Cadillac News: 2026 Baby Escalade IQ called VISTIQ

[G. David Felt]

Cadillac will be one of the only brands to offer an EV entry in every luxury SUV segment according to VP Global Cadillac John Roth.

VISTIQ continues to propel Cadillac into the EV future engineered as a spacious, cutting-edge technology three row SUV. VISTIQ will be sold globally including the U.S. and Canada with production starting in early 2025. 

VISTIQ elevated luxury experience will include the following to start:

• Standard 23-speaker AKG Studio Audio system with Dolby Atmos®
• Standard Super Cruise, the industry's first truly hand-free driver assistance technology (with three years of OnStar connected service)
• 0-60 time of 3.7 seconds with Velocity Max
• 102 kW battery pack with an estimated 300 mile range
• 615 horsepower with 650 lb-ft of torque
• Available Air Ride Adaptive suspension
• Available Active Rear Steer
• Wheel Choices
  • Standard 21-inch wheels
  • Available upgrade to Luxury 22-inch wheels
  • Available upgrade to Performance 23-inch wheels
• Standard Road Noise Cancellation for a quieter ride
• 33-inch diagonal high-resolution LED screen
• Signature vertical lamps front and rear

VISTIQ will have a commanding exterior design that continues to embrace commanding interior and exterior design attributes that are currently found on the LYRIQ and Escalade IQ. This includes using 100% recycled materials, five-zone climate controls, and jewel-like luxury speaker grills.

VISTIQ comes equipped with Vehicle-to-Home (V2H) Bidirectional Charging capabilities, which when paired with the available GM Energy V2H Bundle, allows for the transfer of electric power from the vehicle and a properly equipped home during a blackout.

VISTIQ offering features that prioritize safety and security while on the road, VISTIQ offers peace of mind for drivers and passengers alike:

• Standard premium safety and driver assistance technologies include Blind Zone Steering Assist, Side Bicyclist Alert, and Forward Collision Alert.
• Standard OnStar Automatic Crash Response
• Available Night Vision, enabled by an infrared sensor for driving at night, allowing the driver to see pedestrians or animals directly ahead.

VISTIQ will offer three distinctive trims as launch, Luxury, Sport and Premium with a Platinum trim level available summer 2025. MSRP starts at $78,790, including destination freight charge, excluding tax, title and dealer fees. Cadillac stated that dealers will set the final price.

 

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[G. David Felt]

I wonder what the HP and Torque will be when they release the V edition of this SUV? 🤔

[smk4565]

2 hours ago, G. David Felt said:

I wonder what the HP and Torque will be when they release the V edition of this SUV? 🤔

1235 to have 1 more than the Lucid.

[smk4565]

I think this vehicle could do well because I imagine the interior is about as roomy as an Escalade, this is about the size of a GLS or X7 so it is basically full size 3 row SUV under $80k with 615 hp.  That is quite the combo, way better value than a Navigator, Grand Wagoner or even a gas Escalade unless you need to tow, and a lot of people might think those huge SUVs have gotten too huge, and will prefer this.

I think GM could do really well with the EV's once they work the bugs out and battery costs come down in the next couple years. The Equinox I think will sell well, the Lyriq id the #2 selling Cadillac, if the Bolt comes back at $29k before tax credit (assuming you can still get $7500 off) then they will sell a crap ton of those because the $30k Tesla is never coming.  And if Bolts are like $21,000 after tax credit, they can undercut Corollas and Elantras even, they sell like crazy at that price.   The XT4 is being discontinued, the XT6 is a dud, they can dump all that junk and the new generation Cadillac that is all EV could be pretty formidable.  

[oldshurst442]

Donald Trump's America is going to be a bizarre one for EVs.   Most of the real Trumpsters that have been with him all this time are hooked on oil and would never get off of it.  He wants to drill for oil to give his real base what they are asking for.  Yet...he has as a BFF Elon Musk...

 

Why has Tesla's stocks risen is beyond me.   But that would be for another discussion for another thread another day.  

