Sometimes things come together and one must take advantage of this chance unification. As with the first person that dropped cheese in their bowl of macaroni, when the two black, drive-by-shooter specials showed up at Auto123 Towers, I just went with it. The lure to pit the two in a head-to-head match up was impossible to ignore. Both were -- as I said - black, chromed-out and proud to be bigger than life.
In no time flat, I plotted a route that would take the regal 'Slades on highways, country roads and in urban settings. The plan was perfect.
Maybe too perfect.
The first goal of this exercise was to witness the cataclysmic difference in fuel consumption between the two. Sadly, the expected blowout failed to unfold. Over half a day of driving over the hills, through the woods and on the open road the Escalades travelled nearly identical distances and consumed a very similar amount of black gold.
So, here are the results: Hybrid 12.27L/100km; SLP Sport 14.49L/100km. So what does this mean? That the Hybrid is a gas guzzler? No, not really. That the SLP is remarkably efficient? Hell, no. Mike managed no better than 20L/100km over the week-long test, while I averaged 12 with the Big H. This 40% gap is real. The 15% discrepancy from this test is a direct result of the easy driving conditions on the route travelled.
The other story is all-out performance. Here, the contest comes down to the sources of boostage. Obviously, slapping a massive TVS 2300 supercharger between a 6.2L V8's cylinder banks is an old-school, surefire way to shred pavement. The Hybrid's boost is far more tarmac-friendly. It starts with a 6.0L V8 onto which is wedged a Hybrid electric propulsion system.
The horsepower variations are staggering, but then they should be as the SLP exists only to reconfigure what the plastic surgeon did to your face, while the Hybrid is like Fat Bastard but with a nicer disposition. The SLP has 525 hp while the Hybrid makes do with 332.
Straight-line nailage presents no competition: the SLP crushes the Hybrid in take-offs, passing manoeuvres and all-out speed.
Where the differences are not so obvious are in nearly every other measures of performance. The SLP, although massively more powerful, features the same brakes (same size, but without the re-gen function) as the Hybrid. Also, the fact that this 2012 SLP Cadillac Escalade Supercharged Sport Edition already did the rounds with a large number of American and Canadian publications did not help the braking situation. In the end, I thought the Hybrid fared better in this department.
Steering was a little more of the same. Feel and feedback (I guess that's what it could be called here) were crisper with the Hybrid. In the handling department, our tested SLP was shod with 2" lowering springs and beefier sway bars, and they proved to make a considerable difference where body roll and stability were concerned.
On the show side, the SLP and Hybrid were virtually indistinguishable. Other than wheel design, lower front fascias and some decals, both are nearly identical. I braved a gathering of at least 500 young car-nuts at a local strip mall one evening, and to my dismay no one gave the SLP the time of day or a single admiring glance. Poo.
It's understandable as, from a short distance, the SLP's lowered ride height is barely discernible, and one has to bend down to notice the extra tailpipes. Then there are the 22" wheels which look as though they come from the Cadillac accessory book.
Both cabins are like peas in a pod save for the Sport Edition Supercharged stitching on the SLP's front seat headrests.
So, where does that leave me? A $100,000 Hybrid or a $110,000 SLP? I'd have to go with the Hybrid, but I must keep in mind that the SLP had likely seen better days before it landed in our hands.
Fuel consumption notwithstanding, the SLP with some different dubs could possibly sway me so long as the optional 15" Brembo brakes were included. Oh, and there's something to be said about a supercharger whine. It's addictively visceral.
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In no time flat, I plotted a route that would take the regal 'Slades on highways, country roads and in urban settings. The plan was perfect.
Maybe too perfect.
The first goal of this exercise was to witness the cataclysmic difference in fuel consumption between the two. Sadly, the expected blowout failed to unfold. Over half a day of driving over the hills, through the woods and on the open road the Escalades travelled nearly identical distances and consumed a very similar amount of black gold.
So, here are the results: Hybrid 12.27L/100km; SLP Sport 14.49L/100km. So what does this mean? That the Hybrid is a gas guzzler? No, not really. That the SLP is remarkably efficient? Hell, no. Mike managed no better than 20L/100km over the week-long test, while I averaged 12 with the Big H. This 40% gap is real. The 15% discrepancy from this test is a direct result of the easy driving conditions on the route travelled.
 |
| The first goal of this exercise was to witness the cataclysmic difference in fuel consumption between the two. (Photo: Sébastien D'Amour) |
The other story is all-out performance. Here, the contest comes down to the sources of boostage. Obviously, slapping a massive TVS 2300 supercharger between a 6.2L V8's cylinder banks is an old-school, surefire way to shred pavement. The Hybrid's boost is far more tarmac-friendly. It starts with a 6.0L V8 onto which is wedged a Hybrid electric propulsion system.
The horsepower variations are staggering, but then they should be as the SLP exists only to reconfigure what the plastic surgeon did to your face, while the Hybrid is like Fat Bastard but with a nicer disposition. The SLP has 525 hp while the Hybrid makes do with 332.
Straight-line nailage presents no competition: the SLP crushes the Hybrid in take-offs, passing manoeuvres and all-out speed.
Where the differences are not so obvious are in nearly every other measures of performance. The SLP, although massively more powerful, features the same brakes (same size, but without the re-gen function) as the Hybrid. Also, the fact that this 2012 SLP Cadillac Escalade Supercharged Sport Edition already did the rounds with a large number of American and Canadian publications did not help the braking situation. In the end, I thought the Hybrid fared better in this department.
 |
| The SLP, although massively more powerful, features the same brakes (same size, but without the re-gen function) as the Hybrid. (Photo: Sébastien D'Amour) |
Steering was a little more of the same. Feel and feedback (I guess that's what it could be called here) were crisper with the Hybrid. In the handling department, our tested SLP was shod with 2" lowering springs and beefier sway bars, and they proved to make a considerable difference where body roll and stability were concerned.
On the show side, the SLP and Hybrid were virtually indistinguishable. Other than wheel design, lower front fascias and some decals, both are nearly identical. I braved a gathering of at least 500 young car-nuts at a local strip mall one evening, and to my dismay no one gave the SLP the time of day or a single admiring glance. Poo.
It's understandable as, from a short distance, the SLP's lowered ride height is barely discernible, and one has to bend down to notice the extra tailpipes. Then there are the 22" wheels which look as though they come from the Cadillac accessory book.
 |
| Other than wheel design, lower front fascias and some decals, both are nearly identical. (Photo: Sébastien D'Amour) |
Both cabins are like peas in a pod save for the Sport Edition Supercharged stitching on the SLP's front seat headrests.
So, where does that leave me? A $100,000 Hybrid or a $110,000 SLP? I'd have to go with the Hybrid, but I must keep in mind that the SLP had likely seen better days before it landed in our hands.
Fuel consumption notwithstanding, the SLP with some different dubs could possibly sway me so long as the optional 15" Brembo brakes were included. Oh, and there's something to be said about a supercharger whine. It's addictively visceral.
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