The new Cadillac Escalade IQ doesn’t look like an Escalade, and while you can argue that that’s not a great thing given that Escalade is Cadillac’s strongest brand by far (arguably stronger than Cadillac itself) and that this brand was built largely on that squared-off body and upright grille, I understand why the new EV looks different. Plus, the 40 speakers, gorgeous interior, and 450 miles of expected ranges tell me this will be a wonderful machine to drive. But forget about all that: I’d like to focus on something much more mundane — the tire size. Because it is absurd.
We all have to realize that electric cars are bringing upon the death of low ride-height and the proliferation of huge wheels and tires. Just look at the Volkswagen ID.3 electric hatchback. Its 215 55R18 tires are 2.2 inches larger in diameter than those of the car’s gasoline equivalent, the VW Golf (225 40R18). Check out the Hyundai Ioniq 6 sedan, and compare it with its gasoline equivalent, and you’ll see that the EV’s 225 55R18 tires are 1.5 inches larger in diameter than the Sonata’s 235 45R18s.
Skinnier and taller — that tends to be the trend with EV tires. It all makes sense; reducing the width reduces rolling resistance and frontal area, and the extra diameter is, at least in part, needed to make up (aesthetically) for the added girth between the rocker panel and the floor (girth added by the battery pack).
So it’s no surprise that the new Cadillac Escalade — a very-much on-road SUV with very, very few real off-road credentials — comes equipped with large-diameter rubber. But I was not expecting 35s. THIRTY FIVES!
The outgoing Escalade’s 275/50R22 tires weren’t small, at 33 inches, but ask any Jeeper, and they’ll tell you that going from 33s to 35s is like experiencing Jesus for the first time. It’s a life-altering game-changer in the off-road world (so long as it comes with a locking differential or two). I’m so amazed that the new Cadillac’s factory tires are 35s (275 50R24) that I felt it necessary to put it into a bit of context. Here’s new the Escalade IQ
And here are Jeeps with the same diameter tires:
Here’s a preproduction Ford Bronco with a Sasquatch Package that adds 35-inch tires:
35s used to be big-dog off-road tires. Now they’re Cadillac Escalade street-tires that, really, don’t look all that big:
Obviously, vehicles have become much larger since most of the aforementioned off-road vehicles were built, obviously all of the tires I showed were wider and have much larger sidewalls than the Cadillac’s, and obviously there are some old vehicles with much bigger tires than 35s, like the Hummer H1, which rocked 37s even in the 1990s. But that’s an H1 — an off-road menace — not an on-road luxury SUV.
This isn’t a criticism of the new Cadillac Escalade IQ, it’s just an expression of my realization: Wow, the car-world is changing. Quickly.
I wonder how the mileage would change if you slapped on a set of 275/65 R20 tires on this. I think all EVs should have the option of smaller diameter wheels on the higher end models to give the customer an option to maximize range.
One thing worth mentioning is that bigger tires can mean bigger wheels which can mean bigger brakes. Big brakes can be useful when your vehicle weighs 9,000lbs. Of course I’m not saying that this is the case here or that it is necessary here, but it can be a factor.
I can’t wait to find out:
What’s going to be great is when these things are on their third or fourth owner and this 9000lbs vehicle is driving down the highway in the pouring rain on bald tires.
Not that anyone cares, but let me go on record as saying wheels larger than 18″ on a road vehicle are too big and look bad. That 20″+ tires are so expensive only adds insult to injury.
I hated 35’s on my XJ. Of course that was on short arms. With no sway bar. And no stabilizer. Went back down to 33’s and loved it. Eventually added back a sway bar and a stabilizer, maybe should have tried 35’s again at that point.
But on 33’s I did some pretty epic stuff.
My personal opinion, 33’s are the sweet spot on a mildly built XJ. Bonus if it’s a skinny 33×10.50. I think anything over that is going to make axle swap necessary, or at the least a re-gear. I think 33’s might be “ok” on stock gearing, as long as it’s 3.73.
