Dominating its segment – the Midsize / Large Premium vehicle category – the 2024 Cadillac Escalade was also one of the top scoring vehicles overall in the J.D. Power 2024 U.S. Multimedia Quality and Satisfaction Study, which measures the multimedia technology satisfaction of owners and leasers of 2024 vehicles.
The Cadillac Escalade outshined several other models for the top place in its segment, including the Lexus LC and the Lincoln Navigator, the study results show.
Using a 1,000-point scale that aggregates customer ratings in 10 different areas of multimedia tech satisfaction, the study shows the Cadillac Escalade winning a score of 935, higher than any other vehicle in the entire survey. Its impressive performance edged out the Lexus LC at 932 points and considerably outdid the Lincoln Navigator at 921 points.
While rating the Cadillac Escalade and other models on their multimedia might seem like a peripheral issue compared to engine performance or safety systems, infotainment tech has actually accounted for more than 25 percent of new-vehicle quality complaints from owners since 2020. The 2024 model year is the first in a half-decade where owner satisfaction with multimedia has improved.
Owners seem to be responding positively to several areas where car companies have been making changes, including adding more USB ports, improving voice recognition, and making media volume more stable. Ashley Edgar, benchmarking director at J.D. Power, said “previously long-standing issues have been addressed and those updates can be seen in the problem decreases.”
She added that “further optimization of Apple Car Play and Android Auto should remain a top priority.” GM infotainment systems drew praise from the same study in 2022, while the 2023 Chevy Corvette was the star of the show in last year’s study, getting a rating of 927 points and narrowly defeating the Cadillac Escalade’s 924 rating.
As a reminder, the refreshed 2025 Cadillac Escalade is due to start rolling off the assembly line on October 7th, 2024. Engines will include the naturally aspirated 6.2L V8 L87 gasoline engine developing 420 horsepower and 460 pound-feet of torque and the supercharged 6.2L V8 LT4 gasoline engine making 682 horsepower and 653 pound-feet of torque,
The GM T1 platform provides the structure for the SUV, while production takes place at the GM Arlington plant in Texas.
Comment
And yet GM still wants to push forward their own google-based system and phase out CarPlay and AA. The mind boggles.