2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ Is an EV With 450 Miles of Range, 55-Inch Dash

09.08.2023 - 16:13 / pcmag.com / Miles

The Cadillac Escalade SUV is back in with a luxurious, all-electric version. The 2025 Escalade IQ comes with all the bells and whistles you'd expect on an EV that's most likely to be purchased by deep-pocketed executives and celebrities and used for presidential motorcades. 

A 55-inch diagonal dash screen runs wall-to-wall from driver to passenger, powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon Cockpit Platform. It appears to be a similar screen to the super-luxe 2024 Cadillac Celestiq, which will start at $340,000(Opens in a new window) when it hits dealers later this year.

An Executive Second-Row Seating package adds personal, 12.6-inch screens for backseat passengers, a rear command center screen (like a dash), wireless charging, and massage seats. 

The Escalade IQ comes with three years of GM's Super Cruise self-driving assistive technology, which operates on more than 400,000 miles of compatible roads across the US and Canada, GM says—mostly highways. It helps keep the vehicle in a lane, but can also change lanes, and will accelerate and brake based on traffic patterns.

Even without Super Cruise, the Escalade IQ comes with a suite of standard safety and driver-assist features, including blind zone steering assist, intersection emergency braking, HD cameras on all sides, parking assist, and alerts about pedestrians, bicyclists, or even deer.

With up to 450 miles of range, the Escalade IQ stands to offer the most range of any full-size electric SUV on the market. GM says the "sleeker profile"—including grille shutters that close off airflow when it's not needed— gives it a 15% lower coefficient of drag than previous Escalades.

Cadillac did not reveal the vehicle's price. The 2023 gas-powered Escalade starts at $80,795, and since EVs are generally more expensive, and the IQ doesn't come out until 2025, it'll almost certainly be over $100,000. The question is just how far over, and if it will top $200,000.

The Escalade IQ's closest competitor is the Rivian R1S, another luxury, 7-seat electric SUV. It currently starts at $78,000 for a 260-mile range. Upgrading to a larger battery pack gets you a 340-mile range for $84,000. 

GM equipped the Escalade IQ with bi-directional charging, which turns the vehicle into a giant power source that can power homes. It's the first full-size Cadillac built on GM's new Ultium battery platform, with the Ultifi software delivering over-the-air updates. Charging-wise, it offers "the quickest form of charging currently available, providing up to 100 miles of range in 10 minutes," GM says. 

Up front, the absence of a gas engine means there's space for a large eTrunk (also known as a frunk) with 12 cubic feet of storage.

The Cadillac Escalade IQ goes from 0-60mph in five seconds, and has