Compare the2023 Cadillac EscaladeVS 2023 Toyota Sequoia

The Escalade Premium/Platinum/Sport’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Sequoia doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

The Escalade has a standard front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The Sequoia doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

Full-time four-wheel drive is optional on the Escalade. Full-time four-wheel drive gives added traction for safety in all conditions, not just off-road, like the only system available on the Sequoia.

An active infrared night vision system optional on the Escalade Premium/Platinum/Sport helps the driver to more easily detect people, animals or other objects in front of the vehicle at night. Using an infrared camera and near-infrared lights to detect heat, the system then displays the image on a monitor in the dashboard. The Sequoia doesn’t offer a night vision system.

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

The Escalade comes with a full 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck. The Sequoia’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 14,000 miles sooner.

Cadillac’s powertrain warranty covers the Escalade 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than Toyota covers the Sequoia. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 6 years or 70,000 miles. Coverage on the Sequoia ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

The Escalade’s corrosion warranty is 1 year longer than the Sequoia’s (6 vs. 5 years).

The Escalade has a standard “limp home system” to keep drivers from being stranded if most or all of the engine’s coolant is lost. The engine will run on only half of its cylinders at a time, reduce its power and light a warning lamp on the dashboard so the driver can get to a service station for repairs. The Sequoia doesn’t offer a lost coolant limp home mode, so a coolant leak could strand you or seriously damage the truck’s engine.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Escalade first among large premium SUVs in their 2022 Initial Quality Study. The Sequoia isn’t in the top three in its category.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Cadillac vehicles are better in initial quality than Toyota vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Cadillac above average in initial quality. With 9 more problems per 100 vehicles, Toyota is rated lower.

On the EPA test cycle the Escalade gets better mileage than the Sequoia:

An engine control system that can shut down some of the engine’s cylinders helps improve the Escalade V8’s fuel efficiency. The Sequoia doesn’t offer a system that can shut down part of the engine.

Both the Escalade and Sequoia have a standard automatic start/stop engine feature to stop unnecessary fuel waste and pollution at stoplights and heavy traffic. The Escalade has a standard disable switch for the system, so a driver can keep the engine from shutting off when the vehicle stops temporarily.

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Cadillac Escalade uses regular unleaded gasoline (premium recommended for maximum performance). The Sequoia requires premium, which can cost 20 to 55 cents more per gallon.

The Escalade has 1.5 gallons more fuel capacity than the Sequoia (24 vs. 22.5 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

The Escalade has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The Sequoia doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

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

For better traction, the Escalade has larger tires than the Sequoia (275/50R22 vs. 265/70R18).

The Escalade’s tires provide better handling because they have a lower 50 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Sequoia’s standard 70 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Escalade has standard 22-inch wheels. Smaller 18-inch wheels are standard on the Sequoia.

The Escalade has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The Sequoia doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

The Escalade has standard front and rear stabilizer bars, which help keep the Escalade flat and controlled during cornering. The Sequoia’s suspension doesn’t offer a rear stabilizer bar.

For better maneuverability, the Escalade’s turning circle is .5 feet tighter than the Sequoia’s (39.7 feet vs. 40.2 feet). The Escalade’s turning circle is 4.9 feet tighter than the Sequoia TRD Pro’s (39.7 feet vs. 44.6 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Escalade Air Suspension has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Sequoia TRD Pro (10 vs. 9.1 inches), allowing the Escalade to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The Escalade has 3.1 inches more front headroom, 3.3 inches more front legroom, .5 inches more front shoulder room, .5 inches more rear headroom, 2.5 inches more rear legroom, .4 inches more rear hip room, 2.8 inches more rear shoulder room, 2.6 inches more third row headroom, 1.2 inches more third row legroom and .1 inches more third row shoulder room than the Sequoia.

The Escalade’s cargo area provides more volume than the Sequoia.

Pressing a switch automatically lowers the Escalade’s second and third row seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Sequoia doesn’t offer automatic folding second row seats.

The Escalade has a higher standard payload capacity than the Sequoia (1636 vs. 1555 lbs.).

J.D. Power and Associates surveys of service recipients show that Cadillac service is better than Toyota. J.D. Power ranks Cadillac second in service department satisfaction. With a 32% lower rating, Toyota is ranked 20th.

The Escalade’s rain-sensitive wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically based on the amount of rainfall on the windshield. This allows the driver to concentrate on driving without constantly adjusting the wipers. The Sequoia’s standard manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

To help drivers see further while navigating curves, the Escalade Premium/Platinum/Sport offers optional adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle. The Sequoia doesn’t offer cornering lights.

The Escalade has a standard heated steering wheel to take the chill out of steering on extremely cold winter days before the vehicle heater warms up. A heated steering wheel costs extra on the Sequoia.

The Escalade Platinum has standard massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the Sequoia.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Cadillac Escalade has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. Wireless charging costs extra on the Sequoia and isn’t available on the Sequoia SR5.

The Escalade Premium/Platinum/Sport’s Adaptive Park Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, stopping and changing direction automatically. The Sequoia doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

The Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV outsold the Toyota Sequoia by almost five to one during the 2021 model year.