its gargantuan dimensions, the hulking SUV is also crammed with all the mod cons that GM could throw at it.
If you can imagine driving down the road in your living room – complete with its leather lounge suite and home entertainment system – then you can pretty much visualise what the Escalade is like. Clamber up into its lofty innards – automatically deploying side steps make this easier – and you’ll find yourself ensconced in a cabin that’s surprisingly well-executed.
Past Escalades may have been packed with features galore, but they were always cheapened somewhat by their unimaginatively designed, poorly made cockpits and plethora of "GM parts bin" switchgear. This time around, a lot more effort has clearly gone into the process, with an attractive blend of high-quality leather and woodgrain surfaces, making for a suitably premium ambience – as should be the case in almost-Dh400,000 vehicle.
The only elements I dislike are the clunky column-shift auto and annoyingly fiddly air-conditioning/infotainment-system controls. No shortage of bells and whistles, though, because the range-topping Platinum we’re testing comes with an excellent 16-speaker Bose sound system, a pair of nine-inch Blu-ray DVD screens in the front seat backs and lots more. There’s also a barrage of safety-enhancing driver aids (including a park-assist feature that can parallel/perpendicular-park the vehicle on its own) and multiple airbags.
Feature-laden, leather-lined and vastly spacious it may be, but there’s no getting away from the Caddy’s humble origins once you drive a few kilometres down the road. Where nearly all rivals are underpinned by lighter and more sophisticated unibody platforms, the Escalade shares its truck-like body-on-frame architecture with the likes of the Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon.
This, plus its hefty 2.7-tonne girth, means it neither rides nor handles with the finesse of its premium German/British/Japanese rivals – and this is despite the fact it’s equipped with Cadillac’s clever magnetorheological dampers. The Escalade falls well short of a Range Rover’s refinement levels, and it isn’t even in the same universe as BMW X5 or Porsche Cayenne in terms of agility.
In terms of pure merit, the Escalade is still well off the pace, but this won’t matter to many of its potential buyers. They will be sufficiently swayed by its formidable visual presence, acres of cabin space and dizzying array of mod cons. Who am I to say they’re wrong?
Biography
Favourite book: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Holiday choice: Anything Disney-related
Proudest achievement: Receiving a presidential award for foreign services.
Family: Wife and three children.
Like motto: You always get what you ask for, the universe listens.
ADCC AFC Women’s Champions League Group A fixtures
October 3: v Wuhan Jiangda Women’s FC
October 6: v Hyundai Steel Red Angels Women’s FC
October 9: v Sabah FA
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Tips for SMEs to cope
- Adapt your business model. Make changes that are future-proof to the new normal
- Make sure you have an online presence
- Open communication with suppliers, especially if they are international. Look for local suppliers to avoid delivery delays
- Open communication with customers to see how they are coping and be flexible about extending terms, etc
Courtesy: Craig Moore, founder and CEO of Beehive, which provides term finance and working capital finance to SMEs. Only SMEs that have been trading for two years are eligible for funding from Beehive.
The End of Loneliness
Benedict Wells
Translated from the German by Charlotte Collins
Sceptre
MATCH INFO
Euro 2020 qualifier
Fixture: Liechtenstein v Italy, Tuesday, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match is shown on BeIN Sports
Results
1. New Zealand Daniel Meech – Fine (name of horse), Richard Gardner – Calisto, Bruce Goodin - Backatorps Danny V, Samantha McIntosh – Check In. Team total First round: 200.22; Second round: 201.75 – Penalties 12 (jump-off 40.16 seconds) Prize €64,000
2. Ireland Cameron Hanley – Aiyetoro, David Simpson – Keoki, Paul Kennedy – Cartown Danger Mouse, Shane Breen – Laith. Team total 200.25/202.84 – P 12 (jump-off 51.79 – P17) Prize €40,000
3. Italy Luca Maria Moneta – Connery, Luca Coata – Crandessa, Simone Coata – Dardonge, Natale Chiaudani – Almero. Team total 130.82/198.-4 – P20. Prize €32,000
RESULTS
Catchweight 82kg
Piotr Kuberski (POL) beat Ahmed Saeb (IRQ) by decision.
Women’s bantamweight
Corinne Laframboise (CAN) beat Cornelia Holm (SWE) by unanimous decision.
Welterweight
Omar Hussein (PAL) beat Vitalii Stoian (UKR) by unanimous decision.
Welterweight
Josh Togo (LEB) beat Ali Dyusenov (UZB) by unanimous decision.
Flyweight
Isaac Pimentel (BRA) beat Delfin Nawen (PHI) TKO round-3.
Catchweight 80kg
Seb Eubank (GBR) beat Emad Hanbali (SYR) KO round 1.
Lightweight
Mohammad Yahya (UAE) beat Ramadan Noaman (EGY) TKO round 2.
Lightweight
Alan Omer (GER) beat Reydon Romero (PHI) submission 1.
Welterweight
Juho Valamaa (FIN) beat Ahmed Labban (LEB) by unanimous decision.
Featherweight
Elias Boudegzdame (ALG) beat Austin Arnett (USA) by unanimous decision.
Super heavyweight
Maciej Sosnowski (POL) beat Ibrahim El Sawi (EGY) by submission round 1.
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
