The verdict: The all-electric Lyriq is a classy, good-looking luxury mid-size SUV that drives like a classic Cadillac: big, heavy, quiet and — above all else — comfortable.
Versus the competition: It’s far more stylish and opulent inside than anything from Tesla, and it’s easier to use than anything from Mercedes-Benz; with its distinctive good looks, solidly competitive range and decent pricing, the Lyriq is a viable choice for luxury electric SUV shoppers.
The Cadillac Lyriq has been in dealerships for two years now, but would you believe this was our first chance to get behind the wheel of one for more than a couple of minutes? GM had a very slow production ramp-up of the 2023 Lyriq, with just a trickle making it out of the automaker’s Tennessee factory in its first year-plus of production, supposedly due to an issue with the new Ultium battery system. Now, for the 2024 model year, the bugs have been worked out and cars are flowing onto dealer lots in much higher volumes — and into press fleets. Now that we’ve finally, finally had some seat time in one, we can give you our take on this significant addition to Cadillac showrooms.
Related: All-Electric 2024 Cadillac Lyriq Gains New Equipment, Starts at $58,590
After two years of waiting, what do we think of the two-row all-electric Lyriq SUV? Is it any good? Is an electric Cadillac just a fad? Is it better than a Tesla Model X or Mercedes-EQ EQE SUV?
Just What Is an ‘Ultium Vehicle’?
GM has created a whole electric vehicle architecture called “Ultium.” That name refers both to the battery system and the platform itself, both of which can be scaled up or down depending on the size of the vehicle using it. That means an Ultium vehicle can be as huge as a GMC Hummer EV heavy-duty pickup truck or as small as a Chevrolet Equinox EV compact SUV. The Lyriq is the first (but not the last) Cadillac to use the Ultium platform, and it’s a fairly hefty two-row mid-size SUV that will be one of four electric SUVs in Cadillac showrooms in the next couple of years. Slotting above the Lyriq will be a three-row Vistiq (coming next year) and the flagship Escalade IQ; coming in below it will be the new Optiq compact SUV. The platform also forms the basis of the hand-built, super-luxury, totally made-to-order Celestiq luxury car.
The Lyriq also features the newest expression of Cadillac styling, which is either bold and avant garde or a bit of an angular mess, depending on whom you ask. It’s certainly not conventionally beautiful, but it is striking and unique. From its accent lighting up front to its segmented taillights, nothing else looks quite like the Lyriq. Cadillac is also doing some absolutely dynamite paint colors, including the one on my test vehicle, which Cadillac calls Nimbus Metallic but you and I would probably just call baby blue. My test vehicle was a Luxury trim (there are also base Tech and distinctly styled Sport trims) with 22-inch wheels and a black painted roof option.
Under the Hood
Powering the Lyriq is one of two electric powertrains: a rear-wheel-drive single-motor setup that’s good for 340 horsepower or an all-wheel-drive dual-motor system pumping out 500 hp; both are powered by a 102-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack. The RWD version has 314 miles of EPA-estimated range, while the AWD model has 307 miles of range. Using a Level 2 charger, recharging can happen at rates up to 19.2 kilowatts in a Lyriq equipped with an optional 19.2-kW-capable onboard charger; that setup can add up to 51 miles of range per hour of charge time. The Lyriq can DC fast-charge at up to 190 kW in ideal conditions, getting you 77 miles of range in about 10 minutes. Those numbers are about mid-pack these days in terms of DC charging speed and driving range — perfectly adequate, but certainly not class-leading. As always, the speed at which your vehicle charges on a DC fast charger depends on a lot of things, including the battery’s state of charge, ambient and battery temperature, the load on the charger itself and many other factors.
My bigger question with the Lyriq was how well its 340 hp and 325 pounds-feet of torque would move a vehicle this hefty; lithium-ion batteries are not light, and a 102-kWh pack is pretty sizable. The Lyriq weighs more than 5,500 pounds, which is as much as a Chevrolet Tahoe full-size SUV. Would 340 hp be enough to deliver adequate performance?
Big and Comfy, Cadillac-Style
The Lyriq’s driving experience is quite good. You feel the heft of this car, but its weight is down low because that big battery is in the floor beneath your feet. The steering feels firm and hefty, the brakes are quite strong, and acceleration (even in the less powerful RWD model) is more than adequate. The Lyriq is also a supremely stately highway cruiser, with quiet operation, a compliant ride and very comfortable seats. It is not, however, athletic; you won’t want to flog this thing down back roads. But that isn’t its mission. This is a luxury SUV meant for comfortably transporting people and cargo, and it does very well in that regard.
There are a couple of interesting driving-related features in the Lyriq. It does have different drive modes, but they’re buried in a menu and require a few taps on the touchscreen to change between them — meaning you’re not likely to do so while driving. There’s a one-pedal-driving button that’s easier to find on the touchscreen, and the system can be adjusted for normal or highly aggressive operation. On the back of the steering wheel is an interesting pressure-sensitive paddle that also activates the regenerative braking system. The harder you pull on it, the more aggressively it slows the Lyriq; you almost never have to touch the brakes when driving this car. And, of course, GM’s Super Cruise hands-free driving system, which can change lanes on its own, is available. It generally works as flawlessly as ever.
Lovely to Look At, Cheap to the Touch
Taking a look around the Lyriq’s interior, at first glance, it really looks fantastic. It’s beautifully styled, with interesting shapes, clever lighting and neat details, like knurled-metal-look trim on the cupholders and dash. Once you start touching bits of it, however, you realize Cadillac had to thin out a lot of the trim in order to keep the car from weighing over 6,000 pounds. That leaves nearly everything in the interior looking great but feeling cheap, including the center console plastic and the hollow-sounding dash.
Cadillac did spend a bit of money on the 33-inch organic light-emitting diode digital display, however, which is a continuous curved panel with touchscreen sections flanking both sides of a reconfigurable instrument cluster. The multimedia system runs Google Built-In software, but unlike many of GM’s other new electric cars, you also get wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto in the Lyriq (which makes me really doubt GM’s excuses as to why it leaves this connectivity out of the Chevy Blazer EV and Equinox EV, as well as the upcoming Cadillac Optiq). The touchscreen works about as well as most touchscreens, which is to say not perfectly, but Cadillac deserves major props for retaining physical climate and volume controls. Those props, of course, have to be taken right back due to the touch-sensitive controls on the Lyriq’s steering wheel, which is a control type that should never be on any steering wheel. Have we learned nothing from Mercedes-Benz?
Not Even Crazy Expensive
As a luxury SUV, the new Lyriq is really quite nice. It’s comfy, relatively spacious, beautiful to look at, lovely to use, and it behaves like most other electric SUVs. There’s nothing too crazy or unusual about any of it aside from its rather eye-catching styling, and it’s not even too outrageously priced, with my test vehicle coming in at $73,000 and change (including destination fee). Given it qualifies for a $7,500 federal tax credit, that brings the price down to the mid-$60,000 range, which is even better. It’s not hard to see why Cadillac has seen sales of the Lyriq steadily climb as supply finally catches up with demand. It’s a solid entry in the luxury electric SUV field, and it’s worthy of a look.
More From Cars.com:
- 2024 Cadillac Lyriq EV’s Federal Tax Credit Restored
- What to Know Before Purchasing an Electric Vehicle: A Buying Guide
- Electric Cars With the Longest Range
- Research the 2024 Cadillac Lyriq
- Shop for a 2024 Cadillac Lyriq
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