CARLOS LAGO: Hey, Carlos Lago with Edmunds here.
This is the 2023 Cadillac Lyriq.
This video, I'm going to explain what
you can expect when you take a look at this vehicle
inside and out.
How big it is, how much it costs,
what it's like compared to other rivals on paper.
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We've seen the Lyriq before in concept version,
but this is the first time we're seeing
the car in what it will look like when it actually
goes on sale.
Reservations start early September and deliveries
will begin early next year.
It's important because it's Cadillac's first
all electric vehicle and it also represents a whole bunch
of EVs coming from General Motors
in the near future like that GMC Hummer
and a forthcoming all electric Chevy Silverado.
The Lyriq starts at 60 grand or thereabouts
before any EV incentives.
That's roughly between the Cadillac XT6 and Escalade base
prices.
That's also a touch less than luxury EV SUVs
from Audi and Jaguar and it matches
that of a loaded Tesla Model Y even though the Lyriq
is larger.
Speaking of size, the Lyriq is about the same length and width
as the much costlier Tesla Model X
or a midsize traditionally powered SUV
like a Kia Telluride or BMW X5.
But its wheels sit further apart from the vehicle's center.
That's the wheelbase.
And the Lyriq's wheelbase is similar to that of an Escalade,
not needing to fit the engine, transmission, driveshaft
gives you more room inside.
And that means more space relative to gas powered SUVs.
The Lyriq will sit five passengers, two up front, three
in back obviously.
But the first thing you notice when you hop in is this screen.
It's 33 inches and it's actually one complete screen
across the entire display.
Some vehicles out there we've seen these large displays
actually have multiple screens.
This is just one uniform screen.
And it's attractive.
It's also low and out of the way,
it's all still easy to see over the windshield
when you sit-in the driver's seat.
One thing that you can really appreciate with EVs like this
is because you don't have a transmission right here,
you have a lot of space in the floor.
And Cadillacs use that to give you
some storage space down here for handbags and so on,
whatever you need to position.
There's also additional storage options
like you have some cubbies here that can pop out and flip down,
not supposed to touch anything because this is still an early
build and things may not be 100%.
But that's kind of what you get with vehicles
in this stage of production.
Like many other Cadillacs, the Lyriq offers super cruise.
That's the name of Cadillac's hands free driving technology.
And it works on select roadways and with some other limitations
too.
What I like about this layout is the attention to detail
and a lot of the materials, it looks very attractive.
There's use of metal, there's use of wood.
It gives you the kind of premium experience
you'd hope to find in a Cadillac while still feeling very
modern because it doesn't seem too alien or too far removed
from modern Cadillacs of today.
It still seems very usable but it is attractive as well.
Let's take a look at the back seat.
Back here, space is very plentiful.
I'm 5'10" or so.
The front seat is a little bit forward
than what I would sit normally but as you
can see I have plenty of space in all directions.
Up above is a glass roof, there will be a glass roof fixed
and then also a reclining or sliding glass roof
available later for the Lyriq.
That means I have good headroom, plenty of leg and knee room,
and the space back here feels very comfortable.
I also appreciate that like you would
expect in a vehicle in this class you
have rear vents and plenty of power ports.
Nice stuff.
Cargo space should look pretty similar to what
you would expect from an SUV of this size.
You get about 28 cubic feet with the rear seats up.
Drop that down, and that space to expand to above like
roughly 60 cubic feet.
Pretty sizable altogether, especially with those
seats flip down.
You don't get a front trunk storage
area, that's the space with the level 2 charger sits.
That's the space where a couple other parts of the car,
mechanical bits fit.
And by moving those up there, Cadillac
says they've opened up space back
here and in the interior space.
The base Lyriq comes with one electric motor and rear wheel
drive.
And it has a 100 kilowatt battery pack.
This combination supplies 340 horsepower and more than 300
miles of range per Cadillac.
That range estimate is similar to what
you get from the smaller Tesla Model Y long range
and more than the Audi e-tron or Jaguar I-Pace.
A dual motor and all wheel drive Lyriq
will be available in the future, though Cadillac
hasn't provided the specifications for that Model
yet.
The Lyriq rides on a platform that GM
has designed specifically for its upcoming EVs.
Think of a platform kind of like the frame
or an underpinning of a vehicle.
And in this case, it allows GM to size
the batteries between 150 and 200 kilowatt,
topping out in the latter like you
would find in the Hummer EV.
Per GM, the design contains fewer rare Earth materials
than current GM batteries.
And that's better for the environment.
And it's less complex to manufacturer.
Cadillac is also working on battery enhancements
to combat the traditional reduction of range
that EVs experience in cold weather.
The Lyriq comes standard with a 19.2 kilowatt onboard charger
that Cadillac says is capable of adding up
to 52 miles of range per hour.
This is significantly powerful, but you'll
need to have a pretty robust home power source installed
to take full advantage.
The chargers placement under the hood
is one of the reasons why the Lyriq lacks a storage
space there.
For longer drives, the Lyriq supports
DC fast charging at up to 190 kilowatt
from appropriate charging stations.
The Lyriq represents Cadillac's transition
away from traditional gas powered sedans,
like the lovely high-performance Blackwings
I drove not so long ago.
It's daring design and tech appropriately signals
a new direction for the brand.
By the time deliveries begin in the first half of 2022,
there will be many new luxury EV SUVs to choose from.
We'll report on how the Lyriq fares against those
rivals when it arrives next year.