The Lyriq is quite the popular EV in my neck of the woods.  I see more Lyriqs than I do Model Ys. (Same msrp in CDN dollars).   Many KONA and Ioniq 5s to the point those two equal  the Tesla Model 3.   The Model 3 is super popular here.  And the Chevrolet Equinox EV which has been on sale very recently is probably going to surpass the Model 3 in my area very soon.  I see those quite regularly too.  Moreso the Equinox now as compared to the Model 3 when it was just a couple of months new on sale.   

The Bolts are coming soon.  

But...lemme repeat, for the USA, in Donald Trump's America, I aint so sure that the EV will be a popular guy.  I have a feeling it will be villified.  The timing for GM...  just as they get their EVs rolling, America voted for a very different reality.   Maybe killing off the XT4 is too premature.  Maybe FoMoCo is really dialing down EV launches was a ery very smart move.   But what is Elon Musk to do?  His BFF and the political party he is jumping for joy so much aint gonna be too kind to his automoble empire.  And his EVs will probably stall in sales all over the world too.  

But let me steer back the converation to the Vistiq and Cadillac EVs in general.  I must agree with @smk4565 that Cadillac has finally got a winning formula with these EVs. People are resonating with them.  Although I dont like the overall exteror styling of the Vistiq, too upright and especially too uptight with a weird look that starts from the C pillar to the back end styling. But the interior is bang on!!!   The Optiq looks like a great little compact EV.  Nicer than anyting from Hyundai or Tesla in that market and price range.   Its too damned bad that America is such a confused place right about now and that does not bode well for Cadillac's EV renaissance.   

Edited yesterday at 04:16 AM by oldshurst442

[smk4565]

2 minutes ago, oldshurst442 said:

Donald Trump's America is going to be a bizarre one for EVs.   Most of the real Trumpsters that have been with him all this time are hooked on oil and would never get off of it.  He wants to drill for oil to give his real base what they are asking for.  Yet...he has as a BFF Elon Musk...

 

Why has Tesla's stocks risen is beyond me.   But that would be for another discussion for another thread another day.  

The Lyriq is quite the popular EV in my neck of the woods.  I see more Lyriqs than I do Model Ys. (Same msrp in CDN dollars).   Many KONA and Ioniq 5s to the point those two equal  the Tesla Model 3.   The Model 3 is super popular here.  And the Chevrolet Equinox EV which has been on sale very recently is probably going to surpass the Model 3 in my area very soon.  I see those quite regularly too.  Moreso the Equinox now as compared to the Model 3 when it was just a couple of months new on sale.   

The Bolts are coming soon.  

But...lemme repeat, for the USA, in Donald Trump's America, I aint so sure that the EV will a popular guy.  I have a feeling it will be villified.  But timing for GM. Just as they get their EVs rolling, America voted for a very different reality.   Maybe killing off the XT4 is too premature.  Maybe FoMoCo is really dialing down EV launches was a ery very smart move.   But what is Elon Musk to do?  His BFF and the political party he is jumping for joy so much aint gonna be too kind to his automoble empire.  And his EVs will probably stall in sales all over the world too.  

But let me steer back the converation to the Vistiq and Cadillac EVs in general.  I must agree with @smk4565 that Cadillac has finally got a winning formula with these EVs. People are resonating with them.  Although I dont like the overall exteror styling of the Vistiq, too upright and especially too uptight with a weird C pillar to back end styling exercise.  But the interior is bang on!!!   Its too damned bad that America is such a confused place right about now and that does not bode well for Cadillac's EV renaissance.   

It is very bizarre that Trump is anti-EV, yet he partners with Elon.  So something has to give, either Elons turns on him or Trump starts pushing EVs.  If the $7500 tax credit goes away, I think Tesla is sunk, because they basically have a 15-20% off MSRP sale going on thanks to the government.  At full price I think the sales slow down, especially with a stale line up.

The problem with the current Cadillacs is Chevy FWD chassis and a Chevy 2.0T or the 3.6 V6 that has had reliability issues, definitely not competitive with the Germans or Lexus.  But if you toss that out and have a 500 hp Lyriq, a 615 hp Vistiq, then you start squashing the competition.  I am not a huge fan of the styling of the EV Cadillacs, but the XT's looked a bit ungainly with their FWD proportions so these look more modern.  Early reviews on this and the Lyric seem to say they have luxury but there are some build quality issues.

