{"id":4857,"date":"2026-03-09T17:13:26","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T21:13:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.autonocion.com\/us\/?p=4857"},"modified":"2026-03-11T12:16:36","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T16:16:36","slug":"escalade-iq","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.autonocion.com\/us\/escalade-iq\/","title":{"rendered":"Cadillac Escalade IQ Sport review: 750-hp electric SUV impresses with performance and range, but GM\u2019s infotainment decision is a major flaw"},"content":{"rendered":"

Over the last few years, OEMs have seemingly tried to electrify everything<\/a>. Even the Cadillac Escalade, a borderline bus-sized, V8-powered, symbol of American opulence now comes as a dual-motor BEV.<\/p>\n

I recently had the opportunity to try that EV out: the Cadillac Escalade IQ Sport to be exact. Cadillac has a solid record when it comes to EVs. The Lyriq is one of the best things I\u2019ve driven in recent months, and I may have given the regular Escalade a car of the year award somewhere. So I was a bit excited about driving this $137,000, 750-horsepower, beast. It\u2019s a shame that a glaring, unforced, error on GM\u2019s part soured the whole thing a little.<\/p>\n

The Cadillac Escalade IQ has a weird reverse-TARDIS thing going on<\/h2>\n
\"The
At least you get a usable frunk in the Escalade IQ\u00a0 free of charge Credit: Dave McQuilling<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

You know that phone box Dr. Who flies around in, before he stops off to lecture an alien about science or whatever? It looks tiny on the outside but it\u2019s massive when you get through the door. Well the Cadillac Escalade IQ is a bit like that in a weird way.<\/p>\n

It looks massive on the spec sheet. On paper, it\u2019s longer than the regular Escalade by a whole foot, and the Escalade is far from a stubby vehicle. But from the outside in real life it looks relatively small. Honestly, before I looked at the spec sheet and subsequently spat my coffee out I was convinced it was around the same size as a Ford Explorer. The fact it\u2019s bigger than its gas-equivalent was a massive shock to someone who had driven it around for three days and commented on how reasonably sized it is compared to its boat of a brother.<\/p>\n

Then you get to the interior dimensions and things make less sense. Although both vehicles have the same amount of cargo space on paper, the Escalade IQ has less leg room for the third row and less rear space behind that third row too. Both vehicles have the same amount of space in the first and second rows, so where the extra space has gone, who knows? With that being said, the Escalade IQ doesn\u2019t have to cram a V8 up front so you get a generous frunk which provides over 12 cubic feet of extra storage space. If you remember it exists. The frunk is also included free, which is nice because making it an optional extra<\/a> would be very silly.<\/p>\n

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Third row leg room in the Cadillac Escalade IQ isn’t great. Credit: Dave McQuilling<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The other space-aged thing in the vehicle is SuperCruise, GM\u2019s Level-2 self-driving system. It does all of the advanced stuff – automatic lane changes, hands-free driving, distance and lane control – but it does it better than anyone else. To put it into perspective, I picked up the Escalade in New Jersey, got on to I-87, and the only time I remember touching the wheel between the Jersey border and Albany was when I decided to pull into the New Baltimore rest stop for some food. It\u2019s just that good. To top it off, I\u2019d have had a similar experience if I\u2019d chosen to ditch the interstate and suffer my way up Route 9 instead, SuperCruise will seemingly work anywhere you have a decent stretch of road without a stop light or stop sign. I\u2019ve even SuperCruised my way right through the middle of Roscoe, New York.<\/p>\n

Cadillac\u2019s Escalade IQ is a surprisingly good performance vehicle<\/h2>\n
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Credit: Dave McQuilling<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The best thing about the IQ feeling weirdly small is the added performance that brings with it. Considering it\u2019s one of the heaviest production vehicles available, and the size of a barn, it should not feel as nimble, pacey, and agile as it does.<\/p>\n

