Media Europe

2011 Cadillac Escalade Hybrid – Efficiency, Technology and Luxury in a Large SUV

2010-03-02

Back to overview

Print   |  Word   |  Share This   | 

The Cadillac Escalade Hybrid is the first implementation worldwide of the fuel-saving Two-Mode Hybrid System in a full-size luxury SUV. Escalade Hybrid dramatically reduces fuel consumption and exhaust emissions: It achieves greater than 20 percent improvement in combined fuel consumption and combined CO2 emissions over the non-hybrid model.

Two-Mode Hybrid technology can operate the vehicle solely on battery-electric power during standstill or low-speed driving situations. Escalade Hybrid also incorporates Active Fuel Management technology that enables the Vortec 6.0L V8 engine to operate on only four cylinders in certain driving conditions to save fuel.

The Cadillac Escalade Hybrid has permanent all-wheel-drive.

The hybrid model includes nearly all of Escalade’s standard comfort and convenience features, including an eight-inch, touch screen navigation system that displays performance readouts of the hybrid system.

GM’s patented two-mode hybrid technology

GM’s patented two-mode hybrid system consists of an advanced, electrically variable transmission (EVT) and 300-volt nickel-metal hydride Energy Storage System (ESS). These systems work in concert with the standard 6.0L V-8 Gen IV gasoline engine with Active Fuel Management (AFM) and late-intake valve closing (LIVC) technology.

The key to Escalade’s two-mode hybrid system is that the hybrid system itself generates the electric power used to propel the vehicle. When the brakes are applied or the vehicle is coasting, the electric motors within the hybrid system create electricity that is stored in the 300-volt battery. This stored energy is used to move the vehicle and the regenerative braking cycle is renewed.

Providing power to the hybrid’s electrically variable transmission’s (EVT) two electric motors is a 300-volt nickel-metal hydride Energy Storage System (ESS). This battery pack is under the second-row seat, where it takes up virtually no additional space and does not interfere with second- or third-row ingress/egress.

Additional features of the hybrid powertrain and supporting systems include:

• Fully blended regenerative braking captures energy that would otherwise be lost during vehicle deceleration.
• A 6.0L V-8 engine with Active Fuel Management and late intake valve closing (Atkinson-cycle combustion process) for reduced pumping losses and better overall fuel economy. It is rated at 337 horsepower (248 kW) and 498 Nm of torque and runs on regular unleaded fuel.
• Auto Stop mode. Once the vehicle reaches 0 Km/h, the gasoline engine automatically shuts down, leaving the engine off and allowing the vehicle to move only under electric power, such as during city driving or heavy stop-and-go traffic.
• An exhaust system and resonator specially tuned for the 6.0L LIVC engine’s Active Fuel Management operation. It ensures comfortable interior acoustics and a pleasant exhaust note during both V-4 and V-8 operation
• An electrically driven, 300-volt air conditioning compressor reduces vibration and allows the HVAC system to cool the passenger compartment even when the gasoline engine is shut off. It includes the standard tri-zone climate control system.
• Electrically driven, 42-volt variable-assist power steering system reduces vibration and improves fuel consumption by lessening parasitic losses common in belt-driven hydraulic systems.
• The Energy Storage System cooling system’s internal fan is tuned to be quiet at low vehicle speeds, when occupants could more easily hear it.

The Escalade Hybrid’s battery pack durability and reliability are maintained via optimized charge and discharge cycles, as well as a dedicated cooling system that draws air from the passenger compartment. As part of the vehicle’s emission control system, the energy storage system is warranted for eight years/100,000 miles.