I think if GM can keep working on getting some cost and weight out of the battery, and get to the 1980 Mercedes or 1990s Lexus school of build quality they can have some winners.  Because build quality has historically been where Cadillac falls flat.

[oldshurst442]

6 minutes ago, smk4565 said:

It is very bizarre that Trump is anti-EV, yet he partners with Elon.  So something has to give, either Elons turns on him or Trump starts pushing EVs.  If the $7500 tax credit goes away, I think Tesla is sunk, because they basically have a 15-20% off MSRP sale going on thanks to the government.  At full price I think the sales slow down, especially with a stale line up.

The problem with the current Cadillacs is Chevy FWD chassis and a Chevy 2.0T or the 3.6 V6 that has had reliability issues, definitely not competitive with the Germans or Lexus.  But if you toss that out and have a 500 hp Lyriq, a 615 hp Vistiq, then you start squashing the competition.  I am not a huge fan of the styling of the EV Cadillacs, but the XT's looked a bit ungainly with their FWD proportions so these look more modern.  Early reviews on this and the Lyric seem to say they have luxury but there are some build quality issues.

I think if GM can keep working on getting some cost and weight out of the battery, and get to the 1980 Mercedes or 1990s Lexus school of build quality they can have some winners.  Because build quality has historically been where Cadillac falls flat.

 The roll out from GM was slow.  But for the better regarding reliabilty and build quality.  From Chevrolet to Cadillac on the EVs.  The bugs. I think, have been worked out. And quite honestly, not that many considering how fast they kinda turned it around from R&D to fully produce them from new EV factories and the new tech and all that.  Less problematic than Tesla and definitely less problematic than what GM did in the ealry 1980s to convert their cars from RWD to FWD.   Build quality has been on the rise since 15 years now and the last 5-8 to great lengths on them Cadillacs ESPECIALLY on the last generation of ICE vehicles from Cadillac.  The EVs are spotless in build quality and interior materials despite the cost of manufacturing EVs.  Ive heard some complaints on the HUMMER that the materials are less than what they need to be on such an expensive vehicle... If that is the only blemish on a vehicle that has only one rival, and its the Cybertruck, then I dont think its such a big deal. Besides, the crowd that buys a HUMMER EV simply buy it for douche bag value and those kinds of people dont really care for materials that are just a tad below what they should be.  They buy it for douche bag value and the Hummer EV has EVERY competitor douche bag vehicle beat buy millions of miles in that category.  And its all that counts. 

I think Cadillac has finally turned it around with their image and its with their EVs that Cadillac has done it with. 

 

[G. David Felt]

Here in Seattle, Tesla is popular, but since January of this year, I now see a ton of LYRIQ's and Kia/Hyundai all over the place. A number of my coworkers have replaced their Tesla's with LYRIQ's. 

PNW is far more green than other places, but as has shown with the huge drop in Tesla sales and an increase in Rivian, Cadillac, Kia and Hyundai, the west coast will move on as Tesla stalls. 

Waymo just announced today that LA is now their third market where one can use Waymo One to take RoboTaxi rides.

Tesla might be up due to the Trump win, but I do not see it doing so great next year, nor Trump as Inflation hits hard North America due to his Tariffs and the rest of the world goes into Recession.

Cadillac has a spot on quality on ICE and EV and while style is personal preference, I do not see Cadillac stalling as they have already said they would keep ICE going past 2030 as long as customers buy and they will adjust EV manufacturing.

Mary has stated that with LFP, they can have a sub $30k Bolt before IRA and even if IRA is destroyed by Idiot47, they will still have a winning entry level EV that I think will be the homerun hit to let them get ahead of other Legacy OEMs.

I think this transition will kill off some OEMs in the US, Japan, Europe and China.

I could see myself buying a VISTIQ if it was not missing one critical item, Android Auto / Apple Carplay. That is the deal breaker for me.

[Drew Dowdell]

14 hours ago, smk4565 said:

Chevy 2.0T

The current 2.0T debuted in the XT4 and then went to Buick.....

Not that GM has divisional engines anymore since the Northstar went out to pasture. 

