Compare the2023 Rolls-Royce CullinanVS 2023 Cadillac Escalade ESV

Both the Cullinan and Escalade ESV have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Cullinan 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 ESV’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.

The Rolls-Royce Cullinan has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Escalade ESV doesn’t offer knee airbags.

The Cullinan has standard PostCrash, which automatically apply the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Escalade ESV doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.

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

The Cullinan has a standard blind spot warning system that uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. Only the Escalade ESV Premium/Platinum/Sport offers a blind spot warning system.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Cullinan has standard Cross Traffic Warning, helping the driver avoid collisions. Only the Escalade ESV Premium/Platinum/Sport offers Rear Cross Traffic Alert.

The Cullinan’s 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 ESV doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

For better protection of the passenger compartment, the Cullinan 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 ESV uses a body-on-frame design, which has no frame members above the floor of the vehicle.

Both the Cullinan and the Escalade ESV have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, 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 and available night vision systems.

The Cullinan comes with a full 4-year/unlimited-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Escalade ESV’s 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty expires sooner.

Rolls-Royce pays for scheduled maintenance on the Cullinan for 4 years and unlimited miles. Rolls-Royce will pay for oil changes, lubrication and any other required maintenance. Cadillac only pays for the first scheduled maintenance visit on the Escalade ESV.

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

The Cullinan’s standard 6.8 turbo V12 produces 143 more horsepower (563 vs. 420) and 167 lbs.-ft. more torque (627 vs. 460) than the Escalade ESV’s 6.2 V8. The Cullinan Black Badge’s standard 6.8 turbo V12 produces 172 more horsepower (592 vs. 420) and 204 lbs.-ft. more torque (664 vs. 460) than the Escalade ESV’s 6.2 V8.

For better stopping power the Cullinan’s front brake rotors are larger than those on the Escalade ESV:

The Cullinan’s optional tires provide better handling because they have a lower 45 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Escalade ESV’s 50 series tires.

Changing a flat tire near traffic can be dangerous and inconvenient. The run-flat tires standard on the Cullinan can be driven up to 50 miles without any air pressure, allowing you to drive to a service station for a repair. The Escalade ESV doesn’t offer run-flat tires.

The Cullinan 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 ESV doesn’t offer an active sway bar system.

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

The Cullinan offers an available adjustable active suspension system, which counteracts cornering forces actively, limiting body roll and improving handling and stability. Cadillac doesn’t offer an active suspension on the Escalade ESV.

The Cullinan is 1 foot, 4.1 inches shorter than the Escalade ESV, making the Cullinan easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

Unibody construction lowers the Cullinan’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 ESV uses body-on-frame design instead.

The Cullinan has 1.5 inches more rear headroom and 1.2 inches more rear legroom than the Escalade ESV.

Flexibility is maximized at the game, campground or a drive-in theatre in the Cullinan when its optional tailgating rear seats are deployed, allowing people to sit facing out of the tailgate. (Do not use while vehicle is in motion.) The Escalade ESV doesn’t offer tailgating seats.

The Cullinan’s rear cargo window opens separately from the rest of the tailgate door to allow quicker loading of small packages. The Escalade ESV’s rear cargo window doesn’t open.

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the Cullinan to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The Escalade ESV doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

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

The Cullinan has standard massaging front seats. Massaging front seats are only available on the Escalade ESV Platinum. The Cullinan also offers optional massaging rear seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging second row seats aren’t available in the Escalade ESV.