First Drive Review: 2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ Takes Things to New Extremes

One of five all-electric models the Detroit automaker has so far announced, the 2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ is a larger-than-life EV that takes the classic, gas-powered Escalade to new levels of power, performance and refinement.

Offered solely in all-wheel-drive form, you’ll get up to 750 horsepower in Velocity Max mode, enough to hit 60 in barely 5 seconds. Drive more modestly, and the battery pack stores enough electrons to carry you up to 460 miles without plugging back in again.

And you’ll get there in style, with Escalade IQ’s cabin offering massive amounts of space, even in the back row — all the more with the stretched IQL package. There are plenty of traditional luxury touches, but the emphasis is on the latest technology, with hands-free Super Cruise, a new AKG 42-speaker Dolby Atmos audio system, and a 55-inch, pillar-to-pillar digital instrument panel, but no Apple CarPlay or Android Auto.

In short: While Cadillac has slowed plans to go all-electric, it’s still rolling out five new EVs, including a version of its flagship SUV, dubbed the Escalade IQ. If possible, it offers an even bolder design — inside and out — than the internal combustion model and adds more exotic features, like power-operated doors. With up to 750 horsepower in “Velocity Max” mode, it’s more powerful than the ICE Escalade-V. And you’ll get up to 460 miles between charges. There’s also a stretched Escalade IQL model if you need to haul more stuff.

2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ Review

Cadillac is betting luxury buyers are ready to go all-electric. While General Motors’ flagship brand has decided to keep at least some piston-powered models in the lineup for the next few years, it’s already committed to rolling out five EVs.

This started with the midsize Lyriq, which made its debut 3 years ago. Eventually, it will cover the broadest swatch of market segments in its more than 100-year history, from the entry-lux Optiq crossover to the virtually hand-built Celestiq.

While that $300,000 Celestiq grand tourer will take Caddy into an entirely new realm, the brand’s true flagship is the new, all-electric version of that original “bling” machine, the new Cadillac Escalade IQ. Beyond the familiar name and its heady price tag, the IQ has little else in common with the more familiar gas and diesel-powered Escalade.

It starts out with an all-new, skateboard-style platform, adds a new, more aero-sleek design, and a plush and lavishly appointed interior. 

The IQ’s drivetrain itself is an impressive package, twin motors pumping out a neck-snapping 750 horsepower and 785 pound-feet of torque. For those who still sweat from range anxiety, the Escalade IQ is EPA-rated to deliver 460 miles between charges. And, you can add another 100 miles of range in as little as 10 minutes using a public quick charger.

What’s New

Cadillac’s new flagship will be offered in two different packages: the 2025 Escalade IQ and the stretched Escalade IQ, which will be marketed as a 2026 model. 

From a design perspective the all-electric SUVs don’t stray far from the existing Caddy flagships, with a bold, in-your-face design further accented by distinctive LED lighting cues. As you’d expect, they both feature a plush and lavishly appointed cabin that adds some distinctive new features, such as power front and rear doors that can be operated with a touch of a button.

Both packages are technical showcases, though the longer IQL will get Cadillac’s new 42-speaker, Dolby Atmos-enabled AKG sound system months ahead of the standard-wheelbase package.

Standard features include GM’s hands-free Super Cruise system, a pillar-to-pillar digital instrument cluster, and a four-wheel-steer system that permits this land yacht to turn tighter circles than the old Chevrolet Bolt EV.

Exterior Design

As you’d expect of anything badged “Escalade,” the new EV is audaciously bold, with an imposing, nearly vertical front end picking up on the brand’s latest Shield Grille design. That said, the overall shape has been carefully crafted in the wind tunnel to maximize range and performance.

As first seen with the mid-range Lyriq, Cadillac designers here made extensive use of LED lighting to give the Escalade IQ a unique and more modern look. They’ve also given the EV a nearly all-glass roof with an optional blackout upper. 

IQL adds 5 inches to the overall length of the EV, almost all of that devoted to rear passenger space. Both packages ride on aero-style 24-inch wheels shod with 35-inch tires. The dynamic appearance is particularly enhanced when you switch to “Low Ride” mode, which drops the big rig by a full 4 inches. The active suspension can also be raised several inches for off-roading.

Interior Design

As dramatic as the exterior design might be, Escalade IQ is really all about the interior, and here it takes a big leap over the gas model. For one thing, the battery pack and other key powertrain components are stashed below the skateboard-style platform. That yields a flat load floor and more space normally devoted to the engine compartment.

There’s plenty of space, even for third-row passengers. The standard wheelbase model boasts 23.6 cubic feet of cargo space behind the back row, jumping to 119.1 cubic feet with the second and third rows folded down with the touch of a button.

Add to that 12.2 cubic feet of additional space in the frunk — or as Caddy calls it, the “e-trunk.” A particularly nice touch is a slide-out cargo shelf.

As earlier mentioned, all four doors can be opened or closed simply by tapping virtual buttons on the front and rear screens. That includes a 55-inch, pillar-to-pillar digital instrument panel with what I found to be a particularly well-executed user interface.

Both models offer seating for up to seven, with a six-seat option featuring two Business Class center-row seats that include their own screens and pop-out tray tables. With the $9,500 upgrade, you also get the ultimate 42-speaker AKG audio package. There is a downside, however. Even though the second-row seats fold down and over, clambering into the third row becomes an exercise in human origami.

