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Miami Herald
7 days ago
- Automotive
- Miami Herald
Auto review: Hands-free in the Caddy ‘Baby Escalade' Vistiq
The Baby Escalade is Cadillac's most mature electric vehicle. The Vistiq is the fifth and final piece in the GM luxury brand's EV squadron and, at $79,290, its combination of size, speed and tech make it the best value of the quintet. That value is relative as Caddy's EV lineup makes a big move to the ultra-luxury EV market (led by its $340K Celestiq flagship) over its outgoing internal combustion models. Expect the EVs to cost $20,000-$40,000 more than their ICE peers. My all-wheel-drive Luxury model asks a 30-grand premium over the comparable $50K gas-powered XT6 Luxury model, which is retiring after this year. On Patterson Lake Road's rollercoaster in Livingston County, I confidently leapt from turn to turn in the three-ton, three-row, three-story Vistiq despite its girth. Thanks to the 102-kWh battery's location in the basement, my tester sported a low center of gravity to stay planted through the twisties. That low CG is an EV trait - but in the smaller Optiq and Lyriq crossovers, it's, um, outweighed by a lack of nimbleness compared to their 1,000-pound-lighter internal-combustion engine peers. In a three-row SUV class where everything tips the scales over two tons, however, the low CG stands out. Add rear-wheel steer in upper Premium Luxury and Platinum trims, and this is a rhinoceros in tennis shoes. The rear-drive feature is shared with Papa Escalade IQ, but the electric family's patron will set you back another (cough) 40 grand. ZOT! I buried my right foot and Vistiq hit 60 mph in a fantast-iq 3.9 seconds merging onto I-94 West. Baby Escalade coming through! Vistiq is also a technology showpiece. Without taking my eyes off the road, I toggled the raised adaptive cruise switch on the steering wheel and set my speed at 75 mph, then fingered a nearby braille pad for Super Cruise. The steering wheel lit green for hands-free driving. While Baby Escalade took over driving duties, I rearranged icons on the 33-inch curved dash screen as I would my phone. I dragged icons for DRIVE MODES, CHARGING and SELF PARK ASSIST (features I used frequently) to the left side of the screen. GM pioneered hands-free driving in 2017, and has been neck-and-neck with Tesla ever since. Tesla's Full-Self-Driving system leap-frogged GM cars last year when it went hands-free with navigation, enabling its cars to take you door-to-door across secondary roads and divided highways. Super Cruise is slowly adding secondary roads to its network of mapped, divided highways - but it won't navigate. What it will do, like Tesla, is automatically change lanes. At 75 mph, Vistiq sensed slower traffic, automatically applied its turn signal, moved into the fast lane and swept by a line of cars. Safely clear, it automatically pulled back into the slower lane. Terrif-iq. Approaching my off ramp, Tesla FSD would automatically transition to the slower secondary road. The Caddy? It handed driving duties back to me, the steering wheel light turning red. Super Cruise comes standard on Vistiq for three years, plenty of time for owners to learn the system. You won't want to go back. Not standard is an augmented reality head-up display available on Premium Luxury and Platinum trims. Caddy's been a HUD pioneer, and AR advances the game by placing directions over the road ahead. Alas, my standard Luxury version did not option even a regular head-up display. Neither did it have a frunk for storage like the Escalade IQ - or Rivian and Tesla models. Baby Escalade doesn't have big brother's curved, A-pillar-to-A-pillar 55-inch jumbotron, but the 33-incher does just fine, thank you very much. Especially as the touchscreen is paired with the same console climate touchscreen found in Escalade. Like a scarf and mittens, they make a nice pair. Not that I touched them much. Vistiq is powered by Google Built-in, so I could talk to the car for many of my needs. Hey, Google, turn the driver's side temperature to 68 degrees. Hey, Google, tune to Sirius XM Comedy Greats. Hey, Google, Tell, me a joke. Google: How do trees access the Internet? They log in. Hey, Google, what was the score of the Tigers game? Google: The Tigers won on Wednesday, 6-5 against the Red Sox. Pick up the kids from school in my Luxury tester and it will fit seven passengers across three rows including bench, second-row seats (captain's chairs optional). Even the third row is comfortable, accommodating my long 6'5" frame. If the second row is empty, I encourage taking a seat in the third row. I dropped the second-row bench seat and used it like an ottoman - stretching my legs so I could work on my trips, however, are three-row EVs' kryptonite. The Escalade IQ is so expensive because it packs a mighty 202-kWh battery with 460 miles of range. Vistiq keeps its cost below $100K with a 102-kWh battery that makes similar range (302 miles) as little brothers Lyriq and to your cottage up north (in perfect 70-degree weather) going 75 mph on I-75 and real range is 225 miles - or 75% of EPA estimates. In truth, your range will be 181 miles because charging to over 80% of battery range at a fast charger slows to a we there yet? To prevent hearing those infamous