The Cadillac Lyriq is the firm's first all-electric SUV, and at a starting price of $59,990, it’s aiming its sights squarely at Tesla, Mercedes and Audi. In a bold statement to the press this week, Cadillac Global Vice President Rory Harvey said, “We will not be selling [Internal Combustion Engine] vehicles by 2030.”
The brand’s all-electric Lyriq SUV was announced today with Harvey’s comment still lingering in the air, punctuating the overall effect. It may be difficult to grasp the idea of the Cadillac we’ve always known as an automotive company that only builds EVs, but that’s clearly where Cadillac and GM are headed. Even more significantly, 2030 is five years sooner than the goals Barra has set for GM overall, targeting 2035 for full electrification.
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“Thanks to the modular and highly flexible Ultium Platform that powers Lyriq, along with advanced virtual development tools, Cadillac has been able to accelerate development and put more real-world miles on prototypes sooner than expected,” said Lyriq Chief Engineer Jamie Brewer in a press release.
Lyriq encompasses upscale Cadillac styling with a reasonable launch sticker price starting at nearly $60,000. The SUV will be sold with a full package of goodies like a 19-speaker AKG Studio audio system with headrest speakers and an active noise-cancellation system. It will also launch with one-pedal driving, which Chevrolet Bolt fans will appreciate, and a paddle on the steering wheel that will bring the Lyriq to a full stop while regenerating the battery. SuperCruise, Cadillac’s hands-free driver-assistance technology, is an additional option.
At almost 197 inches long and nearly 78 inches wide, the Lyriq compares in size to the Tesla Model X, but with a sticker price that’s about $20,000 less. While the Model X retains the buzz appeal for early-adopter EV fans, I expect the Lyriq’s price tag to be attractive to a younger buyer market, expanding Cadillac’s reach.
Only two exterior colors will be available when reservations open in September: Satin Steel Metallic or Stellar Black Metallic. For the interior, buyers may choose between Sky Cool Gray or Noir. Cadillac didn’t abandon its broad grille for the new EV and added a backlit logo set against a new crisscrossing pattern. Inside, a curved 33-inch-diagonal advanced LED display covers a wide swath of the dashboard with what GM says includes one billion colors.
When the Lyriq was a concept, it was displayed as a four-seater; in production it will be a more-practical five-seater. It’s a family-friendly SUV in terms of cargo volume, offering almost 61 cubic feet with the second row folded down; that’s about two cubic feet less than Cadillac’s current CT5 model.
Rated at 340 horsepower and 325 pound-feet of torque (or 400 Newton-meters), the Lyriq runs on an AC permanent magnet electric motor. Cadillac estimates a competitive range of 300 miles on a full charge, and the Lyriq can add 76 miles of range in ten minutes on a DC fast charger.
