What Does The ESV In Cadillac Escalade ESV Stand For?
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The Cadillac Escalade ESV has been around for nearly 20 years, with General Motors introducing the extended-wheelbase variant of the luxury crossover for the 2003 model year. For just about the entire duration of the SUV’s lifespan, we’ve wondered what the ‘ESV’ abbreviation stood for, but we’ve never been able to track down a concrete answer.
2003 Cadillac Escalade ESV
Now our sister site, Cadillac Society, has gotten to the bottom of this long-running mystery. The site spoke to Escalade Global Product Manager, Dave Schiavone, at the recent launch of the Escalade and asked him about the ESV abbreviation. According to Schiavone, ‘ESV’ stands for ‘Escalade Stretch Vehicle.’ It’s fairly easy to see why GM wanted to shorten that name down for all public-facing naming purposes for the vehicle, as the full version is a bit of a mouthful.
“We obviously didn’t call it [Escalade Stretch Vehicle],” Schiavone said. “Instead, we went with ESV, which is much more friendly.”
“We want customers to know that it’s an Escalade,” he added. “It’s just a longer one.”
2015 Cadillac Escalade ESV
There’s perhaps no one better placed to speak on this matter than Schiavone. He has held his position as Escalade global product manager since the model’s inception in 1999, so he was around when the company first thought up the ESV moniker for the stretch Escalade.
The 2021 Cadillac Escalade debuted earlier this month, but unfortunately, the extended-length Cadillac Escalade ESV was not shown at the event. We do know that it will have a 134.1-inch wheelbase, which is a full 4.1 inches longer than the previous-generation Escalade ESV’s. It will also be 2.6 inches longer in terms of overall length as well as 0.6 inches wider and 2.4 inches taller. It will be mechanically identical to the standard 2021 Escalade, riding on the same T1 platform and featuring GM’s 6.2L L87 V8 engine and 10-speed automatic transmission as standard.
2021 Cadillac Escalade
The 2021 Cadillac Escalade ESV will make its official debut at the 2020 New York International Auto Show in April.
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This report was written in collaboration with our sister publication, Cadillac Society.
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You killed it for me. My imagination was much wilder than reality on this one.
Hmmmm…
I thought the 2021 white Escalade wasn’t the ESV according to some on here.
Look at the rear doors. If the rear wheel well cuts into the doors it’s the short version, if it doesn’t it’s the long version. This can be seen in the current gen SUVs as well.
Thank you sir.
That’s why it says “2021 Cadillac Escalade” below the picture.
I would’ve guessed “Escalade Suburban Version” since the regular Escalade is an upgraded Tahoe and the ESV is the same enhancement package applied to the Chevy Suburban.
There’s also the fact that Cadillac was just switching to the three letter nomenclature when the ESV and EXT were introduced. I’m sure they simply wanted to use that naming system. I wouldn’t be surprised if they had considered dropping ‘Escalade’ entirely for gen2.
So … it’s technically called an Escalade Escalade Stretch Vehicle?
What about the EXT? and when will it return?
Oh, you mean the Escalade Xtinct Truck? Unfortunately, likely never,
i thought it was expensive suburban variant.
😂 That also is true!
Extra Swanky Version?
Extremely, sweet , vehicle. ………..brutal.
OLDGMER
I’m almost with Jody, I always thought it to be EXPENSIVE SUBURBAN VEHICLE. Up in Canada these trucks can option upwards of $135.000 and a 3 bedroom house in a small town would sell for $60,000 to $80,000. One will appreciate to over $100,000 and the other will depreciate $20,000 in 10 years. What a dilemma.
OLDGMER….Sorry to troll your comment but……i live in a smaller town in Canada and $60 to $80 grand doesn’t even come close to getting a 3 bedroom house here. I live in a 3 bedroom house and it was over $450.
Escalade Suburban Vehicle. Because it’s, um, a Suburban.
Headlights on the new Escalade are way to small, and don’t fit the body lines!