Latest news with #EscaladeIQL
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
2025 Cadillac Optiq Is Your Gateway Ride for Electric Cadillacs
The 2025 Cadillac Optiq is the entry point to Caddy's line of all-electric SUVs. For the $55,885 starting price you get standard dual-motor AWD, 300 hp, a sport-tuned suspension, and a 19-speaker AKG Studio "multi-dimensional sound experience" to make any drive like front row at Pink Floyd 1978, man. The 85-kWh battery is good for 302 miles of range. On sale now. You can't say you don't get enough choice from Cadillac when it comes to electric SUVs. There's the Escalade IQ, longer Escalade IQL, Lyriq, the coming Vistiq, and, now, the 2025 Optiq. (Everything has to end in 'iq'—that's how you know it's a Cadillac EV. Keep that in mind when specing out your $340,000 Celestiq.) The Optiq is the most affordable of all the Cadillac electric SUVs, starting at $55,885 including destination. It rides on the same GM EV Battery platform as the less expensive Chevrolet Equinox, but you won't be thinking Equinox when you get in one for a test drive. There are a lot of features that separate this from a rudimentary Chevy. Let's start with the sound system. Normally, when a car manufacturer makes a big deal out of its audio system, it's to take your attention away from the fact that nothing else is going on. So when Cadillac scheduled a separate day for the 19-speaker AKG Studio Audio with Dolby Atmos, including a visit to Dolby's San Francisco sound lab, I might have been suspicious. Well, suffice to say that no matter what your musical tastes are, you will be gobsmacked by the quality of the sound in the humble Optiq. Dolby Atmos remasters music with the input of the original recording artist to center the sounds around the listener: guitar over there, bass behind you, kazoo directly in front. In the Optiq, it then pumps all that sound into the car however you want it: centered around you, around both front seats, in the middle of the car. It thumps out through those 19 speakers of the AKG Studio Audio to make your listening experience better than anything you've ever heard, including that righteous Pioneer setup you got from The Federated Group in high school. A good way to measure sound quality for non-audio engineers is to see if it comes apart at higher volumes. This audio does not and makes you want to crank Mott The Hoople at volumes your ears never thought possible. Cadillac said that on surveys of what buyers are looking for nowadays, 80% checked the 'audio' box. Now that you've moved out of your college dorm and live in a quiet suburban paradise with neighbors and a sadistic HOA, the car is the only place you can really crank your tunes. And you spend a couple hours a day in your car—might as well be happy. Consider this when cross-shopping. Still on the inside, there's an impressive 33-inch diagonal advanced LED screen with 9k resolution offering both gauges for the driver and infotainment access for the passenger. It's not as impressive as the 55-inch screen in the Escalade IQ, but it gets the job done in artistically appealing fashion. It offers Google built-in entertainment with Google maps and Google Assistant. You also get standard Super Cruise, which may be the best of the Level 2 and a half semi-autonomous driving aids. And there is a nice selection of interior fabrics, some of them recycled. Fire it up and you'll like the feel behind the wheel. The GM EV Battery Platform on which it rides requires 65 kilonewtons per millimeter to deflect one degree. Imagine holding a beer can with one hand on each end and twisting. If your beer can was an Optiq body-in-white you'd have to produce 65 kilonewtons to twist it one degree out of shape. 'That gives you the ride isolation,' said chief engineer John Cockburn. Controlling that ride are Passive Plus frequency dependent dampers that change the rate of fluid flowing through the shocks as the ride changes. Spring rates are unique to the Optiq. There are four drive modes: Tour, Sport, Snow/Ice, and My Mode. I set it in Tour, as Sport was too harsh. Had I played around with My Mode I might have come up with something different but Tour was the best. Likewise you can set regenerative braking to your liking and I cranked it down to one-pedal driving. It also has unique drive motor calibrations for the dual electric motors—one front, one rear—that give it AWD. The inverter on the Optiq is silicon carbide, what Cadillac calls an enhanced inverter. That requires different calibrations, which is why the Optiq makes 300 hp while the Equinox gets by with 288. 'That's a lot of words to say that the architecture is shared, but all the hardware and components that we're putting into it is unique to Optiq over the Equinox,' said the chief engineer. 