2021 Cadillac Escalade vs 2022 Kia EV6

Youthful aspiration often translates into adult acquisition. When the first Cadillac Escalade went on sale and quickly became an American popular culture icon, the oldest Millennials were just getting their driver’s licenses, and the youngest weren’t born yet. Today, this “digital native” generation raised on rap music is turning 40, moving to the suburbs, and raising families. Plus, it is poised to inherit a reported US$68 trillion globally from Baby Boomers by 2030, the largest wealth transfer in modern history. Despite suffering through the Great Recession and now a global pandemic, will Millennials spend their passed-down windfalls on a six-figure full-size SUV that burns almost 15 litres per 100 kilometres? Some will, and in so doing, they’ll get a mighty impressive and technologically sophisticated, fifth-generation Cadillac on 22s.

We didn't expect them to go there. But the designers and engineers behind the 2022 Kia EV6 did—and deleted the template of their company's affordable, cost-conscious brand. This is an electric performance car that can genuinely compete with a Tesla Model 3 on everything from tech to style to acceleration to charging time. It's a masterclass of fresh thinking in a market segment dominated by rehashed ideas. And yet, it's hampered by the same major problems that, for decades, remain unresolved. The EV6 would be amazing with battery technology that hasn't yet been invented. For now, we'll tell you what the present life is like with this most unusual and exciting Kia in years.