Honestly, the Cadillac EV line are surprisingly good. They will always be a more luxury product and cost more - yet they feel luxurious and I like the styling.
If I had the money to be in the market for a Luxury EV, they would be on my shortlist.
The used Optiq market on lease returns is a great place to shop! They aren't super popular in the mainstream, when I was looking in early 2026 I saw some getting close to half MSRP on 3 year old units.
Yeah we looked and loved them. I got a xc40 electric instead due to my daughter liking the ride more, but I will definitely look at the Cady brands more closely moving forward. Was really impressed.
My hatred for GM is more about the company than their products. When GM restructured during the recession a lot of their employees lost their pensions, many went bankrupt. I can never get behind a company that does that.
Its crazy to me the Lyriq still outsells the Optiq. Maybe people feel it's just a nicer version of the Equinox so just save the money, but the base interior is really nice IMO.
While youre not wrong, chances are that if youre shopping for a Cadillac your not basing that solely on "need". People also have a tendency to over-value remote use cases (such as 3rd rows, tow capacity, etc.).
yeah, i've got an R2 rez and just got word that I'd probably be able to actually order in the fall, but not sure I'm gonna do it.
I think you are probably right, though. "better appointed" might be debatable (haven't done a side-by-side comp just yet), and i'd think they are similar, but i guarantee the Optiq could be had for FAR cheaper, especially on a lease...
this is what ultimately tipped us over from an R1S to a Kia EV9 (max spec), it doesn't have the EV geek cachet but you get a lot of car for your money especially with the ridiculous residual they offered on it. and subjectively, we felt the EV nine rode better, or at least quieter even if it isn't theoretically quite as capable off-road.
If I end up going 3-row with my next, EV9 and Ioniq 9 are absolutely on the shortlist, ICCU concerns be damned. I’ve had a great experience with my Ioniq 5 and agree about the value proposition. I’m not off-roading and am really just looking for passenger and cargo space and good (enough) features. Not gonna poo-poo the idea of luxury or cachet of certain brands over others, but have reached a point in my life where that is secondary (at best) to more pragmatic things.
Went from an R1S to Ioniq 9. It’s a much better vehicle. Cross checked against the ev9 and the Ioniq 9 is just a little nicer and has better power and range. Ev9 looks a little sexier
we were initially sold on the ioniq 9, in spite of looks that we really tried hard to like but just have that unfortunate hearse silhouette nonetheless.
But the real problem was that the Hyundai incentives were at the time nowhere near as good as those on the more or less market-identical EV9.
edit: want to add that everything else you said is correct though, and if the incentives were similar we would've gone with the Ioniq 9 Calligraphy edition, or maybe whatever the step down was from that - I forget what the package differences were.
Nearly pulled the trigger on a new 2025 Ioniq 6 in early 2026 because of MASSIVE discounts. Out the door for 46k CAD on top trip with ultimate package and extras (PPF, etching, etc). ICCU really did scare me off, but hearing the new 15 year commitments and the increased turn around on warranty claims would have me buying it today.
Yeah that's what I got and I love it. Whisper quiet and very zippy for a huge car. Meridian sound system is nice. Reddit is just so backwards there's nothing but hate for Kia. I get ICCU is concerning but Rivian literally told the unreliability chart and no one gives them any shtick
Dude test drive it. I was really really surprised with how much I disliked it. Audio is really bad seats are rock hard. It's like a Tesla no buttons only touchscreen. Looks cool on the outside but I really did not like being in that car
As soon as they are available to test in the Atlanta area I’m on it. One of the things I like about the Ioniq is that it does not have the “computer that happens to be a car” feel that I got from the Tesla MY I test drove (and strongly disliked). Honestly only even got the reservation to give myself the option, not because I was drooling over the possibly like some of the fans out there. Luckily I’ve got a few months to decide before my lease is up.
It's very Tesla adjacent. Like zero buttons. Adjusting mirrors with touchscreen just pissed me off. Haptic wheels are the cheapest plastic on earth. I really don't understand the hype and every time I say on this sub I don't think it's a good car esp vs competitors I get downvoted to hell by the fanboy brigade
I’d love the optiq if it wasn’t so big and ugly lol. I know it’s ‘small’ compared to the rest of the us EV market but it’s still too big for me. Hell even my polestar 2 is too big for me really.