But as mentioned, it felt like driving a mid-sized SUV, not a full-sized behemoth. I felt like there was plenty of room to maneuver in parking lots, highway lanes seemed generously spaced, and at no point did I worry about making it through a gap due to the vehicle\u2019s size.<\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s the speed. In a normal drive mode you have 680 horsepower and 615 lb-ft of torque, which is a lot. Tap the little red V (Velocity Max) button on your steering wheel though, and you\u2019ll unleash the dual-motor system\u2019s full 750 horsepower and 785 lb-ft of torque. Which is more than a lot. This massive, massive vehicle will go from 0 to 60 in 4.7 seconds, and handles as well as an SUV half of its size.<\/p>\n

When you see the word \u201csport\u201d on a modern vehicle, you don\u2019t tend to think much. It\u2019s a bit of a buzzword – it usually means \u201csmaller and cheaper\u201d but can also mean \u201csecond cheapest trim\u201d or \u201cyeah, we tuned it to give an extra 15 horsepower.\u201d I\u2019m gobsmacked Cadillac has made a genuinely sporty Escalade. This SUV 100% deserves that title, and OEMs abusing the term should be called out.<\/p>\n

The Cadillac Escalade IQ handles the snow surprisingly well<\/h2>\n
\"A
Credit: Dave McQuilling<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

My testing period for the Cadillac Escalade IQ coincided with a string of snow storms in upstate New York. Which was bad for commuters<\/a>, but great for winter vehicle testing. The Escalade did very well.<\/p>\n

I initially had worries because of the vehicle\u2019s immense weight. Its battery pack alone has the same amount of mass as a Toyota Corolla<\/a>, and GM has basically slapped a large SUV on top of that. Usually immense mass + speed + slippery surface means you aren\u2019t stopping. You\u2019re going in the ditch. But (as I found out on a 4 am trip to the airport during a blizzard) the Escalade IQ handles and stops beautifully in snow.<\/p>\n

The trip involved maintaining the speed limit, overtaking, and braking for a few stop lights. Obviously, I was extra cautious but I didn\u2019t feel any loss of traction from the vehicle, it stayed very true under braking, and stopped in a reasonable distance.<\/p>\n

As you may know, winter weather impacts EV range and bigger batteries tend to fare worse<\/a> when it gets cold. I didn\u2019t feel like the Escalade suffered too much despite the mercury dancing around 0F for several days. I lost between five and 20 miles of range per night, depending on exactly how cold it was. Which I didn\u2019t think was too bad. I did forget to prime the battery before recharging though, which resulted in about half of the charger\u2019s total wattage actually making its way into the juicebox while I shivered away outside taking photos like a moron. If I had any sense, I would have moved into the passenger seat and made the most of the stopover.<\/p>\n

The infotainment hardware in the Escalade IQ is great, but could be better<\/h2>\n
\"Infotainment
The infotainment hardware in the Escalade IQ is superb Credit: Dave McQuilling<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Cadillac has embraced the panoramic display, giving you a fully customizable 55-inch display stretching across the length of the dashboard. This isn\u2019t unique, with Lincoln, BMW, Mercedes and several other luxury brands offering similar experiences. But it is a wonderful touch in many modern vehicles.<\/p>\n

The display itself is bright, and adds a lot to the vehicle. I found it easy to mess around with the layout while also configuring things like lighting to fit my mood. It is worth noting the particular trim I had lacked the smaller screens behind the driver and passenger headrest designed to give those in the second row something to watch.<\/p>\n

It did have the far right section of the display dedicated to the front passenger, which I thought was a nice touch. The passenger can use a separate and self-contained YouTube app, or any other streaming service, to look up a show or other video. They could then either use the general car audio or connect a set of headphones and entertain themselves. Provided the car was in park. Which sort of defeats the object of the whole thing.<\/p>\n

Other companies, like Mercedes, have found ways to entertain passengers without distracting drivers. Mercedes has an extra camera which blacks out the passenger display if the driver is caught peeking at it. There\u2019s already a camera tracking the driver\u2019s eyes to make sure they\u2019re watching the road while SuperCruise is engaged, so you\u2019d think coding this in wouldn\u2019t be a lot of trouble.<\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s a different solution, which may stop the display being used as part of the main infotainment system, but would allow your passenger to watch a show while you\u2019re on the move. Some vehicles use special glass that allows the person in front of the screen to see it, but blacks it out for anyone viewing from an angle. Like from the driver\u2019s seat, in this example. It isn\u2019t particularly rare or expensive stuff, you can buy a screen protector for a phone or laptop that works the same way and only costs a few bucks.<\/p>\n

