Car and Driver Comparison Gravity vs Escalade IQ

The WSJ MSN review just made me drool🤤 like an idiot...
It made me want to go outside and drive my Gravity. But it’s late and I am tired. So I will plan for an early morning drive through the mountains and tell the family it “took a while” to get coffee.

I do love the car. Just road tripped today with bunch of kids and crap and everyone had plenty of room, etc. Just awesome.
 
It made me want to go outside and drive my Gravity. But it’s late and I am tired. So I will plan for an early morning drive through the mountains and tell the family it “took a while” to get coffee.

I do love the car. Just road tripped today with bunch of kids and crap and everyone had plenty of room, etc. Just awesome.
I am so envious!! Enjoy!! ☺️

When I was doing my test drive and the SA turned on the surreal surround system, I was grinning 😁 so wide you could see all my 28 teeth…

I am just looking forward to when I can get my Gravity and do my daily routine of Uber driver for my kids…
 
I have to wonder who is in the market for the Escalade, aside from car services or celebrities with a chauffeur.
Good point! When I started looking for a luxury ride I test drove one of the Cadillac new models (sorry I can’t remember the name of it because all their new cars sound like characters from Asterix if you know what I am talking about).

The test drive was ok. But not having CarPlay was a no-go for me. Yes that’s how much I use and like it :)

But the Escalade was just too monstrous and then some… scary to have that on the road…
 
I have to wonder who is in the market for the Escalade, aside from car services or celebrities with a chauffeur.
As I’ve mentioned in other places, and the review mentions, I think people buy it because it’s a Cadillac. Many aren’t comparison shopping, they’re just loyal to the brand or want that badge…
 
As I’ve mentioned in other places, and the review mentions, I think people buy it because it’s a Cadillac. Many aren’t comparison shopping, they’re just loyal to the brand or want that badge…
I’ve had I think 4 different Cadillacs as rental cars. They’re not that nice, it’s like Jersey Shore “luxury”. Serious drivers rave about the CT5 Blackwing so I believe them, but there is literally zero GM vehicles I’ve ever driven in which I liked anything about the car.
 
The CT5 Blackwings are excellent rides but all the Cadillac’s have that Atlantic City casino interior vibe.
 
Luxury means different things to different people. Elegant Scandinavian minimalism vs opulent Eastern European.
 
Exactly. I've never leaned towards opulence/decadence. It always seemed tacky and "try hard" to me.
But if by minimalist one means everything on the info screen, put me down for opulence/decadence. I have always loved Scandinavian design but what is happening with car companies that describe this as "minimalist" is bull. It is just the cheapest way to set up the car.

Taking my eyes off the road to adjust my seat, modify the AC, change my radio station, etc. is a no go for me.

I am the opposite of an Escalade buyer...I prefer small vehicles. But I do see folks with large families that also need room for storing sports equipment, etc. driving Suburbans and Escalades.
 
Back when TVs were cathode ray tube based and as big as a compact, small fridge, an entertainment center would be built to integrate the TV into the living room.
That's the era that I grew up in, so I always find it interesting that car designers nowadays just stick screens onto the dashboard, usually without any hint of a desire to integrate it into the surrounding.
Of course, some manufacturers do it better than others, but some are just an eyesore for me.
 
But if by minimalist one means everything on the info screen, put me down for opulence/decadence. I have always loved Scandinavian design but what is happening with car companies that describe this as "minimalist" is bull. It is just the cheapest way to set up the car.

Taking my eyes off the road to adjust my seat, modify the AC, change my radio station, etc. is a no go for me.

I am the opposite of an Escalade buyer...I prefer small vehicles. But I do see folks with large families that also need room for storing sports equipment, etc. driving Suburbans and Escalades.
This is why I love the Gravity. I think they did a great job with custom buttons and he a/c buttons being real. And the volume roller!

I can not stand when I rent an ICE car and there are 10 buttons on each side of steering wheel (and on the back of it!) and the center console looks like it has enough switches to be an airplane cockpit.
 
I hear the wiper control was moved to the Gravity touch screen…
 
The CT5 Blackwings are excellent rides but all the Cadillac’s have that Atlantic City casino interior vibe.
They do, everyone I have ridden in for airport limo it was not that hard to find a touchpoint in the interior that was a nice looking but very low-grade material.
 
This is why I love the Gravity. I think they did a great job with custom buttons and he a/c buttons being real. And the volume roller!

I can not stand when I rent an ICE car and there are 10 buttons on each side of steering wheel (and on the back of it!) and the center console looks like it has enough switches to be an airplane cockpit.
There absolutely needs to be a balance between too many switches and buttons and two few and where they are placed. To me it is a matter of identifying those features that one might want to adjust while driving and providing a button or switch for it and putting the rest on the info screen. That leaves a lot for the info screen and most that I have used tend to have some, to me, decisions on which feature to put on which are confusing.

I also think there are some features that have become so fixed over the years that they should not be changed. The best example of that is the turn signal. After 100+ years we have become accustomed to it being a stalk on the left side of the steering wheel. Leave it alone!

Sometimes companies make changes that, to me, seem inexplicable. Genesis, for example, has switched the steering wheel controls from the left to the right and the reverse on some of its models. So some Genesis cars, for example, have the button for turning on the ACC on the left and some on the right. Makes absolutely no sense. It must be simply change for change's sake.

I think Lucid is trying to find the right mix. Rivian has gone too far toward no buttons and Corvette has gone too far in the other direction.
 
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