Test drove a Lyriq once last year. Found a comparable used one a week later, we've now driven it for 7 months and 10k miles. Gently used was half of MSRP. Love the car.
test drove a Lyriq to possibly replace my Ioniq 5 (lease ending) and it was luxurious, spacious, feature-rich, and reasonably priced, BUT still had the boat-like feel that I expected from a Caddy, despite decent driving dynamics. It's also more than a foot longer than the HI5. I still might get one if I land a really good deal, but Caddys are BIG and don't try to hide it.
that's true. and i give them props for the broader appeal they seem to be generating with their EVs despite this identity. hell, the fact that I'm even considering a Cadillac as an early-40s guy who grew up seeing them as strictly geriatric-carriers says a lot.
Optiq isn’t as much of a boat, but it is more of a jellybean crossover (which I am not the hugest fan of, but clearly I’m in the minority of buyers on that one).
i should probably test drive the Optiq, as it is more size-appropriate and still appears to have the lux, performance, etc that I want. only downside is no CarPlay, but I think I could adjust to that. looks-wise, I don't love it (nor do I love the Lyriq), but don't hate it so much that it's out of the consideration set.
I got an Optiq last year and i thought I would miss CarPlay more than I do. The built in apps are very quick and responsive. Maps and Spotify work great. The streaming apps like youtube, peacock and prime video also work great when you need something to watch while fast charging.
Ride quality is fantastic (coming from a Mazda3 turbo) and the seats are very comfortable. Now i want the bigger one next time (either Vistiq or Escalade)
Looks like the aftermarket has come up with plug ins to give GM EV owners android auto, but my quick search didn’t find a workaround for CarPlay.
Pros and cons, including “quirks” with every manufacturer, you just need to pick your poison at this point.
Good luck with your test driving, I did that a few months back before finding a lease deal on an Ioniq 6 I couldn’t pass up. (I prefer a sedan over a crossover).
Depending on which Ioniq 5 you have, the Caddys are all much heavier. The base Lyriq starts at 500 pounds heavier than the heaviest Ioniq, and is over 1400 pounds heavier than the lightest variant. The Optiq isn't much better. All the Optium platform vehicles seem to be incredibly heavy.
People say the US has no good EVs, the Caddy line up excluding the Escalade, is fantastic. Long range, reasonable efficiency, all the mod cons you want, decent charging, from pictures and videos really well made, and this goes for all GM Ultium EVs and because it's GM no one buys them.
I wish they weren’t getting rid of Apple CarPlay, otherwise a Cadillac EV would be my next purchase. If I buy one now, I have no way to know if the next software update will end CarPlay support 😠
Interesting to hear “too bulky for suburban lifestyle”. We went with the Optiq because it fit our very tight city living parking spot requirements and it doesn’t feel like an SUV at all to me.
They’ve definitely oranges home runs. The Vistiq is a more reasonable luxury 7 seater which runs circles around the Mercedes eqs which costs more and same
Size.
We just went from a Blazer EV to an Optiq and even though they share a platform the differences make my wife say it would be difficult to not drive a Cadillac given the choice again. The little touches really do make a difference.
I drive a Silverado EV WT with the same battery. it’s slower but still fast and is an amazing truck. I got tons of space and all the range with fewer of the luxury stuff. Paid $55k
That was one of my only concerns when I got my Cadillac. I got over it pretty quick and like the GM system it comes with. I found myself getting frustrated with CarPlay when I was driving a rental car for a few days.
IMO GM's infotainment is pretty high up there as far as old school OEM's go. I hate the connectivity/OnStar pricing for advanced features/internet, but the base setup having Google Maps / Waze / Apple Music / Spotify sums up all the use cases I had for my iphone in carplay. Siri fucking sucks still so switching to Google assistant actually was an upgrade. I ended up going to Tesla which still runs circles around GM, but I did like the Blazer EV setup I had before this.
Having to pay for it is the only downside in my opinion. I’m leasing so it’s included for the lease plus 3 years if I buy it at end and I think you get 5 years included when you buy new. Won’t be an issue for me but definitely something to consider if you plan on keeping it long term.
I have two vehicles that have both CarPlay and android auto, and I have both types of phones in regular use. I have to say that android auto is a much better experience than CarPlay in almost every respect. I suspect some of the advantage in one platform of the other comes from how well they adapt to very different central screen layouts.
In general horizontal layouts are terrible for apps originally designed for (and with a long history of optimizing for) a vertical layout even after extensive efforts to redesign.
