The 6.2-liter V-8 engine in the redesigned 2021 Cadillac Escalade will come standard with the industry’s most advanced cylinder-deactivation system, the digital Dynamic Fuel Management system General Motors developed with Silicon Valley supplier Tula Technology.
The current Escalade, also powered by a 6.2-liter engine, has an older cylinder-deactivation system, Active Fuel Management, that can turn off half of the engine’s cylinders at cruising speed.
The fuel economy of the 2020 Escalade is EPA-rated at 14 mpg city, 23 mpg highway and 17 mpg combined.
With Dynamic Fuel Management, the system fires only the number of cylinders needed to power the vehicle at the driver’s desired speed, and the cylinders that fire are constantly rotated. Tula claims the system can improve fuel economy by as much as 15 percent in certain driving situations.
The fuel economy on the 2021 Escalade, which goes on sale this year, has not yet been rated by the EPA.
Dynamic Fuel Management debuted in the 2019 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups. It’s possible the system eventually could also be used in the Escalade’s optional 3.0-liter turbodiesel six-cylinder engine.
Tula CEO Scott Bailey told Automotive News the company’s engineers are developing a system for diesel engines.