My 4.0 ZJ on 31’s with 3.73’s was great.
I was on 33’s with 4.56’s and a 5 speed. It crawled great, and was still usable at highway speeds.
PPV Tahoes come on 20″ wheels. The cops are going to be blasting Ludacris and rolling out.
35s on 15s are so hot
Sidewalls matter
If you can afford the escalade you can afford 2 sets of those per year I suppose
I think this is another reminder of how huge ALL vehicles are today. It’s really sad, but the unfortunate result of safety regulations and consumer demands. I’m planning my next fun project car, and I’m frustrated that I’m having to plan the whole build around the very limited available small-diameter tire options.
I remember in the late 90’s and early 00’s when the LX (Chrysler 300) concept was being presented at the shows how huge it looked at the time. I was an engineer at Continental and we were re-tooling for the large tires that were required for visual scale on these big vehicles. Now these are considered normal-sized cars, and I’m the old guy talking about the old days.
There is irony that people keep buying these large vehicles but the federal fuel economy standards tend to keep creeping upward. Presumably the average person don’t have much concern about the poor economy of the large vehicles. As long as banks keep selling 7 year loans then some people will keep fostering the whole stupid cycle.
Can’t wait to have designers explain how the incredibly bad, looks like shit, performs like shit, gigantic rubber bands are A inevitable and B desireable…
Seriously the single worst trend ever to occur in automobiles. Funnily enough at a time when bicycles of all kinds (even racing) are getting beefier and thicker.
Thanks for the jeep bananas for scale, that really puts into perspective how massive the newer Cadillacs are. The outgoing model is terrifying in person. It occupies half of a city block.
I don’t have a sense of its size from the pictures, but isn’t this basically a reskin of the Hummer EV?
It’s the same platform. EV platforms are a bit like old body on frame vehicles where the underneath is the same bud the bodies themselves can be radically different since you’re just dropping a new box on the platform
The biggest trucks that the Army uses, with payloads in excess of 20,000lbs, use 20″ wheels.
This Escalade has wheels two steps bigger than the wheels on the BIGGEST ARMY TRUCKS.
Wheels bigger than 18s (probably 17s for anything smaller than a 3/4 ton) on a light duty vehicle are utterly pointless and can only hinder handling, ride, aerodynamics, and cost.
So we have to conclude that General Motors has no idea how to engineer a car to not suck at everything. Which isn’t a revelation, really.
Instead of 4 bodies being stuffed away, you can now stuff 7 dead bodies!
I am a fan of the dead bodies metric for cargo space.
I think you were just looking for an excuse to put up some Jeep porn…
Also, I guarantee this monstrosity gives Toecutter a fit of apoplexy.
The Escalade has always been about dubz yo
Form > Function
Every damn time.
David, why not request a Cadillac Escalade IQ to review… AT MOAB?!
I’m in.
Given proportions, who would even want a car this size? It’s just going to be a massive pain in the ass to live with, and it’s a posh luxo barge that isn’t going to do any of the giant truck things that Super Duty Fords or whatever. So for the giant size and weight you get… What? It’s a mall crawler that can’t mall crawl because it’s too big and heavy to easily park.
It’s big, spacious, and comfortable, basically the hallmarks of every Cadillac from 1930-1977, and every Escalade since 1999.
It’s no larger in length or width than a 60s-70s Deville or Eldorado.
Length, yes. Width, nope. The widest of the old land yachts didn’t bulge past 79.9 inches wide. The Escalade IQ is closing in on 86 inches wide. That’s nearly six inches wider than a full size cargo van.
Interesting and I stand corrected. I assumed this was the same dimensions as a standard Slade (81” wide). I wonder if it’s a battery pack sizing issue or what.
I’m thinking it’s a modern-day American waist sizing issue
General Motors did it again? They now make the only two passenger cars in American history to be over 80 inches wide.