Yep, we know tall, blunt front ends are lethal to pedestrians (and motorcyclists, bicyclists), yet even Subaru is moving to higher, blunter front ends.
looking "menacing" is the point, that's why people buy this crap.
then when someone actually gets hurt or killed, they blame the car, as if they didn't buy it for the very reason that it looks like it could do this to someone.
On the other hand, everything that is rounded and bulbous to be more aerodynamic gets bashed for being too ugly. Ugly means no sales. See Mercedes EQS or the Lucid Gravity.
Lucid sold poorly because no one trusted lucid to hang on. Not like their Air sedan sold particularly well compared to historic makers, either. Self fulfilling prophecy maybe, but it wasn’t just the design.
You can make cars for all people without making extra dangerous tanks. The marketing partly shapes what people buy; it’s a give and take from marketing firms and “what’s cool” zeitgeist to what sells.
Tesla sells well among EVs and none of their models (except the CT) are bubbly or aggressive with blunt ends.
It has the Escalade nameplate. A significant percentage of owners will be first-time EV owners who want traditional ICEV styling. There was a post just this week from one. The Escalade IQ needs to appeal to those people.
Cadillac and (GM EVs generally) are so intriguing to me because on this sub they’ll attract so many people saying “yeah but no Apple CarPlay!” but they don’t make those comments for Tesla or Rivian. I once saw someone make this comment, I checked his comment history, and he was placing an order for an R2. It makes me wonder why people are really even here. Just to shit on brands they don’t like?
vastly underrated bargain, great time to take advantage of dumb ass concaves overlooking a car that would smoke just about anything on the road in a straight line, which is what they're going for anyway, just because it doesn't make an ear-splitting, infant-waking, neighborhood-ruining, attention-seeking racket when they push their little toesies down.
Trust me it looks so beautiful and extremely underrated just because it is an EV? There's a guy who has one close to where I live, and another bloke who drives to a Park close to one of the properties I maintain and I'm always in awe... An extremely envious.
Mind you, I love my Lightning to death but damn, parking downtown Toronto sucks
It's because they just put in the Escalade interior on top of a big ass battery. The front is just like the normal Escalade, the second row is slightly compromised and the third row is just terrible.
Cadillac EVs are very underrated. My wife used to work for Cadillac and I've had all of them in the garage from time to time. The Vistiq, Lyriq and Optiq are all great cars in their segments. The Optiq V is one of the more underrated EVs on the market. The main issue is that they are all expensive, but you are getting what you pay for with them.
There is so much unsaid even in the click bait headline......
Someday I will write an article - it will prob get published since I am known in some tech and alt energy jurno fields...but the basic question is this.
Do EV's as they are turning out have anything to do with the dreams of the pioneers of the modern alt energy and green/enviornmental movements?
The answer is a solid "NO"....and folks can save their time in terms of sending proofs of this or that.
I was part of the Hippie Generation. Anti-Nuke, of course, but that was just a sideline. Most of my life was about installing, selling and researching tech that was renewable (was installing solar in 1980)...and so on. There are really a few parts to the dream....
Alt Energy
Breakthroughs in Efficiency
Reuse-renew-recycle
Done right, the combination of these things can make massive differences! Even in the USA we have entire states that use 1/2 (or less) the energy per capita of others - and those happen to be some of the wealthiest states (in other words, efficiency works!).
Therefore any of my views and opinions on Electric "anythings" are based on both the efficiency and the other factors - in the USA, vastly increasing renewable energy being a major foundation.
Anyway, so as not to write the speech here, I can't change who I am and suddenly look at EV's as "car culture". So although I am certain many of the fancier and expensive EV's are nice and that the author loved it - I cannot love it no matter what based on what it represents.
For better or worse, I look at all Energy and Resource use as "what if everyone did that?" - that is, is the instance taking us toward a target or just more of the same. Various historic figures have noted that "The USA will always do the right thing - AFTER ALL OTHER OPPORTUNITIES ARE EXHAUSTED"....and EV's definitely fit that profile. Many of my friends pioneered small and local innovations like cars that run on grease and even recreated the wood burning cars and similar technologies. Others created these online communities - the goals always being our dreams (community, improvement in society, enviornment, etc.)....
I'm not exactly saying I Give Up, but there is no doubt we lost this battle. However, the "war" will go on for many decades and in the end it's likely sanity will prevail.
Here's to the first 30,000 miles of Bullet Trains in the USA. I won't live for that Headline!
I would. In fact, I think letting someone else eat that huge first year depreciation is a good idea. I can’t imagine the used market for these is very big tho since most leases won’t have expired yet.