words from your kids, a 250-mile trip north (to, say, Charlevoix) is best done with one charging stop in Bay City for 20 minutes so the kids can tinkle and stretch their legs. In less ideal temperatures, your range could crater to 50% as it did in a brutal three-stop, subfreezing December trip I took in one of Vistiq's competitors, the $78K Kia EV9 GT-Line, a couple of years back. If you have a second home, install a 240-volt charger to ease end-to-end range anxiety. Staying in a hotel? Find lodgings with 240-volt charger so you can charge your battery to 100% overnight for a fresh a.m. start. Faced with these restrictions, GM buyers may prefer a comparably priced family-sized Chevy Tahoe with Google Built-in, 456 miles of range and more third-row seat and cargo room. Or (horrors) you might cross the road to a Lincoln dealer and pick up a $62K three-row Aviator ICE with Blue Cruise hands-free driving and 505 miles of if you want a three-row EV that can drive you hands-free across Michigan, then Baby Escalade has a leg up on peers from Rivian, Volvo, Hyundai and Kia. Next week: 2025 Nissan Murano and Nissan Titan 2026 Cadillac Vistiq Vehicle type: Battery-powered, all-wheel-drive, six- or seven-passenger SUV Price: $79,090, including $1,395 destination fee ($79,890 Luxury as tested) Powerplant: 102 kWh lithium-ion battery with dual electric-motor drive Power: 615 horsepower, 650 pound-feet of torque Transmission: Single-speed direct drive Performance: 0-60 mph, 3.7 seconds (mfr.); towing, 5,000 pounds Weight: 6,326 pounds Range: 302 miles Report card Highs: Livable interior; Super Cruise Lows: No frunk; limited range for a family hauler Overall: 3 stars ____ Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Motor Trend
20-05-2025
- Automotive
- Motor Trend
2026 Cadillac Vistiq First Drive Review: The Baby Escalade
If in the coming months you find yourself checking out one of those new electric Escalades only to discover someone has slapped a "VISTIQ" badge on the tailgate, don't feel dumb. We've fallen for it, too. Inside GM, they call the 2026 Cadillac Vistiq the baby Escalade, because that's exactly what it is: a three-row electric SUV rendered at 90 percent scale and priced at a $50,000 discount compared to the real thing. 0:00 / 0:00 The basic premise sounds (and looks) too good to be true. We half expected to open the door and find the window switches from a Chevy Trax, but after spending an afternoon behind the wheel of the Vistiq, we still haven't found the 'gotcha.' A Discount Designer SUV Starting at $79,090, the Vistiq isn't cheap until you account for the standard equipment list, which reads like the window sticker of a $150,000 flagship: heated, ventilated, and massaging front seats; 23-speaker Dolby Atmos–enabled AKG audio; five-zone climate control; dual wireless phone charging pads; glass over all three rows; 33 inches of high-res digital dash and infotainment screens; and the excellent Super Cruise hands-free driving assistant. Cadillac designers must be riding a high from working on the $340,000 Celestiq halo car, because they've dressed the Vistiq with a cabin as ambitious and striking as anything to come off a GM assembly line. They've managed to combine a full showroom's worth of trims—piano black, matte wood, brushed aluminum, and polished stainless steel—into a single cabin with a cohesive, confident sense of style. Of course, only the piano black is genuine plastic but the faux finishes are all convincing enough to trick your eyes. That's doubly true when you go for the $93,590 Premium Luxury trim, which layers bold Phantom Blue upholstery on the dash topper, armrests, and the seats that are decorated with an avant-garde asymmetric quilted stitching design. How Does the Vistiq Drive? Cross-shop the rest of the three-row EV market, and you might wonder how the Vistiq's level of polish is possible at these prices. Cadillac's traditional idea of luxury wrapped in modern style puts it in a unique position among alternatives like the minimalist Rivian R1S, the suppository-shaped Mercedes EQS, and the less lavish Kia EV9 that can cost nearly as much. It's possible because of GM's Ultium EV powertrain architecture, a strategy that has worked so well, but the company now wants you to forget about. Had the Cadillac Cimarron not peed in the punchbowl 40-some years ago, you might be hearing more about how sharing parts across brands and model lines has helped GM become one of maybe three or five companies on the planet that makes money selling EVs. That's a win for both the automaker and individual buyers, as it brings EV prices closer to parity with gas vehicles. The Vistiq shares its 121.8-inch wheelbase and 102.0-kWh battery pack with the Cadillac Lyriq, while its two permanent-magnet motors are borrowed from the upcoming Lyriq-V—or if you're feeling snooty, the Celestiq. Thumb the V button on the steering wheel, and Velocity Max mode overclocks the inverter at 129 percent of its peak sustained output to unlock the full 615 hp and 650 lb-ft of torque. Stand on the right pedal, and the Vistiq rears back and rockets to 60 mph in a claimed 3.7 seconds. It rides comfortably on the standard 21-inch wheels, adaptive dampers, and steel coil springs. The tall, peaked frost heaves that cut across Michigan roads are about