Powertrain

The numbers are impressive: 750 horsepower and 785 pound-feet out of the EV’s twin motors when you hit the performance boost button on the steering wheel. To put it in perspective, that’s more than the Escalade-V gas model can muster. Of course, the EV, with its double-stacked battery pack, is substantially heavier — about 9,000 pounds for the standard wheelbase IQ.

Still, it’s blisteringly fast, Caddy claiming the electric Escalade can hit 60 in just 4.7 seconds. That’s 3/10 of a second slower than the Escalade-V — but 1/10 faster than the Porsche Carrera S. Oh, and if you don’t opt to activate “Velocity Max” mode, you’ll still get 680 horsepower and 615 pound-feet and maximize your range.

Surprisingly, the added length and mass of the IQL sacrifices just 5 miles range, for a total of 455 miles per charge. Pressing Caddy engineers, I learned that the stretch package will come as a late intro this year.

Meanwhile, there will be a number of little updates for the IQ in the 2026 model year. Stay tuned, as the 2026 Escalade IQ could add yet more range to the current 460-mile EPA number.

For those who plan to tow, expect both versions of the electric Caddy beast to haul trailers of up to 8,000 pounds.

Driving Impressions

Those launch numbers don’t truly relay what it feels like stomping on the throttle of Caddy’s big EV. Like all new battery-electric vehicles, Escalade IQ’s motors deliver essentially 100% of their peak, tire-spinning torque the moment they start turning. It’s more like the feeling you get with a nitro-fueled dragster than a typical luxury model, especially one this big.

I spent the better part of a day wandering around San Francisco and then down along the South Bay coast, much of it battered by heavy rain and stiff winds. You’d barely notice.

The electric drivetrain allows torque to be instantly directed to the wheels that need it the most. And the magnetic ride control suspension can adjust the dampers at each corner anywhere from pillow soft to rock hard in the time it takes to travel less than an inch at 60 mph.

Under normal circumstances that means a smooth ride sucking up virtually all the bumps. Yet, despite its size and mass, the IQ I set out in was unexpectedly nimble flogging it around tight corners. I also found the big rig’s steering to provide more feedback than many other EVs, which I’ve found to be numb and over-isolated from road feel.

I was particularly pleased by the way the EV negotiated the crowded, hilly, and often twisty streets of San Francisco. Credit the SUV’s new four-wheel-steering system. It allows the rear wheels to turn by as much as 7.2 degrees. As a result, IQ’s turning circle is a mere 39.8 feet, slightly less than the compact Chevy Bolt EUV.

The system’s rear wheels turn in phase with the front wheels at low speeds. At higher speeds, however, they turn in the opposite direction — or out of phase — to improve handling.

Charging

Cadillac has been surprisingly vague about charging details for the lithium-ion battery pack, which comes with a usable 205 kWh of usable energy. 

The automaker says it can add another 100 miles of range in just 10 minutes using a DC quick charger. More precisely, that’s with a 350kW public charger, still less common than one might hope for.

If you’re plugging into a Level 2 240V charger, you’ll add 22 miles per hour using Escalade IQ’s standard 11.5 kW charger. There’s an optional 19.2 kW alternative that boosts charging speed to 36.5 miles per hour. Don’t even think about plugging into a 120V outlet unless it’s an emergency.

Technology

From the magnetic ride control suspension to the eye-popping digital display covering virtually every inch of the instrument panel, the 2025 Escalade IQ is a technical tour de force. So, why has Caddy culled both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto from the list of features? The automaker says it couldn’t integrate all the capabilities its engineered into its own user interface — and there’s some truth to that — but this move is still likely to turn off some potential buyers.

That gripe out of the way, there’s just so much to appreciate about the tech features in the IQ and IQL, notably the new AKG sound system. If you haven’t experienced Dolby Atmos yet, it’s a real eye — make that ear — opener. You’ll feel absolutely enveloped in music specifically crafted for Atmos in a way no conventional surround sound package can accomplish. The good news is that more good music is being engineered or reengineered for the feature, which is available through Amazon Music, Tidal, and Apple Music.

Escalade IQ comes standard with an extensive array of advanced driver assistance systems, notably including the latest update of GM’s Super Cruise. The hands-free system is, to my mind, the best Level 2+ technology available, significantly better than either Tesla’s AutoPilot and Full Self-Driving or Ford’s BlueCruise. And GM is in the process of upping the number of roads it can be used on — which will soon reach about 750,000 miles in the U.S. and Canada.

2025 Escalade IQ Review Wrap-Up

The 2025 Cadillac IQ is, without a doubt, an impressive vehicle, the sort of all-electric flagship Caddy needed to put at the top of its lineup. That said, at a starting price of $129,990 — including a $2,290 delivery fee — the EV doesn’t come cheap. And, we may see prices go up soon as a result of President Donald Trump’s tariff on imported autos and auto parts.

By comparison, the standard gas model starts around $92,000. But that’s for a far less well-equipped SUV. With comparable equipment, the gap is less than $10,000. That said, load the electric SUV up with every box checked, including the Executive Seating package, and you’ll nudge $159,000.

That plays in a far too rich neighborhood for me, but there are plenty of folks who can stroke a check like this without breaking a sweat. And considering how demand has been growing fast for Cadillac’s original EV, the Lyriq, I’m expecting the luxury brand will score with the Escalade IQ and IQL packages.