I'm not a big fan of the Lyriq styling, but I think this one is out of the park good. It can be parked proudly next to a high-zoot Range Rover and looks much better than the EQE SUV.  As far as luxury EV SUVs out there, I think, at least in appearance, the Vistiq is the new king.

[smk4565]

19 hours ago, G. David Felt said:

Here in Seattle, Tesla is popular, but since January of this year, I now see a ton of LYRIQ's and Kia/Hyundai all over the place. A number of my coworkers have replaced their Tesla's with LYRIQ's. 

PNW is far more green than other places, but as has shown with the huge drop in Tesla sales and an increase in Rivian, Cadillac, Kia and Hyundai, the west coast will move on as Tesla stalls. 

Waymo just announced today that LA is now their third market where one can use Waymo One to take RoboTaxi rides.

Tesla might be up due to the Trump win, but I do not see it doing so great next year, nor Trump as Inflation hits hard North America due to his Tariffs and the rest of the world goes into Recession.

Cadillac has a spot on quality on ICE and EV and while style is personal preference, I do not see Cadillac stalling as they have already said they would keep ICE going past 2030 as long as customers buy and they will adjust EV manufacturing.

Mary has stated that with LFP, they can have a sub $30k Bolt before IRA and even if IRA is destroyed by Idiot47, they will still have a winning entry level EV that I think will be the homerun hit to let them get ahead of other Legacy OEMs.

I think this transition will kill off some OEMs in the US, Japan, Europe and China.

I could see myself buying a VISTIQ if it was not missing one critical item, Android Auto / Apple Carplay. That is the deal breaker for me.

I think Elon going full MAGA will probably drive away some of his former customers, plus there are so many other options coming on the market, and the Model Y is dated, although likely getting a refresh in 2025, but even the Model 3 is basically 7 years old, with just 1 refresh on it.    And if you take away the tax credit, Tesla prices basically go up 15-20%, that will cripple their sales.  

GM just has to make sure they hit on build quality, and get the battery cost down, so that all these EV's at a least have no price increase in 2025 or 2026 as ICE cars keep getting more expensive so they can get some price parity.  And a sub-$30k Bolt could sell like hotcakes because the old one sold well despite being pretty below par for charge speed and battery tech. 

[smk4565]

5 hours ago, Drew Dowdell said:

The current 2.0T debuted in the XT4 and then went to Buick.....

Not that GM has divisional engines anymore since the Northstar went out to pasture. 

I'm not a big fan of the Lyriq styling, but I think this one is out of the park good. It can be parked proudly next to a high-zoot Range Rover and looks much better than the EQE SUV.  As far as luxury EV SUVs out there, I think, at least in appearance, the Vistiq is the new king.

The Lyric has a weird back end, it is also too long for a 2 row SUV, and the wheels are too big, unless you get the base wheel.  The proportions are just off, the Vistiq and Optiq look a little more like traditional SUVs and I think if you want to sell EV's it needs to look like a traditional car and not some funky futuristic thing that is different for the sake of being different.  Also why Mercedes need to throw the EQ line in the trash which they are doing and they have an Electric G-wagon and their path to success is take the S-class body, the E-class body, etc and just drop it on the EV platform and call it a day.  

Cadillac's ICE lineup outside of the Escalade isn't competitive at all, they can scrap all that crap and push to EV.  

 

[Drew Dowdell]

15 hours ago, smk4565 said:

The Lyric has a weird back end, it is also too long for a 2 row SUV, and the wheels are too big, unless you get the base wheel.  The proportions are just off, the Vistiq and Optiq look a little more like traditional SUVs and I think if you want to sell EV's it needs to look like a traditional car and not some funky futuristic thing that is different for the sake of being different.  Also why Mercedes need to throw the EQ line in the trash which they are doing and they have an Electric G-wagon and their path to success is take the S-class body, the E-class body, etc and just drop it on the EV platform and call it a day.  

Cadillac's ICE lineup outside of the Escalade isn't competitive at all, they can scrap all that crap and push to EV.  

 

If the Lyriq's proportions are off, then so are all of the "crossover coupes" from BMW, Mercedes, Audi, and Acura.