'In line with our philosophy of body control and ride isolation, here are the tools we need to create that persona and make this sporty, agile, planted feel. We needed all of that to make this happen in this vehicle.' Did they get it? A drive along twisty Shoreline Highway north of the San Francisco Bay proved the Optiq to be surprisingly agile, indeed. Body roll was not a factor for this tallish SUV. The craft remained upright and planted through every corner without being rough or bone-rattling. The Optiq will keep going for 302 miles of EPA range, thanks to an 85-kWh battery. Helping launch it off the line with more-than-adequate alacrity are 300 hp and 354 lb-ft of torque. You won't necessarily be giving up a sporty driving feel by going to an SUV, at least not in this case. There are two models of Optiq—Luxury and Sport—that come down more to trim levels than anything else. Pricing starts at $55,885, although final assembly in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico, could have tariff implications, along with the uncertain tax credits. Considering how much time you'll be spending in your vehicle, that's a reasonable entry point for all-electric luxury. Would you pay the extra 7 grand for the Caddy over the Chevy? Please comment below.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Cadillac Escalade IQ Is GM's Fourth Brawny Electric SUV
The Escalade IQ is Cadillac's all-electric take on the same architecture that supports the GMC Hummer, GMC Sierra, and Chevrolet Silverado EVs. The Escalade IQ can go up to 460 miles on a charge, enough to silence most skeptics. It's in showrooms now starting at $129,900, soon to be joined by the larger Escalade IQL. On the spec sheet, the new, all-electric Cadillac Escalade IQ is impressive, indeed: 460 miles of range in extended IQL trim, longest of any electric SUV, thanks to a ginormous 205-kWh battery Over 100 miles of range recharged in just 10 minutes thanks to its 800-volt architecture 750 hp and 785 lb-ft of torque, the latter available from just above zero rpm 0-60 mph in 4.7 seconds 8,000 pounds towing capacity It has a really cool 55-inch infotainment touchscreen that will blow yer mind So what's the drawback? Are there any drawbacks? Well, there is the $129,900 starting sticker price, which you can easily crank up to $150,640. Potentially cross-shopped competitors are less than that, though smaller: Mercedes EQS SUV offers just 536 hp for between $106,000 and $134,900; the Rivian R1S makes as much as 1,050 hp (in the coming Quad Motor configuration) with a price that starts at $75,900 for an R1S Dual Standard and tops out at $105,900 for an R1S Tri; the Lucid Gravity—on sale now—sports 828 hp and starts at $94,900; the BMW iX xDrive 50 has 516 hp for $87,250, or the iX M60 has 610 hp for $111,500. The list goes on, and while those competitors aren't as commodious as the Escalade, many if not most people in this end of the market are buying to impress their friends in the bridge club or the guys at the golf course parking lot. Aren't they? And then there's the Escalade IQ's 9,000 pounds of mass. The four big electric bruisers from GM are all heavyweights, and all tip the scales way up at the end of the chart that approaches five-figure curb weights. But they are all remarkably capable given all that heft. Despite that weight, you still get from 0-60 mph in 4.7 seconds in the Escalade IQ, more than enough to thrill you on the way to the grocery store, or when you hole-shot that smack-talkin' mom or dad as you both exit the Wee Tots dropoff zone. And the Escalade IQ does it all with a sense of luxury and practicality that might not leave you wishing for something smaller. Think of it as the most luxurious of GM's quadratic equation of heavy electrics: the GMC Hummer EV, GMC Sierra EV, Chevy Silverado EV, and now the Cadillac Escalade IQ (the 'IQ' means 'EV,' but Cadillac has to be different). Soon, this luxurious beast will get even bigger, with arrival of the stretched Escalade IQL. 'It's the halo for the Cadillac brand,' said Donnelley Baxter, IQ's global marketing manager. 'Escalade has been a cultural icon. The right vehicle for customers. The luxury of choice. Over 1 million Escalades have already been sold globally.' The Escalade is already the prestige choice among a certain demographic: moms and dads on the Upper East Side picking up private school kids, Manhattan Beach matrons and masters who want luxury but whose spouses insist on 'buying American,' and didn't Tony Soprano drive an Escalade ESV? Yes he did. And so did we. On an improvised route in The Bay Area in northern California, we cut off from the traffic-clogged route Cadillac had planned for us and deviated over Skyline Boulevard, the road where every Ducati-owning tech tycoon goes on Saturdays between lawsuits. What is the IQ like behind the wheel? First, like all EVs, it's as quiet as a secret, its dual motors barely humming as they produce those 750 hp—a figure available only in Velocity Max mode. But once in VMax, it'll stay there as long as you want, unlike competitors whose peak power is only for short bursts. It makes 680 hp in Normal Mode, which is still plenty enough. The beast rides on air suspension, controlling high-baller-shot-caller 24-inch wheels—rims so large we don't even know the young-person slang for them (quadruple dubs? Two-By-Fours? Ask a nearby youngster). The IQ sports four-wheel steer, too, with the rears going in synch with the