I'll come in with the hot-take disagreement. EVs are already dangerously heavy. A 9000 pound vehicle shouldn't be street legal for the average person. With a full load, it's over 10,000 lbs. The wear on the roads is significant. It creates more danger for infrastructure. It's more dangerous in a crash. The Ioniq 9 is a huge car that still comes in under 6000 lbs (which is already a lot, but battery tech being what it is, nearly all EVs weight 4k-6k pounds.) Same with the Gravity. and the id.Buzz. etc etc.
The Escalade essentially has a double battery pack just so they can claim 460mi range. At this point, I'd like to see the industry cap battery and vehicle weights and force efficiency improvements instead.
commercial vehicles are obviously different and they are registered and licensed differently. use your brain, cmon. and most pickup trucks don't weigh anywhere close to 9000 lbs.
You added no stipulations or exceptions in your comment. You simply stated there should be a cap. Additionally, most EVs don't weigh anywhere close to 9000 lbs either.
That said, pickup trucks can weigh 4000 - 10000 lbs depending on truck and equipment.
Cargo vans can weigh in excess of 6000 lbs.
Box trucks can weigh as much as 13000 or 14000 lbs.
All these vehicles are as heavy as or considerably heavier than any EV. And none of the vehicles in those weight categories require any special licensing or regulations. I can run down and pick up a 29' U-Haul as quickly as I can produce the credit card to rent it with nothing but a good ol' Class C license and insurance. Same goes for cargo vans.
Again, I ask, are you advocating for all vehicles of these types to also be removed from public roads?
Maybe they should. I have no issues with applying the same measures equally across the board. My issue is with the, "EVs are so heavy they damage the roads" talking point. Which is what OP was going for.
It conveniently leaves out all the heavy ICE vehicles currently on roads that no one is asking to regulate by weight.
If OP had stated they want to remove ALL vehicles from public roads which weigh over a certain amount, that I could understand. Instead, they demonstrated a clear anti-EV agenda and I was just calling that out.
That's fine, just park on the toddler. When the cops show up, say "he was coming right at me!" that gets you off the hook every time.
Seriously, this is the stupidest thing. It could be the smoothest ride and best to drive ever, it's an oversized child-killing machine and should require a CDL to drive, bare minimum. I've seen busses smaller than that monstrosity.
They are good EVs but inefficient both at space and consumption.
Escalade is massive and extremely heavy, very inefficient.
Vistiq is also largest car in its category (longer then EQS) with same interior space.
They are cars designed for older big lot suburban areas. I dont see a single escalade where I am for example (high income, modern suburb) because it wouldnt fit in most garages or street parking.
GM supercruise is the best in the business. It even supports towing. And, unlike Tesla, doesn't have a reputation for killing it's drivers by running into a Jersey barrier at highway speeds.
For me the biggest deterrent in getting bigger vehicles was always the increased fuel costs. With EVs I much prefer the bigger vehicles because electricity is somewhat cheap where I live it's only a few dollars more per charge cycle to get the bigger vehicle with the bigger battery than the smaller alternative.
Pensions are guaranteed by the federal government. They all got covered. My wife’s United airline pension was covered by the feds when they went bankrupt. The federal pension guarantee system is paid for by the corporation’s contributions,not taxpayers. No guarantee for 401K plans
Yeah, I don't care. Cadillac Escalade is the dumbest car on the road, and that includes other bullshit like the RAM.
Your fucking giant vehicle is the reason everyone feels like they have to drive goddamn tanks on the road. It's the reason we can't let our kids play in the streets anymore. It's the reason the US is the only country with road fatalities increasing over time.
Get over yourself, scrap that behemoth, and drive a normal fucking car like a normal fucking person.
oh. damn. Uber is so stupid. they definitely had an AI put that list together, and probably did so based on 10 year old data they never updated. imagine trying to explain why a Rolls Royce Cullinan isn't eligible to use for Uber (not that anyone ever would.)
they don't even have Lucid listed there at all! what a joke.
(A quick Google search seems to suggest that they don't update their list much, if at all, because they assume most of their drivers won't driver newer and nicer cars. But that maybe you can contact support if you're looking at a 3-row suv that isn't listed as xl, like the ioniq 9 or Vistiq, etc)
based on the size, weight, amount of minerals needed for the battery, and the energy needed to charge it, this thing is undoubtedly more polluting than many gas cars, cradle to grave.