the only thing that can upset it, causing a slight bucking. Premium Luxury and top-tier Platinum models add the final level of polish, with air springs smoothing out the ride and rear-wheel steering shrinking its handling. Thanks to the balanced weight distribution and a rear-biased torque split, the Vistiq steers and corners far more confidently than the average three-row ICE vehicle and the unremarkable Cadillac XT6 in particular. Yet in contrast with the Lyriq and most two-row electric SUVs with wagonlike proportions, the Vistiq driving experience is defined by its tall, upright stance and seating position. You lose that planted, road-hugging feel EVs are known for and in exchange earn a commanding view of the road. We suspect most shoppers will happily accept that deal, considering they've done it for decades by eschewing sedans for SUVs. A road-noise cancellation system helps maintain a library-like quiet at highway speeds. It works like the active noise cancellation that has long been used to tame the drone of an internal combustion engine, but instead targets tire slap and sizzle. Five in-cabin microphones and four accelerometers mounted to the chassis pick up undesirable frequencies with the audio speakers capable of disappearing frequencies of 220 hertz and below. Engineers spent more than 300 hours in the wind tunnel with the Vistiq to soften the electric Escalade's 0.32 drag coefficient to 0.29. That slipperier shape plus a smaller frontal area and a 2,800-pound weight savings help the baby 'Sclade achieve about 65 percent of the range of an Escalade IQ using a battery that has almost exactly half the energy capacity. The official range numbers land between 300 and 305 miles (based on 21-, 22-, or 23-inch wheels), which might be the biggest reason those with the means will upgrade to the 460-mile, $130,090 Escalade IQ. Fast-charging power also pales in comparison to its big brother, with the Vistiq topping out at 190 kW to the Escalade's 350 kW. Just How Big Is the Cadillac Vistiq? The other glaring difference between the Vistiq and the Escalade IQ comes down to size. At 5.5 inches narrower and 18.7 inches shorter than the vehicle that inspired it, the Vistiq is a large SUV, but not a huge one. It comes in six- or seven-seat versions, with the second-row bench making third-row access a real chore. There's a one-touch mechanism to release the second-row seat, but it takes Herculean effort to slide the bench forward and regular yoga practice to feel graceful stretching and squeezing past the door jamb. The third-row seats are mounted just above the floor, which leaves generous headroom for 6-foot-3 adults who don't mind staring at their knees. Keeping everyone happy on long trips will require jockeying the second-row seats into a just-right position, but once that's sorted, there's nothing to complain about. Those in the back row are spoiled with USB-C charging ports, a fixed-glass sunroof, their own dedicated climate zone, and metal-look adjusters on the climate vents. There's a good amount of cargo room behind the third row and in a deep well beneath the load floor. There's no frunk, unfortunately, although that's probably the right choice given the constraints. GM bolts the inverter on top of the motor, making for a relatively tall drive unit, and as a result, a frunk would be so shallow that it wouldn't be useful for much more than a mobile charging cable. The Tech Takes Over The Vistiq trades the Escalade's dash-spanning 55-inch display for a still-huge 33-inch unit. It can be controlled through a click wheel and five capacitive navigation buttons, but the user interface was clearly designed to be used as a touchscreen. Nothing wrong with that, except that touchscreen is just far enough away to feel like a reach, even with the display curved and canted toward the driver to the point that it makes the passenger feel excluded. We also dislike that the climate controls are sequestered in a second, lower display that pulls the driver's eyes too far off the road. At least owners will have Super Cruise to keep watch while they fiddle with dialing in the perfect settings for all five climate zones. GM's excellent hands-free system remains our favorite, and it continues to get even better as it becomes available on more roads and new features roll out. The Vistiq introduces a variation of Tesla's Navigate on Autopilot that, on mapped roads, will automatically navigate an interchange and merge onto a new highway. GM has also addressed one of our long-running complaints by letting Super Cruise fall back to a hands-on lane centering assist when hands-free operation isn't allowed. Once conditions allow, Super Cruise seamlessly resumes control without the driver's input. Cadillac Comes Into Its Own The Vistiq is the latest in a string of new Cadillacs that has dazzled us with legitimate luxury and striking design. It drives great and looks and feels expensive yet is priced and positioned as a value compared to the competition. The biggest criticism we can levy at the Vistiq is that that the name looks like Cadillac misspelled a made-up word. We suggest buyers take that as an opportunity. With a hair dryer and some floss, you can peel the name off the tailgate and nobody will ever know you bought the less expensive one.
