Certified Benz & Beemer Compares 2016 Land Rover RANGE ROVER SPORT VS 2016 Cadillac Escalade Near Phoenix, AZ

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.

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.

When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Range Rover Sport’s standard Hill Descent Control allow you to creep down safely. The Escalade doesn’t offer Hill Descent Control.

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, daytime running lights, rearview cameras, available crash mitigating brakes, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, around view monitors and rear cross-path warning.

The Land Rover Range Rover Sport has a better fatality history. The Range Rover Sport was involved in fatal accidents at a rate 31% lower per vehicle registered than the Escalade, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

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 Supercharged/Autobiography’s standard 5.0 supercharged V8 produces 90 more horsepower (510 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 130 more horsepower (550 vs. 420) and 42 lbs.-ft. more torque (502 vs. 460) than the Escalade’s 6.2 V8.

As tested in Motor Trend the Land Rover Range Rover Sport S.C. V6 is faster than the Cadillac Escalade:

On the EPA test cycle the Range Rover Sport Td6 gets better fuel mileage than the Escalade 4WD (22 city/29 hwy vs. 15 city/21 hwy).

On the EPA test cycle the Range Rover Sport with its standard engine gets better fuel mileage than the Escalade 4x4 (17 city/23 hwy vs. 15 city/21 hwy).

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.

In heavy traffic or at stoplights the Range Rover Sport’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. The engine is automatically restarted when the driver gets ready to move again. (Start/Stop isn’t accounted in present EPA fuel mileage tests.) The Escalade doesn’t offer an automatic engine start/stop system.

The Range Rover Sport’s standard fuel tank has 1.7 gallons more fuel capacity than the Escalade (27.7 vs. 26 gallons).

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

The Range Rover Sport stops much shorter than the Escalade:

The Range Rover Sport’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 50 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Escalade’s standard 55 series tires. The Range Rover Sport’s optional tires have a lower 40 series profile than the Escalade’s optional 45 series tires.

For superior ride and handling, the Land Rover Range Rover Sport has fully independent front and rear suspensions. An independent suspension allows the wheels to follow the road at the best angle for gripping the pavement, without compromising ride comfort. The Cadillac Escalade has a solid rear axle, with a non-independent rear suspension.

The Range Rover Sport Supercharged/Autobiography/SVR 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 Supercharged handles at .86 G’s, while the Escalade 4x4 pulls only .74 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Range Rover Sport Supercharged executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 2.3 seconds quicker than the Escalade 4x4 (25.8 seconds @ .71 average G’s vs. 28.1 seconds @ .63 average G’s).

For greater off-road capability the Range Rover Sport has a 2.9 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Escalade (10.9 vs. 8 inches), allowing the Range Rover Sport to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The Land Rover Range Rover Sport may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 650 to 950 pounds less than the Cadillac Escalade.

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

Unibody construction makes the Range Rover Sport’s chassis much stiffer, which contributes to better handling, and enables softer springs to be used for a better ride. Unibody construction’s stiffness also contributes to better durability and less body squeaks and rattles. The Escalade doesn’t use unibody construction, but a body-on-frame design.

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.

A standard locking glovebox keeps your small valuables safer in the Range Rover Sport. The Escalade doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

Unlike the driver-only memory system in the Escalade, the Range Rover Sport has standard driver and passenger memory, so that when drivers switch, the memory setting adjusts the driver’s seat, steering wheel position and outside mirror angle and the front passenger seat also adjusts to the new passenger’s preset preferences.

The Range Rover Sport’s front and rear power windows all open or close with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside of the car. The Escalade’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to close them fully.

If the windows are left down on the Range Rover Sport the driver can raise them all using the key in the outside lock cylinder or the keyless remote; on a hot day the driver can lower the windows. The driver of the Escalade can only raise the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

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.

The Escalade’s optional cornering lamps activate a lamp on the front corner when the turn signal is activated. The Range Rover Sport’s optional adaptive cornering lights turn the actual headlight unit up to several degrees, depending on steering wheel angle and vehicle speed. This lights a significant distance into corners at any speed.

To better shield the driver and front passenger’s vision, the Range Rover Sport offers optional dual-element sun visors that can block glare from two directions simultaneously. The Escalade doesn’t offer secondary sun visors.

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.

The Range Rover Sport’s optional Advanced Park Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, with the driver only controlling speed with the brake pedal. The Escalade doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

The Range Rover Sport will cost the buyer less in the long run because of its superior resale value. Kiplinger’s estimates that the Range Rover Sport will retain a greater percentage of its original price after three and five years than the Escalade.

The Land Rover Range Rover Sport won two awards in Kiplinger’s 2015 car issue. The Cadillac Escalade didn't win any award.

 The Range Rover Sport received the 2015 “Total Quality Award.”

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.