fronts at high speeds and opposite in parking maneuvers. There's something called Arrival Mode that exaggerates the rear steer to ridiculous degrees and which will probably scare you to death the first time you try it, like some kind of giant clown car. But once you get used to it, you'll probably forget how you ever parked anything without it. The Adaptive Air Ride features Magnetic Ride Control to minimize body roll and its resultant 'head toss,' keeping the IQ seemingly upright no matter what. Gone are the days when large vehicles cornered on the door handles. You can also adjust the regenerative braking to the point of one-pedal driving, something I myself prefer and find quite convenient, but some do not. I did not try any 0-60 launches but will trust Cadillac's 4.7-second to 60 figure, as it feels quite eager off the line. On the twistier sections of Skyline Boulevard, followed by a way-too-narrow road to lunch called Kings Mountain Road that I do not recommend for anything wider than a slip of paper that says 'car'—let alone the 94.1-inch-wide Escalade IQ—we squeegeed down into the lower Silicon Valley for lunch. I have only recently, several days since returning from the launch program, relaxed the pucker. And let's not forget the wild, wide, 55-inch digital infotainment touchscreen that spans from A-pillar to A-pillar inside, providing everything from driver info on the left to video-watching on the right, the latter on a screen that is invisible from the driver's point of view. I tried that out, with my co-driver watching a YouTube video while I drove. I could see an outline of what was going on in the YouTube vid, but there was not enough definition to amount to a distraction. In between was what might be a standard infotainment section. In front of all that, a separate screen was in place for HVAC and car-related adjustments like outside rearview mirrors and even a submenu-mounted tag to open the glove box. Super Cruise is also standard, and you can get up to 42 speakers with the AKG Studio Reference audio system (speaker counts long ago replaced cupholders as the measure of interior magnificence). Overall, assuming you have room in the driveway, the garage, and most roads you're going to drive it on (and assuming you have at least $129,900 to spend on it plus tax, etc.) you could be very happy with one of these. I was, and I only had it for one day. I can only assume I'd like it even more if I owned it. If you like big SUVs, does the Escalade IQ hold much appeal? Do you need the larger IQL? Please comment below.
USA Today
17-03-2025
- Automotive
- USA Today
2026 Cadillac Escalade IQL priced at $132,000 to start
2026 Cadillac Escalade IQL priced at $132,000 to start Show Caption Hide Caption EV version of Cadillac Escalade gets a name Called the Escalade IQ, it is one of three new EVs Cadillac plans to unveil this year. Cadillac, Detroit Free Press The Escalade IQL will have an estimated range of 460 miles and be able to gain 116 miles of range in 10 minutes with fast charging. Production is expected to begin in mid-2025 at GM's Factory Zero plant in Detroit. Cadillac has released pricing information for the 2026 Cadillac Escalade IQL, the long-wheelbase version of the brand's cornerstone vehicle. The variant comes nearly two years after Cadillac revealed its first all-electric full-size SUV. Starting at $132,695, the price includes destination freight charge but not tax, title and dealer fees. If buyers initiate the velocity max feature, the vehicle can reach 750 horsepower and 785 pound-feet of torque, Cadillac said. The vehicle could also reach 60 mph in 4.7 seconds. The SUV promises more cargo space, executives said in a news release, as well as Cadillac-estimated range of 460 miles on a full charge. Cadillac also anticipates faster charging turnaround, with customers plugging in to fast charging stations pulling in 116 miles of range in 10 minutes. Cadillac plans to sell the 2026 Cadillac Escalade IQL in all its 10 markets, including China and Canada, with production slated for mid-2025 at General Motors' Factory Zero plant in Detroit. Affluence made affordable: The cheapest luxury SUVs of 2025 Ambitious plans for Cadillac brand Cadillac is inching closer to its goal of having an all-electric vehicle lineup by 2030, an ambitious goal even without criticism of EVs from President Donald Trump. John Roth, 56, vice president of Global Cadillac, told the Free Press that the brand's vision plan, first drafted in 2015, has come to fruition this year. 'As you scanned the luxury landscape at that time, you saw brands moving up and becoming truly tier one, and others struggling in the marketplace that I call 'plus plus' — with a sister division that just takes a model and puts luxury elements on it,' Roth said. 