Miami Herald
19-05-2025
- Automotive
- Miami Herald
GM Adds Power, Tech, and Special Editions to the 2026 Hummer EV
"Subtle" was never a word that described any generation of the Hummer. The electrified version doesn't deviate, weighing in at nearly five tons, making a whopping 1,000 horsepower, and measuring a tremendous 18 feet from tip to tail. Apparently, GM decided that the Hummer EV simply wasn't crazy enough, juicing the EV with a mixture of special features and added performance that make it even more ludicrous for 2026. GM improved the 2026 Hummer EV truck and SUV with some truly cool features. Bidirectional charging is one of the most pragmatic additions, allowing the Hummer EV to charge other EVs or power a home via its own power supplies. It's a niche, but certainly a useful tool to have. Super Cruise gets a few improvements, too, making small steps forward in how the truck's radar cruise control tracks vehicles in front of the driver. Smoother integration with Google Maps adds lane-specific guidance, and drivers now have the option of having the truck automatically adjust cruising speed for the posted speed limit. Two new paint colors - Coastal Dune and Auburn Matte - are available, joining new interior colors dubbed Granite Drift and Stealth Eclipse. Of course, there are a few decidedly more fun changes for the 2026 Hummer EV, too. GM upped the output for the Hummer EV 3X pickup to 1,160 horsepower, an increase of 160 horsepower relative to the 2025 model year. In a comment to Motor1, GM says the bump in performance is exclusive to the body style and was accomplished by "optimization of software and propulsion calibration." As a result, the truck can now scoot from zero to 60 mph in a manufacturer-estimated 2.8 seconds. That's two-tenths of a second quicker than the outgoing model. Finally, a Carbon Fiber Edition, available on either body style, joins the lineup. It adds special Magnus Gray matte paint, Velocity Ember upholstery, unique 22-inch wheels, all-terrain tires, black emblems, and some carbon fiber accents. The 2026 Hummer EV debuts a new King Crab drive mode, a rear-wheel steering mode designed to specifically enhance the truck's maneuverability in off-road settings. The automaker says that King Crab mode allows the rear wheels to turn "significantly faster" than the front ones, adding to the truck's off-road versatility. Apparently, GM will push this new drive mode to all GMC Hummer pickup and SUV models on the road via an over-the-air update coming later in the year. King Crab will occupy the "Mystery Mode" button, which GM used to tease "future possibilities." Lots to unpack here, but King Crab being offered to all Hummer EV owners is perhaps the most notable takeaway. It's a real-world illustration of automotive software's flexibility and certainly paints a picture of what's possible in the future. While hardly necessary, more power and a special edition are welcome additions that are certain to entice a steady stream of buyers as the Hummer EV ages. Pricing and range details will follow later in the year. Copyright 2025 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Car and Driver
13-05-2025
- Automotive
- Car and Driver
GM's New Product Boss Sterling Anderson Specializes in Self-Driving Tech
General Motors has a new vice president overseeing the product life cycle for its gas-powered and battery-electric vehicles. Sterling Anderson comes over from the autonomous trucking startup Aurora and previously worked on Tesla's Autopilot. Bringing on a VP with a background in robotics and autonomous driving could mean planned advances for GM's Super Cruise. GM's newest executive hire is Sterling Anderson, recently brought over from Aurora, a trucking company working on driverless freight delivery. Before his eight years at Aurora, where he worked with one of the founders of Waymo, Anderson spent time at Tesla, including working on early Autopilot development. When he officially starts his new role at GM on June 2, he will oversee the end-to-end product life cycle for gas-powered and electric vehicles. Anderson is educated in robotics, holding both a Master's and Ph.D in the subject from MIT. While studying at MIT, he developed a semi-autonomous-driving safety system, work which he continued in the private sector. Aurora is currently running an SAE Level 4 autonomous driving system for heavy trucks, operating