Who would have believed you’d ever see a truck sporting a Cadillac nameplate? But, as America’s love affair with the truck gets more committed every day, coupled with upscale competitors such as BMW, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz and Lincoln offering luxury trucks, the marketeers at Caddy knew it was money in the bank. As Americans continue their sweet addiction to luxury trucks, the Cadillac Escalade EXT is General Motors’ (GM) fix.

Cadillac’s Escalade Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) has been a huge hit with highly visible trendsetters — like sports figures and people in the music industry — not to mention the more upscale local notables in every town across America. The EXT is following in its tracks.

The Escalade EXT, based on Chevy’s popular 4-door Avalanche, is a combination five-passenger SUV and pickup truck. It delivers tons of comfort, convenience, luxury and power, while featuring GM’s “Midgate” that separates the passenger area from the cargo bed and folds away to transform from 5.3 to 8.1 feet of space, allowing it to carry a full sheet of plywood — or anything else you may want.

The back window, which works with the Midgate, can be separately removed and stowed on board. Cargo in the bed is protected from theft and the elements by a three-piece cargo cover and lockable tailgate. There’s also lockable, insulated storage containers with a drain built in between the bed and outside sheet metal in case you need to transport something cold.

Yes, the EXT is basically a tricked-out Avalanche, but the it boasts a more powerful standard V8, electronic suspension wizardry, different front styling, a much plusher interior — and a much higher price.

The EXT, which has virtually no options beyond a $1,550 sunroof, starts at a little over $49,000. Our black test vehicle, with the sunroof, stickered at just over $52,000. Meanwhile, the Avalanche base price begins just over $30,000 and runs to slightly more than $35,000. In comparison, the Lincoln Blackwood, which is little more than a tricked-out F-150 and led Cadillac to market the EXT in the first place, is priced at almost $52,000, has seriously less utility, 45 fewer horses and no 4-wheel drive.

However, don’t make the mistake of confusing the EXT, with its standard all-wheel drive, with Cadillac’s regular Escalade SUV, which comes in either two or four-wheel drive versions even though both use GMs’ solid truck platform. Although the Escalade is a full-size luxury SUV, the EXT is slightly wider and taller. With a 130-inch wheelbase — more than a foot longer than the Escalade — it’s also 22.5 inches longer overall.

Standard under the hood of the EXT sits a 6.0-liter 345-horse, pushrod V8, which boasts massive torque and special aluminum cylinder heads that deliver an impressive, power-producing 10:1 compression ratio. Cadillac claims the EXT is the most powerful vehicle in its class, but it should be noted that the all-wheel-drive version of the Escalade SUV has the same powertrain.

The EXT does the 0-to-60 drill in about 8 seconds — not a dragster but certainly respectable for a vehicle tipping the scales at 5,752 pounds. And, at 70 mph, the V8 is loafing at around 2,000 rpm.

Besides its all-wheel drive, the EXT is loaded with tons of advanced techno-wizardry, including Cadillac’s StabiliTrak system — a computer-controlled road sensing suspension package that improves handling, stability, wheel control and trailering performance — as well as ride comfort.

Occupants sit high in the quiet interior, which is pretty plush and filled with mostly leather and wood. The well-designed dashboard features sports sedan type instrumentation and large climate and sound system controls, with a classy looking analog dashboard clock that’s a nice touch. OnStar is also standard.

Whines: I found the brake pedal to be a bit mushy for my taste although the anti-lock brakes provide decent stopping distances The EXT does have a tendency to get a bit wallowy, with steering that seems a little vague. Don’t buy the EXT for fuel economy because it isn’t there — an estimated 12-mpg in the city and 15 on the highway. The EXT does have a 30-gallon fuel tank though — but it demands premium-grade fuel.

Applause: The brawny Escalade EXT is a distinctly All-American vehicle that offers lots of ride and creature comfort. If you’re a fan of those big, old Cadillac sedans or the 60s and 70s, you’ll definitely enjoy the EXT. If you’re one of the ever-growing number of vehicle buyers who demand both extraordinary comfort and lots of utility, you’ll absolutely love it.

Bottom line: Some may consider the EXT to be a prime example of shameful American excess. But if you want a really nice truck, that offers excellent performance, lots of utility and every creature comfort known to man with all the bells and whistles, this is the truck to have.