Overview
The Lyriq is the first luxury electric SUV by Cadillac to enter the EV market, offering a modern cabin and sharp style. According to Cadillac, they will offer both single-motor rear-wheel-drive models as well as a dual-motor all-wheel-drive model. The new SUV is said to have a driving range of over 300 miles. The Cadillac Lyriq was specifically designed from scratch and will utilize the new scalable battery technology from General Motors. Cadillac said that the electric vehicle architecture offered by this car has both a spacious and comfortable cabin as well as a low center of gravity. It is estimated that this car will be made available sometime in 2022 or 2023.
Specs
People are always concerned when it comes to the performance of a car when it comes to electric vehicles. The all-wheel-drive model is an optional choice, which has a 2nd motor on the front wheels to drive them. The rear-wheel-drive just has an electric motor on the rear axle. There isn’t a lot of information on the powertrain for the all-wheel drive, but the rear-wheel-drive is said to have 340 horsepower. The power delivery offered by this electric motor can offer brisk acceleration, which is good if you are looking a bit more for power. It is estimated that this car will be able to go from 0 to 60 MPH in about 4.3 seconds.
With the release of the Cadillac Lyriq, General Motors is launching its new and innovative electric vehicle battery technology named Ultium. This is a scalable technology that can be used to make batteries that are sized between 50.0 kWh and 200 kWh, with the largest battery being reserved for the electric pickups including the GMC Hummer EV SUT. Cadillac says that the Lyriq will use the 100-kWh battery to power the SUV, which means that you could get 300 miles per full charge. The SUV will be able to be charged using home outlets as well as DC fast charging.
Design
Now it’s time to get into the design and features of this new electric SUV. The first thing to discuss is the interior. The original concept vehicle had only 4 seats, with two seats each in the front and rear. There was a center console that separated the seats in the row, with a touchscreen for the rear passengers. However, the production vehicle opted for the more traditional bench seat for the rear passengers.
The interior was specifically designed with luxurious spaciousness in mind. The more open cabin offers plenty of space for the driver and passengers to get nice and comfortable, making for a more enjoyable ride. There is also supposed to be noise-canceling technology that will help to reduce the road noise that you hear while riding in this SUV.
Connectivity and Infotainment
The next part of the interior to discuss is the connectivity and infotainment. The Lyriq dashboard does share some similarities with the 2021 Escalade. The biggest similarity is the 33.0-inch curved-LED display is used for both the gauge display for the driver as well as the main infotainment system for the SUV. Features that are including in the Escalade’s infotainment system are also expected to be standard for the Lyriq. This system can be controlled by a click wheel that is located on the center console, which is great for those people that don’t like the touchscreens. Other standard features that are expected include:
- Wi-Fi Hotspots
- Android Auto
- Apple CarPlay
- Potentially a 19-speaker system
Driver Safety Features
The car offers excellent safety and driver-assistance features for you to take advantage of, though they haven’t made any official announcements to verify. Cadillac did mention that the brand’s Super Cruise (which is their semi-autonomous driving tech) will be one of the features offered on the Lyriq. Other important safety and driver-assistance features that you could expect include:
- Automated emergency braking, including pedestrian detection.
- Lane-departure warning along with lane-keeping assist.
- Adaptive cruise control, including semi-autonomous driving mode.
Warranty
The Lyriq is expected to have the standard powertrain warranty that you could typically expect from luxury SUVs from Cadillac. The battery is expected to have a warranty of 8 years or 100,000 miles like the Chevy electric vehicle offers. It is also expected that Cadillac will cover the first maintenance visit at the dealership.
The expected warranty for the Cadillac Lyric is:
- 4-year or 50,000 limited warranty
- 6-year or 70,000 powertrain warranty
Pricing
Cadillac confirmed that the starting price for their Lyriq will be $59,990. When considering this massive price tag, there are other things to consider. For one thing, there’s a federal tax credit of $7,500 as well as other incentives offered by your state to get a new electric vehicle.
Luxury electric SUVs are expected to become very popular options. When the Lyriq is finally launched, the primary competition will be the Tesla Model Y. They are basically the same size, with the exception of the small 3rd-row seating that you get with the Tesla. The Model Y is cheaper, but you are getting more performance with the Lyriq than you would with the Tesla. Another anticipated rival will be the Audi e-Tron, which will likely cost $65,900 before factoring in any tax breaks.
Conclusion
This sleek and stylish electric SUV offered by Cadillac can be an excellent option if you are looking for an electric SUV. Cadillac is a brand that has become synonymous with luxury vehicles, especially SUVs. The Cadillac Lyriq electric SUV is the first of its kind from the brand, which may be a highly anticipated offering for fans who don’t want to sacrifice luxury for the eco-friendly electric vehicle. This could be the answer to make luxury SUV fans make the switch to the EV world.
