Cadillac unveils all-electric Escalade IQ, a $130,000 luxury SUV
This Caddy is one giant baddie.
General Motors on Wednesday unveiled an all-electric, larger-than-life version of the car company’s cash cow, the Cadillac Escalade.
Dubbed the Escalade IQ, the 2025 model SUV is the luxury carmaker’s biggest step towards having a fully electric portfolio by the end of the decade, Cadillac Vice President John Roth said during the EV’s launch event in downtown Manhattan.
The IQ, which will go on sale next year with an expected price tag of $130,000, features a 55-inch LED dash screen, a special “Velocity Mode” that outputs 750 horsepower, can go zero to 60 mph in five seconds, and travel 450 miles on a single charge, company execs boasted at the highly-publicized reveal.
The Escalade IQ will join Cadillac’s other electric offerings — Lyriq and Celestiq.
The IQ has maintained the DNA of Cadillac’s lucrative Escalade line — one out of every three vehicles sold in the segment is an Escalade, Roth noted — though ditching the gas tank, engine, and transmission has made for a sleeker, more aerodynamic look.
In place of the gas engine is a big battery with big power — 200-kilowatt hours, to be exact, giving the IQ an estimated range of up to 450 miles on a single charge, Cadillac estimated.
IQ’s chief engineer Mandi Damman said on Wednesday that the charge could get New Yorkers through the nearly seven-hour drive to Virginia Beach with range to spare.
GM’s Ultium 24-module battery pack that sits at the belly of the EV beast also has the ability to add 100 miles of range in 10 minutes with the help of a DC fast charger.
A standard house charger, meanwhile, will add around 37 miles of range in an hour.
Once it’s juiced up, the IQ enables hands-free driving on more than 400,000 miles of US and Canadian roads, and built-in safety tools that include blind zone steering assist, camera views of the surrounding areas, and enhanced automatic parking.
IQ also boasts a 6.5-foot tighter turning diameter, to 39.4 feet, and 24-inch wheels.
The Google Play-supported infotainment system includes Google Maps and can entertain passengers with its integration with Netflix and Hulu.
Cadillac doesn’t mention Apple CarPlay or Android Auto support in the IQ’s laundry list of luxe features, which is in line with General Motors’ decision earlier this year to nix the phone-mirroring tech.
In another example of the IQ living up to its high-tech promise, interior ambient lighting offers 126 different color choices and there’s an option for the driver door to automatically open as the fob-holder approaches.