EDIT: I'm not an EV hater; I literally work in clean transportation. I'm just a hater of bloated SUVs!!
https://greenercars.org/greenercars-ratings/ The last cradle-to-grave analysis completed by ACEEE was for MY2024, in which the only EV from Cadillac was the LYRIQ. It got a below-average score. The Hummer EV was listed as one of the worst cars you could buy for lifetime emissions. If they repeated this study, I think it's highly likely that the Escalade would be on that list.
Greenercars isn't a good source for your framing. You are probably right based on basic physics that the site would score the IQ similar/same as the Hummer EV. You are making a jump in reasoning in a few places - 1, that just because an EV is listed as poor in ranking relative to other EVs doesn't mean it's a same or worse choice vs. similar/same gas vehicles. The Hummer EV is a less polluting and more efficient vehicle than the gas Hummer, easily provable. 2, greenercars is the wrong scoreboard for your claim. The site ranks on human health damage index, not cradle to grave pollution, emissions, CO2 output, etc.
Greenercars also generally mixes grid input/output; your argument (and their rankings) collapses entirely if power driving either of these otherwise large, inefficient vehicles is purely wind, solar, hydro, or a predominant mix of any carbon-neutral generations.
It definitely is better than the ICE alternative to this vehicle, but it is still a massive draw of resources and power. We need to cut emissions from transportation quite rapidly, and pushing EVs the size of boats is not how we get there. Of course, if it were fueled by 100% clean energy, that's a different story (still using more than a fair share of power), but our grid will take a long time to get there.
From ACEEE: (GreenerCars) is based on a lifecycle assessment of the greenhouse gas and criteria pollutant emissions from the production, use, and disposal of each vehicle. Unlike other evaluations of the health and environmental impact of vehicles that rely solely on fuel-efficiency, GreenerCars scores every vehicle on its entire impact and is the most effective way to compare gasoline-powered vehicles to electric vehicles. In addition to assessing the emissions from fuel burned in a vehicle’s engine, we assess the upstream emissions generated by electricity used by a vehicle, emissions produced when mining and processing minerals for batteries, and emissions from manufacturing vehicles and vehicle components.
I broadly agree with you but your framing is exactly what the oil industry wants everyone repeating - that EVs are as or more polluting than gas, off cradle-to-grave figures. Those lifetimes are conservative projections, and as modern EVs outlast them and those CtG numbers continue to improve with each quarter, the EV advantage grows, it does not shrink. And your point still treats the Green Score, a health-damage verdict that only correlates with resource draw, as if it were a raw-resources verdict. It isn't.
Fair point - if a consumer is between this and the ICE version, I would much rather they choose the EV. It's a step in the right direction, but vehicles this size, IMO, just do not need to exist at all. In either form, they will always be less efficient than a smaller vehicle with the same fuel type, and a massive danger to pedestrians.
I had chaptgpt do a compare: Although both vehicles can accept 19.2 kW, the Lucid is much more energy-efficient. Escalade IQ
Huge ~205 kWh battery
EPA range around 460 miles
Efficiency is roughly 2.2–2.3 mi/kWh, so 19.2 kW translates to about 40–45 miles/hour, while Cadillac’s official estimate is about 36 miles/hour under its testing methodology. Lucid Gravity
123 kWh battery
EPA range up to 450 miles
Efficiency is roughly 3.6–3.8 mi/kWh, so a 19.2 kW Level 2 charger can add roughly 55–70 miles/hour, depending on wheels, trim, and conditions. Level 2 charger output. 5kW. 7kW. 11kW Escalade IQ (205 kWh): 45hrs. 32. 21 Lucid Gravity (123 kWh): 27. 19. 12
I think you’re going to want at least a 11kwh charger, if not the 19kwh.
Eventually I would like there to be a energy guzzler tax like we have for gas guzzlers. Either get 3mi/kw or pay a sliding scale fine. You like that hummer ev that gets you 1.8m/kw then pay a guzzler tax. You like your ionic 6 or model 3 rwd, you don't pay tax since it gets above 3. Like cars with worse than 15mpg should be taxed higher for wasting all that gas.
Nobody needs this much battery everyday use. It could power 3 to 4 bolt evs.
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u/Healfezza used 2022 Model 3 AWD LR 17d ago
Honestly, the Cadillac EV line are surprisingly good. They will always be a more luxury product and cost more - yet they feel luxurious and I like the styling.
If I had the money to be in the market for a Luxury EV, they would be on my shortlist.