between Dallas and Houston. Its highly automated semi-trailers hit the roads earlier this month, after a comprehensive supervised-test rollout that hauled more than 10,000 loads of freight over 3 million miles of autonomous operation. GM Given his background, GM seems to be thinking hard about the future of its Super Cruise hands-free-driving system and looking forward to a greater level of autonomy. This doesn't necessarily mean that Anderson will be working specifically on an end goal of a fully autonomous vehicle, but possibly working on more effective Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and increasing the functionality of Super Cruise. Super Cruise is currently rated as Level 2 autonomy under SAE definitions, or partial automation. The Level 4 that Aurora's trucks are beginning to operate at is rated at high automation, meaning the vehicle is performing all steering and driving tasks, but it's geofenced to specific conditions. Taking Super Cruise to Level 4 wouldn't mean a fully autonomous vehicle, but it would be sufficiently advanced for full eyes-off, hands-off operation in defined scenarios. Waymo is currently already operating at this level, so it's not far-fetched. Waymo operates in Arizona and Aurora in Texas, both flat, dry places with defined parameters. So there's plenty of work to be done before a Level 4 Super Cruise-equipped Chevy Blazer can handle a stormy fall commute while its driver rests. But this hire might be GM getting one step closer. Brendan McAleer Contributing Editor Brendan McAleer is a freelance writer and photographer based in North Vancouver, B.C., Canada. He grew up splitting his knuckles on British automobiles, came of age in the golden era of Japanese sport-compact performance, and began writing about cars and people in 2008. His particular interest is the intersection between humanity and machinery, whether it is the racing career of Walter Cronkite or Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki's half-century obsession with the Citroën 2CV. He has taught both of his young daughters how to shift a manual transmission and is grateful for the excuse they provide to be perpetually buying Hot Wheels. Read full bio
NBC News
12-05-2025
- Automotive
- NBC News
GM hires ex-Tesla, Aurora exec as chief product officer
DETROIT — General Motors has hired Sterling Anderson, a former Tesla executive and cofounder of autonomous vehicle company Aurora Innovation, as its chief product officer. In the newly created position, Anderson will oversee the 'end-to-end product lifecycle for both gas- and electric-powered vehicles, including hardware, software, services, and user experience,' GM said on Monday. Anderson, who worked at Tesla for two years before forming Aurora in 2017, will start with the Detroit automaker on June 2. He will report to GM President Mark Reuss, who's been the automaker's longtime product head, or resident 'car guy.' Anderson is the latest ex-Tesla executive to join GM, which continues to roll out new technologies and electric vehicles despite slower-than-expected adoption across the industry. GM previously brought on former Tesla executives Kurt Kelty to lead batteries; Jens Peter 'JP' Clausen, who recently left the automaker after leading manufacturing for roughly a year; and Jon McNeill as a member of the company's board. GM is attempting to balance its rollout of EVs with gas-powered models at the same time it's advancing technologies such as its Super Cruise advanced driver-assistance system to better compete against Tesla — the U.S. EV and software leader — as well as emerging auto startups from China. 'Sterling brings decades of leadership in automotive engineering and transformative software innovation to his new role and is the right leader to help GM continue leading now and into the future,' Reuss said in a release. GM CEO and Chair Mary Barra added: 'Sterling will help accelerate the pace of progress — he shares our passion and vision for beautifully designed, high-performing, and technology-forward vehicles.' Anderson was most recently chief product officer at Aurora, which he cofounded with CEO Chris Urmson and others. Aurora disclosed he would be leaving the company, effective June 1, in a regulatory filing last week. At Tesla, Anderson led teams for the Model X SUV and Tesla's controversial 'Autopilot' advanced driver-assistance system.
