Compared: 2023 Cadillac Escalade ESV vs. 2023 Chevrolet Suburban

Find out what differentiates this pair of General Motors full-size three-row SUVs.

Jim Resnick | 

Mar 29, 2024 | 3 min read

Cadillac | Chevrolet

As two of the largest SUVs on the market for 2023, Cadillac's Escalade ESV and Chevrolet's Suburban offer big benefits for buyers focused on lots of interior room, the ability to swallow long road trips with ease, and plenty of towing capacity for watersports equipment, trailers, or sleeper campers.

As corporate General Motors cousins, the big Chevy and Caddy SUVs are similar under their respective skins. Their differences lie in the Suburban's more modest pricing and the Cadillac's long list of standard and optional features.

Cadillac

The Escalade Towers Over the Suburban in Price

As the Suburban is the extended-wheelbase version of the Chevrolet Tahoe full-size SUV, so is the ESV to the regular-length Escalade. Both offer the choice of gasoline V8 engines or turbo-diesel power.

The Suburban leads with its low price, starting at around $57,000 for the LS trim level in rear-wheel-drive form, which comes standard with a 5.3-liter, 355-hp V8, an 8.0-inch infotainment display, many active safety features, and cloth seating. Four-wheel drive (4WD) bumps the price to just over $60,000.

A 3.0-liter turbo-diesel is a $1,000 option. Starting with the RST trim, a 6.2-liter V8 making 420 horsepower can be had for just over $70,000.

Cadillac

Starting at around $85,000, the base Escalade ESV Luxury 2WD trim comes standard with the Suburban's larger V8 engine, heavy-duty trailering equipment, and electronic hitch guidance. Buyers also get six months of satellite radio, OnStar services, and a high-end 19-speaker AKG audio system. Four-wheel drive bumps the price to about $88,000, and GM's turbo-diesel is available as a $100 option.

Not shared with its Chevrolet cousin is the new Escalade ESV-V's supercharged version of the 6.2-liter engine. It makes 682 horsepower and comes with 4WD and a host of high-performance hardware and software for around $155,000.

Maximum towing capacity is similarly generous in GM's largest SUVs: 8,200 pounds in the Escalade and 8,300 in the Suburban. Both SUVs use a 10-speed automatic transmission.

Chevrolet

Cargo Space Is Plentiful in Both the Escalade and the Suburban

The 2021 redesign of the Suburban netted improved materials and a high-definition touchpad infotainment screen mounted like a tablet, much like the competition from Ford and others, all of which continues in 2023. However, even though the higher Suburban trim levels cost more, the trim doesn't change much with the price.

Cadillac

Inside the Cadillac, though, it's all top shelf. You can see where the additional price of entry over the Suburban resides. Except for the base Luxury trim, all Escalades feature real leather on the seats and exotic wood accent choices on the door panels and dashboard. Also, Cadillac fits every Escalade with an expansive, 16.9-inch curved 4K OLED instrument display that does away with traditional fixed gauges.

There's plenty of room for gear out back, too. With the second- and third-row seats down, there are 143 cubic-feet of cargo space in the Escalade ESV and 145 cu-ft in the Suburban.

Chevrolet

The Six-Cylinder Diesel Earns the Better Fuel Economy

The same 277-hp turbocharged six-cylinder diesel is available in the Suburban and the Escalade ESV. It sits atop the mileage pyramid with an EPA-estimated 21/27/23 mpg city/highway/combined with two-wheel drive (2WD) and 20/26/22 mpg with 4WD. Chevrolet's 5.3-liter V8 gets 15/20/17 mpg with 2WD and 15/19/16 mpg with 4WD.

Cadillac

It's no surprise that the Escalade ESV-V's supercharged eight-cylinder is the least efficient, with an estimate of 11/16/13 mpg.

All vehicle pricing includes MSRP plus destination charges (set at the time of publication) and will be rounded to the nearest thousand.

Jim Resnick

From racing exotic sports cars, to ranking new cars, to peeling back layers of cover up in an exhaust emissions scandal, Jim has chronicled the automotive sector for decades. Jim has also worked inside the corporate headquarters of three carmakers, and therefore understands how the automotive sausage is really made. But Jim’s affinity for vehicles takes a back seat to finding the truth and the cultural implications of modern transportation. He has also lectured at universities to engineering and policy students and faculty on the industry’s relationship with legislation in the wake of the diesel exhaust emissions scandal several years ago. Put simply, Jim reports on autos, mobility, tech, car culture, and the traffic jam of topics within.