Merc1

Two Luxury Pickups Face Off


Driving Matters

The Escalade certainly doesn't make you feel as if it takes a lot of wrestling with physics to get where you want to go. Quick-ratio steering matched with light-effort assist isn't usually a happy combination, yet the Escalade manages to deliver easy carlike maneuverability with reassuring highway stability, and it never feels as if you're tugging at the front wheels with a length of rope.

The Mark LT also successfully gets beyond the usual truck stereotype when it comes to getting down the highway, but it's trying to be far more reserved than the Escalade, so every control feels carefully insulated from the road, as if you were driving a Lincoln Continental Mark III.

It's not entirely ridiculous to talk about cornering performance with these trucks. The Escalade has a 0.73g grip on the skid pad, using its big 285/45HR22 Bridgestone Dueler H/L Alenza tires to good effect. It carves up the slalom at 57.8 mph, and it went fast enough to require a little opposite steering lock (which apparently panicked the electronics sufficiently to trigger an inquiry from OnStar about whether we'd suffered some kind of airbag deployment).

The Lincoln Mark LT provided more thrills on the pavement thanks to its crude leaf spring rear suspension, but it circled the skid pad in a stable, understeering slide at 0.73g, its 275/55SR20 Pirelli Scorpion ATR tires hanging in there steadily. And just like the Escalade, the long-wheelbase Lincoln went through the slalom cones at 57.9 mph.

On the road, the Escalade has all the supple composure we've come to expect from the latest generation of trucks. The unique way the cabin's C-pillar is structurally tied to the cargo box makes the whole truck feel even more solid, while the coil-sprung rear axle responds relatively well to broken pavement. The Escalade feels large and comfortable, but it has a dimension of liveliness that makes it more enjoyable to drive.

The Lincoln also goes down the road very well, yet there's so much emphasis on stability that the truck always feels heavy, as if its responses have been thoroughly muffled. The LT gets you there in comfort and silence, but you rarely remember the trip along the way.

A Truck You Can Drive Every Day

Trucks sure have gotten nice. They're so nice that the things that separate one truck from another no longer have anything to do with the number of fertilizer bags you can pack into the cargo bed. Instead we tend to make our choice based on the way the cabin can make you forget you're hauling anything like fertilizer in the first place.

The 2007 Lincoln Mark LT offers a lot of luxury for the money, as it comes in at a base price of just $41,495. But even as you add options to bring up the luxury quotient, it still feels more like a pretty pickup than a real sporting device.

For us, the Mark LT seems too much like a Lincoln-ized Ford F-150, and it needs more style and especially a more sophisticated powertrain to be enjoyable. There's too much implement, not enough spirit.

The 2007 Cadillac Escalade EXT pretty well defines what we want from this new breed of SUV-style pickups. It's a truck that doesn't apologize for being big and functional, yet it helps you enjoy the ride with plenty of style. Even better, it has plenty of driving spirit, the kind of performance that makes you excited to get into it every day. It's a must-drive, must-use proposition, not just casual transportation.

Cadillac makes you pay for the privilege, as its $53,705 base price indicates (a GMC Denali is a more affordable alternative), but the Escalade EXT shows the direction the American pickup must travel if it's going to stay relevant in this new era of breathtaking gas prices.


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SDNR

God ....the caddy is just vomit-inducing.

Kowalski

Two of the world's most pointless cars. Just terrible!

Merc1

We have plenty of such vehicles here in the U.S. market. These two though do are leading contenders for the title.

M

Giannis

But what's the point of those uber-luxury pick-ups?

Don't tell me you have a lot of billioner-farmers in the US

Merc1

Not exactly, but there are some very rich ones that like these things. Then again these rigs are hits in the "hood" also with the 26-inch wheels and what not.

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SDNR

As familiar as American culture is to all of us ....there are some things that just don't make a lot of sense ......having said that, there are plenty of guys around the world who love big American trucks like these.

ZicZachZo

These two trucks make me ashamed to be American!