2025 Cadilllac Escalade IQ First Look: The Big One Goes Electric

MotorTrend

The Escalade IQ is the next item in GM's playbook to go electric. Does that mean it's any less of an Escalade?

Transcript

00:00 The big daddy Cadillac is going electric.

00:03 Oh yes, you heard that right.

00:04 This is the 2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ.

00:07 It's all new, all electric, and invites the question,

00:10 is this still a legitimate Escalade?

00:13 (upbeat music)

00:16 If there was anything in the General Motors portfolio

00:25 that needed, nay, demanded an EV version,

00:28 it was the Escalade.

00:30 Massive in size and with great on-road presence,

00:33 an electric powertrain would only add

00:35 to the blend of power and luxury

00:36 the Escalade has always been known for.

00:38 So, here it is in all its glory.

00:41 Take a second, absorb it with your eyeballs.

00:43 Okay, got it?

00:45 Let's talk about it.

00:46 First things first, because of that sloped roofline,

00:49 it sort of looks like a big Lyric.

00:51 It's way more cab-back in design

00:53 than the gas-driven Escalade,

00:55 and actually, Cadillac says its coefficient of drag

00:57 is 15% better.

00:59 It rides on 24-inch wheels and 35-inch tires,

01:02 so that part, very, very Escalade-esque.

01:05 The front is a grill-less take on the Escalade's fascia

01:08 that looks like Mob Boss pinstriping,

01:10 so I'm here for that.

01:11 We gotta talk about this rear, though.

01:14 Okay, so, the best thing I'll say about it

01:17 is the taillights look like a piano keyboard,

01:19 so I dare you to look at this

01:20 and not immediately wanna bust out some Rachmaninoff.

01:23 (upbeat music)

01:25 The rest of it, though, I don't know, man.

01:27 There's a lot going on.

01:29 Why are there two sets of taillights?

01:31 Why is that weird break in the D pillar there?

01:34 The back of the Escalade IQ looks like an SUV

01:36 that's wearing another SUV as a hat.

01:38 I'm sorry, it must be said.

01:40 It's a badass SUV with a bad ass.

01:43 That's okay, though, because if you own this car,

01:46 you're spending most of your time inside it anyway.

01:49 The inside of the Escalade IQ

01:50 is a combination of opulent touches

01:52 and state-of-the-art technology,

01:53 which is to be expected from Cadillac.

01:56 Absolutely dominating the front dash

01:58 is the 55-inch diagonally measured screen.

02:01 Front seat passengers can use it

02:02 for web browsing and streaming,

02:03 but that third of the screen has been polarized

02:06 so the driver can't see it and get distracted.

02:09 Underneath that is another screen

02:10 called the front command center.

02:12 Second row passengers are treated

02:14 to a couple of captain's chairs,

02:15 no bench seats will be offered,

02:16 and 12-plus inch seat back screens.

02:19 The optional executive package

02:20 gets you a 40-speaker stereo system

02:23 and a separate command center

02:24 and massaging seats for the second row.

02:27 And the third row has power fold-down seats.

02:29 To really drive home that feeling of upscale quality,

02:32 the cabin features laser-etched ash wood

02:34 and ambient lighting.

02:36 Finally, if you were wondering

02:37 whether or not there's a front trunk, there is.

02:39 Called the Cadillac e-trunk, it's about 12 cubic feet

02:43 and is said to be able to hold a stroller

02:45 or two golf bags.

02:46 So, what's powering the next generation

02:49 of Cadillac's land yacht?

02:51 The Escalade IQ uses GM's Ultium EV technology

02:54 and platform, meaning it has a 200-kilowatt battery

02:57 that's good for 750 horsepower

03:01 and 785 pound-feet of torque.

03:04 With its dual-motor setup, it'll hit 60 from zero

03:07 in less than five seconds

03:09 and it'll return an estimated 450 miles of range.

03:14 If you want to tow, the IQ will do that too,

03:16 up to 8,000 pounds of it.

03:18 Some other goodies include height-adjustable

03:20 air suspension and four-wheel steering

03:21 that gives the SUV a 6.5-foot reduction

03:24 in turning diameter.

03:26 Look, when you're driving something this big,

03:28 anything helps.

03:29 Cadillac's very excellent, hands-free,

03:32 advanced driver-assistance tech Super Cruise

03:34 comes as a standard feature,

03:36 but you can also option up for Ultra Cruise,

03:39 which is driveway-to-driveway capability.

03:41 Finally, the Escalade IQ will have the crab walk feature

03:44 we first saw on the GMC Hummer EV,

03:46 but here it's called Cadillac Arrival Mode.

03:49 The new Cadillac Escalade IQ will have a starting price

03:52 of around $130,000, which is par for the course

03:55 for a hyper-luxury vehicle such as this.

03:57 As for the question of whether the electric IQ

03:59 is still a proper Escalade,

04:02 well, it never really mattered what powered the Escalade.

04:05 So when the IQ comes out, probably next year,

04:08 the Escalade lineup will include

04:09 both a battery-electric powertrain

04:11 as well as a supercharged V8

04:13 in the form of the Escalade V.

04:15 You couldn't get two more opposing ideas

04:19 on one spectrum, and I think that's beautiful.

04:21 Much like the late Heath Ledger,

04:23 it proves the Escalade's got range, man.

04:26 Ultimately, what makes an Escalade an Escalade

04:28 is its overwhelming size, presence, and luxury touches,

04:32 all of which this IQ has.

04:35 It wasn't simply Escalade styling

04:36 grafted onto something as big as a Traverse,

04:38 which would have failed pretty spectacularly.

04:40 This is large, in-charge,

04:43 and as legit an Escalade as they come.

04:45 (upbeat music)

04:48 (upbeat music)

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