'Are you truly engineering a portfolio and a platform from the ground up and making it a luxury vehicle? That's where Cadillac wanted to go.' Cadillac's all-electric options come as the company has finally exceeded pre-pandemic sales volume. Cadillac sales of 160,204 last year marked a 2.5% increase from 156,246 in 2019, according to the Automotive News Data Center. Still, it remains lower than the brand's peak of 235,002 Cadillacs sold in 2005, the highest annual figure in a data set going back to 2004. So far, GM's luxury EV sales show how viable the new powertrain is for customers — once production hurdles were solved. The Lyriq launched in 2022 and the U.S. Cadillac dealers sold only 122 vehicles thanks to assembly line issues. Sales rose exponentially in 2023, with 9,154, and 28,402 in all of 2024. Electrification 'inevitable' If you apply the thought process first planned in 2015, General Motors would have arrived at an EV strategy even without pressure from federal and safety agencies promoting sustainable vehicle production, Roth said, because of what a battery wrapped around platform enables auto designers to do. 'You end up with cars and SUVs like we have today because you're no longer constrained by the traditional gas elements that make up a vehicle,' he added. 'Blistering fast relative to an ICE counterpart, but one with driving dynamics built into it.' Escalade sales, in particular, rebounded quickly from the pandemic, with 41,671 total sold last year. The new Escalade, 'is literally its own platform, design, wiring architecture and exterior vehicle design,' he said. 'If you set the two of them next to each other, they still have Escalade characteristics, but the IQ is a completely different vehicle than its sister.' The next vehicles Cadillac launches will be the Optiq compact SUV and a three-row Vistiq SUV. There's no telling what the rest of this year holds, particularly with the first cannon blasts of a trade war firing this week. Still, as ever, there's optimism in the auto industry, and Roth is among those looking forward to the next five years. 'Every big milestone of innovation meant volume growth and brand growth for General Motors,' he said. Jackie Charniga covers General Motors for the Free Press. Reach her at jcharniga@ This story was updated to add a video.
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
The New Cadillac Escalade IQL Is One of the Longest Production Cars of All Time
Cadillac had previously hinted that an all-electric version of its Escalade could be one of the biggest Escalades ever, and, now, it has delivered, with a car that is one of the longest production cars ever made. The new Cadillac Escalade IQL comes in at 228.4 inches, or just over 19 feet long, and 1.4 inches longer than the Escalade ESV, the gas-powered long Escalade already in Cadillac's stable. The Escalade IQL will have three rows of seats and even more room in the back for luggage, in addition to, under the hood, a frunk with more space. More from Robb Report Xiaomi's 1,500 HP All-Electric Car Is Setting Speed Records, and One Is up for Grabs A New Mercedes Electric Supercar Concept Could Be One of the Fastest AMGs Ever Mansory Gave the Tesla Cybertruck a Garish Makeover, and That's the Point A package called Executive Second Row adds personal 12.6-inch screens to the second row of seats, also capable of massaging, heating, and cooling. The package includes headrest speakers. The length of the Escalade IQL is more apparent in the third row, which gets 4 more inches of legroom, and an inch more of headroom. Seven people can fit in the Escalade IQL, or fewer with the third-row seat able to be folded down for more luggage storage. The Escalade IQL might be fun to drive, too, Cadillac says, with 750 horsepower generated by two electric motors and a zero to 60 mph time of 4.7 seconds, which is somewhat impressive given its length and heft. Cadillac doesn't mention the Escalade IQL's exact weight, but it's likely more than four tons, or roughly the same as that of the GMC Hummer EV. Range is up to 460 miles, Cadillac says, though likely less fully loaded, and even less when towing. Among the longest production cars ever, the Escalade IQL sits in the company of cars like the Rolls-Royce Phantom EWB and the Mercedes-Maybach Pullman. The Escalade IQL is also longer than more relevant competition like the Jeep Grand Wagoneer L and the Lincoln Navigator L. The Escalade IQL is made for people with garages, and not small ones. GM introduced the first Escalade in 1998 to compete with the Lincoln Navigator in a segment, then, that was in its infancy: full-size luxury SUVs. That category now is bigger than ever, but it was the Escalade that largely pioneered it, becoming a household name with its second-generation, introduced in 2001. That car became a staple of hip-hop music, music videos, movies, and also TV shows like The Sopranos, cementing its place in pop culture and becoming, in many ways, bigger than Cadillac itself. Now in its fifth-generation, which debuted in 2020, Cadillac is trying to recapture some of that momentum with the all-electric Escalade. The new Escalade IQL will start at $132,695, and production is set to begin later this year in Detroit. It will debut as a 2026 model year of Robb Report The 2024 Chevy C8 Corvette: Everything We Know About the Powerful Mid-Engine Beast The World's Best Superyacht Shipyards The ABCs of Chartering a Yacht Click here to read the full article.