GM has made a horrible mistake<\/h2>\n
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The Cadillac Escalade IQ charges a lot faster if you prep the battery in cold weather… Credit: Dave McQuilling<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Then there\u2019s the biggest infotainment issue. I praised GM for keeping the V8<\/a> earlier, and now it\u2019s time to condemn it to the proverbial stocks and toss some rotten fruit like words at it for doing something awful to its customer base.<\/p>\n

No OEM likes surrendering potential profits and vehicle information to a third party company. I get that. But GM\u2019s decision to ditch Apple Car Play and Android Auto is one of the worst things I\u2019ve encountered in the last few years. You, the person dropping six figures on one of their vehicles, do not benefit from this in the slightest. It makes your daily life, and luxury vehicle experience, worse.<\/p>\n

While it\u2019s nice to have an OEM\u2019s own infotainment as an option I, like many people, prefer Car Play or Android Auto 90% of the time. All my accounts run through my phone, so I\u2019m not staying logged in on an extra \u201cdevice.\u201d The same can be said for my calls and messages, that all remains on my phone and not being tracked by a car. This is basic privacy stuff.<\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s actual usability. GM\u2019s system is Google-based, but rather than just having everything working within a minute or two you need to download and sign into every app you intend to use in the car. YouTube, Spotify, Waze, doesn\u2019t matter. You\u2019re taking a significant amount of time out of your life to set it all up.<\/p>\n

When we get to compatibility, things go from bad to awful. Listening to, and responding to, text messages is bordering on home dentistry levels of discomfort. Your phone pings, some time in the next six to eight business days you\u2019ll see a popup, that takes a while to load if it even registers the fact you\u2019ve poked it. Then from there it may read the message out to you, but half the time you\u2019ll have to navigate through a bunch of awkward menus to find it.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s even worse with music. If you don\u2019t want to sign in to the car\u2019s Spotify app you\u2019re essentially stuck using your phone to pick what track you want. Because the voice commands get confused going between the vehicle and your phone. It\u2019s a good thing SuperCruise is so good, because GM\u2019s made their infotainment system so frustrating that you\u2019ll wind up committing a severe traffic violation in an effort to dodge an Adele track.<\/p>\n

GM, making mistakes is fine if you can admit it and move forward. Please, please, just realize you\u2019re wrong about this and roll it back. This problem can be fixed with a software update. And ideally prevented by burying anyone who suggests doing something this stupid under your company parking lot instead of allowing them to call the shots.<\/p>\n

Would I buy a Cadillac Escalade IQ?<\/h2>\n
\"Rear
Credit: Dave McQuilling<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I can see a lot of positives in the Escalade IQ. It drives very well for its size, its range is awesome, there\u2019s a solid amount of storage space. I do prefer the V8 Cadillac though. The traditional model\u2019s interior is a bit more refined and old school. Like the bridge of a yacht. It\u2019s what you expect from the Escalade badge.<\/p>\n

The IQ is very sporty and new, and would be a pick if you\u2019re looking to blend size, prestige, performance, and faux concern for the environment. SuperCruise is also a huge bonus, I\u2019ve made the argument that it\u2019s the best Level 2 self-driving system on the market at the moment. I don\u2019t believe I\u2019m incorrect there.<\/p>\n

But would I personally buy it? Not until GM does a hard U-Turn on the infotainment policy. Lincoln doesn\u2019t have an electric option but at least it plays nice with my Google Pixel 10.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Over the last few years, OEMs have seemingly tried to electrify everything. Even the Cadillac Escalade, a borderline bus-sized, V8-powered, … <\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":4866,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[38],"class_list":["post-4857","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reviews","tag-cadillac","resize-featured-image"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.autonocion.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4857","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.autonocion.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.autonocion.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.autonocion.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.autonocion.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4857"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.autonocion.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4857\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.autonocion.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4866"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.autonocion.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.autonocion.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.autonocion.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}