There’s a good reason nobody makes cars this wide: it’s a stupid idea.
how much wider until the Escalade needs clearance lights?
You can easily get a car that’s both big and comfortable that isn’t so wide it can barely fit in a parking spot. In some places parking spots can be as narrow as 8ft. wide – you’d have a clearance of two inches with the mirrors out.
It is so massive that it makes your life more stressful. A proper luxury car does the opposite.
With parking sensors and cameras, I’m certain this is easier to park than large cars have been for most of history (where their drivers have gotten along fine).
I drive a truck that’s both longer and wider (with mirrors) than this is, and you get used to parking it pretty quickly.
Parking is one thing, getting out is another – which is why I used the mirror width. Someone who works downtown actually could not drive to work. You’re sized out of a lot of hotel parking lots – especially downtown. I couldn’t park it at my apartment building. My boyfriend couldn’t park it at his condo. These aren’t uncommon use cases, I’m not presenting unrealistic scenarios. It’s too big to live with.
Given that lots of people with the budget for one of these would work downtown and stay in downtown hotels, actually being able to drive to work and go on vacation is important. And, like I said, you don’t need something THIS big to have a cushy luxobarge – nobody is saying a Rolls Royce Cullinan is just too small.
I was going to point out how much worse it would be on typical European roads, but I looked up the weight (roughly 9000lbs ~ 4,000kg) and realised that in the UK, most people would not be able to legally drive one. For people who’ve got their license since 1997 you’re allowed to drive a vehicle of up to 3,500kg. To drive this Cadillac you’d need a class C HGV license.
(Or you could drive it on a normal UK car license if you had ‘L’ plates and a qualified driver in the passenger seat, but then, you could also drive a tank with the same restrictions).
tl/dr in the UK this vehicle would be classed as a Heavy Goods Vehicle.
not just in UK, in the whole EU it would requre a commercial license to drive…
This dude will use any excuse to post Jeep-porn and call it work.
You ain’t even lyin’.
You’re about two muddy ZJ’s away from requiring age authentication in Louisiana and possibly Utah.
And I am here for it. Almost bought a XJ as my first adult vehicle in 06, but instead bought an 01 Ram 1500 because it was far less twitchy on the highway, 318s have a special spot on my heart, and it could more comfortably haul a project car I had. I never became a Jeep Brah(tm) but dirty, dented, scuffed-up ones that are well-loved and well-used never fail to make me smile.
yippee, another bloated, obese, oversized vehicle with a hood the height of a normal car. They might as well just start using semi truck wheels and tires for these (275 70 R22.5 isn’t that far off), since they will probably need the weight capacity soon anyway.
Honestly, they need to start putting cow catchers in the front for pedestrians.
It has 35″ tires, but they’re still just rubber bands thanks to the massive wheels.
#SaveTheSidewalls
A coworker commutes in a 1st generation Honda Civic. The rims, sidewall, and body all look nicely proportioned in profile. I just went out and looked at them.
12″ rims.
No wonder we’re all so tired these days.
This is the number one thing I noticed from all the coverage today. Lots of companies make skinny 35s in AT tread for bro-dozers, but I’ll bet there aren’t many street tires made in this size.
For grins I just checked Tire Rack to see what these tires might cost. They don’t have anything in this size. I grinned.
“Cheap” non-garbage tires for 22-inch wheels tend to be ~$500 taxed, mounted and balanced. Those are standard on higher-end crossovers nowadays.
Heard that from a friend-of-a-friend whose wife somehow simultaneously blew out two tires (no reason given: I assume hit a curb or median at speed) and damaged two wheels. That’s what it ended up being, and TireRack prices checked out.
These? Probably 50% more at the moment.
What’s scary is in 5 years, this might be normal on the high-end, not the edge case it is now. Imagine how much a single wheel+tire must weigh! Yikes!