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
2026 Cadillac Escalade IQL Is A 750-HP, 19-Foot-Long American Luxury EV Beast
The Cadillac Escalade has come in two length choices since the second-generation car went on sale back in 2002. There's been a standard-length Escalade based on the Chevy Tahoe, and a longer Escalade ESV based on the Suburban. For 2025 Cadillac electrified the 'Lade with its Ultium platform, creating the Escalade IQ. The electric Escalade is on sale now, but it only comes in one length. That's a real letdown for Big Escalade Enjoyers, but I've got good news: Cadillac has unveiled the longer Escalade IQL, meant to be the EV standard bearer of the biggest Cadillac you can buy. Let's talk over some numbers first, because they're as big as the Escalade IQL all by themselves. The IQL comes in at 228.5 inches overall, which is 4.1 inches longer than the standard Escalade IQ. That also makes it an inch and a half longer than the gas-powered Escalade ESV. Wheelbase (136.2 inches), height (76.1 inches) and width with mirrors (94.1 inches) all remain the same. That might not sound like a huge difference, but Cadillac reworked the rear of the Escalade IQL to give it a more upright look, meaning there's more room inside for second- and third-row passengers and all of their stuff. Read more: These Are The Dumbest Looking Cars Of All Time, According To You The third row especially sees a huge improvement with legroom increasing by 4.4 inches to 36.7 inches and headroom gaining another inch to 38.2 inches. That will make a big difference for passenger comfort. The C- and D-pillars are redesigned and the rearmost side windows are larger, which should give third-row passengers a better view out as well. As with every Escalade — especially the extended versions — there's a ton of cargo space. Cadillac says that behind the third row, there is still 24.2 cubic feet of cargo volume (a 0.6-cubic-foot improvement over the standard car). Behind the second row, you'll find 75.4 cubic feet of cargo space (a 6.3 cubic foot gain), and with all the rear seats folded there's a gargantuan 125.2 cubic feet of cargo space behind the front seats (a 6.1 cubic foot improvement). Plus, as with the normal-length Escalade IQ there's a 12.2-cubic-foot frunk where the engine should be. If you've got a lot of stuff to carry, the Escalade IQL might be your answer. The Escalade IQL will be able to tow up to 7,500 pounds, 500 pounds fewer than the normal IQ, and Cadillac says it has a 460-mile range thanks to its 205-kWh battery pack, the same as the standard model. Charge times are also identical to the standard Escalade IQ and other GM products this shares a platform with, like the GMC Sierra EV and Chevy Silverado EV. Cadillac says the IQL will be able to add up to 116 miles of range in just 10 minutes of charging if you're using a 350-kW DC fast charger. Because this truck's battery is so gargantuan, don't expect 10-80 percent charge times to be anything to write home about, though. The interior of the Escalade IQL is pretty much identical to the regular Escalade IQ as well. That means you get a massive 55-inch array of screens up front and plenty of leather, wood and metal to make you feel really good about the car's $132,695 (including destination) price tag. All in all, it seems like a very nice place to be if you're not too intimidated by screens and technology. I'll know more once I get my hands on an Escalade IQ in about a week. If you're buying an Escalade IQL it's probably because you care about rear-seat accommodations. That's where Cadillac's Executive Second Row package comes into play. It's available on the standard-length Escalade IQ as well, but now there's even more space to work with. The package gets you two stowable tray tables, dual 12.6-inch seatback-mounted screens, a rear command center and two wireless charging pads. The seats themselves are also vastly improved with this package, becoming 14-way power heated and ventilated seats that can give you a massage while playing music out of your own headrest speakers. From what I can tell, Cadillac just took the first row's seats and threw them in the second. It's not a bad idea if you plan on being driven around a lot in your Escalade IQL. The package also takes the Escalade IQL's standard 21-speaker AKG audio system and doubles it to 42 total speakers. There's also a 38-speaker setup you can go for. Other goodies the Escalade IQL buyer can expect are seating for up to seven (no second-row bench here) with a power-folding third row, 5G Wi-Fi hotspot capability with OnStar, bi-directional vehicle-to-vehicle or vehicle-to-home charging and, of course, standard Super Cruise driver-assistance tech on all trims for three years. You'll have to pay for it after that, but you won't own this car by then, so don't worry. The Escalade IQL isn't really breaking the mold here, but the Escalade ESV never really has either. It's just giving buyers another option if they're in need of more space out back. With more and more black car services and executives opting for SUVs — and electric ones at that — building an extended Escalade IQ is certainly the smart decision. Cadillac says production will start in the middle of this year Want more like this? Join the Jalopnik newsletter to get the latest auto news sent straight to your inbox... Read the original article on Jalopnik.
