Compare the2022 Land Rover Range Rover SportVS 2022 Cadillac Escalade

For enhanced safety, the front and middle seat shoulder belts of the Land Rover Range Rover Sport have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Cadillac Escalade doesn’t offer pretensioners for the middle seat belts.

Both the Range Rover Sport and Escalade have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Range Rover Sport has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Escalade’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Range Rover Sport. But it costs extra on the Escalade.

The Range Rover Sport’s optional driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Escalade doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

For better protection of the passenger compartment, the Range Rover Sport uses safety cell construction with a three-dimensional high-strength frame that surrounds the passenger compartment. It provides extra impact protection and a sturdy mounting location for door hardware and side impact beams. The Escalade uses a body-on-frame design, which has no frame members above the floor of the vehicle.

Both the Range Rover Sport and the Escalade have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, available blind spot warning systems, around view monitors and rear cross-path warning.

For smoother operation, better efficiency and fewer moving parts, the engines in the Range Rover Sport have an overhead cam design, rather than the old pushrod design of the engine in the Escalade.

The Range Rover Sport’s optional 5.0 supercharged V8 produces 98 more horsepower (518 vs. 420) and 1 lbs.-ft. more torque (461 vs. 460) than the Escalade’s 6.2 V8. The Range Rover Sport SVR’s standard 5.0 supercharged V8 produces 155 more horsepower (575 vs. 420) and 56 lbs.-ft. more torque (516 vs. 460) than the Escalade’s 6.2 V8.

As tested in Motor Trend the Range Rover Sport SVR 5.0 supercharged V8 is faster than the Cadillac Escalade:

On the EPA test cycle the Range Rover Sport gets better mileage than the Escalade:

Regenerative brakes improve the Range Rover Sport’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Escalade doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

Regardless of its engine, the Range Rover Sport’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. If the conditions warrant or the driver wishes, the system can be manually disabled at any time for the duration of a trip (not available P360/P400). Cadillac only offers an automatic engine start/stop system on the Escalade Diesel.

The Range Rover Sport has 3.5 gallons more fuel capacity than the Escalade (27.5 vs. 24 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

For better stopping power the Range Rover Sport’s standard brake rotors are larger than those on the Escalade:

The Range Rover Sport stops much shorter than the Escalade:

The Range Rover Sport’s optional tires provide better handling because they have a lower 40 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Escalade’s 50 series tires.

The Range Rover Sport V8 has active sway bars, which help keep it flat and controlled during cornering, but disconnect at lower speeds to smooth the ride and offer greater off-road suspension articulation. This helps keep the tires glued to the road on-road and off. The Escalade doesn’t offer an active sway bar system.

The front and rear suspension of the Range Rover Sport uses air springs for a smoother, controlled ride than the Escalade, which uses coil springs. Air springs maintain proper ride height and ride more smoothly.

The Range Rover Sport SVR handles at .89 G’s, while the Escalade Sport 4WD pulls only .60 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Range Rover Sport SVR executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 4.9 seconds quicker than the Escalade Sport 4WD (25.2 seconds @ .77 average G’s vs. 30.1 seconds @ .53 average G’s).

For greater off-road capability the Range Rover Sport SVR has a 2.8 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Escalade (10.8 vs. 8 inches), allowing the Range Rover Sport to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Range Rover Sport’s minimum ground clearance is .9 inch higher than on the Escalade Air Suspension (10.9 vs. 10 inches).

The Land Rover Range Rover Sport may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 400 to 750 pounds less than the Cadillac Escalade.

The Range Rover Sport is 1 foot, 7.8 inches shorter than the Escalade, making the Range Rover Sport easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

Unibody construction lowers the Range Rover Sport’s center of gravity significantly without reducing ground clearance. This contributes to better on the road handling and better off-road performance and stability. In addition, unibody construction makes the chassis stiffer, improving handling and reducing squeaks and rattles. The Escalade uses body-on-frame design instead.

The Range Rover Sport has a standard third row seat which folds flat into the floor. This completely clears a very large cargo area quickly. The Escalade doesn’t offer seats that fold into the floor.

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The Range Rover Sport has standard headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The Escalade doesn’t offer headlight washers.

Optional air conditioned the front and second row seats keep the Range Rover Sport’s passengers comfortable and take the sting out of hot leather in summer. The Escalade doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats for the second row.

Insurance will cost less for the Range Rover Sport owner. The Car Book by Jack Gillis rates the Range Rover Sport with a number “1” insurance rate while the Escalade is rated higher at a number “5” rate.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Range Rover Sport is less expensive to operate than the Escalade because typical repairs cost much less on the Range Rover Sport than the Escalade, including $24 less for a water pump, $754 less for a muffler, $400 less for front struts and $1357 less for a power steering pump.

The Range Rover Sport was selected by Petersen's 4-Wheel & Off-Road magazine as their 2014 4x4 of the Year. The Escalade has never been chosen.