The 2025 Cadillac Optiq Hits The Sweet Spot
A couple of weeks back, I had the opportunity to drive two very different electric Cadillacs back to back at a press launch. The first was the Escalade IQ, and by numerous standards, this was the more captivating of the two. The first-ever battery-powered take on Cadillac’s iconic luxury SUV is the size of your average Manhattan apartment. It’s plush and fancy inside. Its doors swing open and closed electronically. It goes a stunning 460 miles on a charge and can even shimmy on a diagonal just to show off.
But I was far more interested in the second electric vehicle I drove: the 2025 Cadillac Optiq. Because let’s face it: You and I may love the idea of an Escalade, but most of us aren’t going to comfortably afford one unless we sell a startup or travel back in time and buy Bitcoin. The Optiq, though? This is a premium EV that’s actually attainable. And it’s a damn fine one, at that.
Photo by: Tim Levin/InsideEVs
Cadillac’s entry-level EV delivers great style, range for days, powerful tech and a sound system that blew me away—all for a good value.
You could even say General Motors has done it again. The Chevrolet Equinox EV shook up the mainstream electric car market last year by delivering the first truly compelling budget option in years—and maybe ever. The Optiq, its close relative, seems primed to do the same thing for small electric luxury SUVs, by costing less and offering more capability than the competition.
Photo by: Tim Levin/InsideEVs
(Full Disclosure: Cadillac covered my lodging and meals while I drove the Optiq in San Francisco this month.)
2025 Cadillac Optiq
Base Price
$54,390
As-Tested Price
$60,595
Drive Type
Dual-motor AWD
Output
300 hp
Maximum torque
354 lb-ft
EV Range
302 miles (EPA)
Battery
85 kWh (usable)
2025 Cadillac Optiq: What Is It?
Cadillac is in the midst of a big electric push, and the Optiq recently hit dealer lots as the brand’s smallest and lowest-cost EV option. The compact crossover joins the popular Lyriq, which has been on sale for a while, and the recently introduced Escalade IQ. Also due out this year are the Vistiq, a three-row SUV, and the Celestiq, an ultra-luxury car that’s said to cost over $300,000 and can only be custom-ordered.
The Optiq starts at $54,390, including destination fees, which is just over $5,000 less than the Lyriq. Since it’s built in North America with batteries that comply with the Inflation Reduction Act’s various sourcing requirements, the Optiq is one of only a handful of EVs that qualifies for a $7,500 rebate from the federal government.
Photo by: Cadillac
As long as that policy remains intact, it brings the crossover’s effective starting price down to just under $47,000, which just about matches the average going price for a new car in 2025, per Kelley Blue Book.
For that, you get 300 horsepower and 354 lb-ft of torque from a dual-motor, all-wheel-drive powertrain. The Optiq’s 85-kilowatt-hour battery—using modules shared across a bevy of Chevys, GMCs and Cadillacs—returns a solid 302 miles of EPA-estimated range. It’s tough to find another luxury SUV in the segment that offers this kind of range for your buck.
The Sport 2-trim Optiq I tested stickered for $60,595, including destination charges and options like paint and wheels, but you won’t miss much by sticking to a more basic build.
Photo by: Tim Levin/InsideEVs
Cadillac also did a bang-up job with the Optiq’s design. Whereas the Lyriq and Escalade IQ have a kind of long, imposing and grand look about them, the smaller Optiq is stubbier, pointier and more youthful looking, which fits the audience it's aiming for. It has an intricately patterned grille area that lights up, sports a unique geometric design on its rearmost windows and comes in fun colors like orange and metallic baby blue.
What’s The Cadillac Optiq Like To Drive?
The Optiq rides fairly smoothly across different surfaces. It’s quiet inside, thanks to dual-pane glass all around. And yes, like many EVs, its near-instantaneous torque makes it an ace at executing quick highway passes. There is a sport mode that beefs up the steering feel and makes the throttle touchier, but I’d skip it. The Optiq isn’t particularly agile or fun to drive, and that’s okay. It’s pleasant on the road and that’s what matters to most people.
Photo by: Tim Levin/InsideEVs
The crossover offers three intensity levels for one-pedal driving. In high, the regenerative braking comes on strong as you lift off the throttle, feeding maximum power back into the battery pack. If coasting like a gas vehicle is more your style, you can turn the function completely off. I liked the Goldilocks normal mode best, finding it predictable and easy to get used to. In any mode, I liked how you can see the precise amount of power, in kilowatts, that regen braking is producing at a given moment.
Just like all GM EVs, the Optiq also includes a paddle on the left side of the steering wheel that essentially functions as a secondary brake pedal, but it only activates regen braking. I haven’t quite figured out what situations this is useful for, and it’s never been second nature for me. But I don’t drive one of these cars every day, so maybe I’m missing something. (GM EV drivers, sound off in the comments below.)
The absolute best part of driving the Optiq—and any General Motors cars that have it—is Super Cruise. And I have great news: GM’s hands-free, highway driver assistance suite comes as standard equipment. Flip on Super Cruise using a button on the steering wheel, and the Optiq will take over basic driving functions like maintaining a lane and speeding up or slowing down in response to traffic. You just need to supervise by watching the road, and that makes long, monotonous drives much more tolerable.
Photo by: Tim Levin/InsideEVs
Super Cruise is free for the first three years. After that, you’ll have to pay $25 per month to subscribe.
A bunch more safety tech comes standard too. But I found its blind-spot monitoring to be a bit overeager. Especially while driving around town, it would ding at me when there wasn’t any clear hazard.
2025 Cadillac Optiq Interior
The Optiq’s cabin is stylish and full of unexpected materials that give off a modern vibe. There’s a woven, recycled fabric on the doors, dash and center console, plus a softer felt inside various cubbies. My test car had vibrant blue accents (though you can spec something a bit more low-key, and I probably would) and in general felt sturdily built. I don’t think it’s on par with the German luxury brands, but it’s nice.
The Optiq even retains some of the classiest parts of the Escalade—like genuine metal door pulls, stainless-steel speaker grates and an expansive glass roof with a retractable sunshade.
Photo by: Tim Levin/InsideEVs
The back seat offers a flat floor with plenty of legroom, plus decent headroom too. I wouldn’t go cramming really tall friends back there for a long trip—if you want to stay friends, that is. But I think it’s spacious enough for a lot of families’ needs.
You open the rear hatch by pressing on the Cadillac crest, which is a nice touch. Cargo room behind the rear seats looks solid, too. At 26 cubic feet, it’s only a little bit less than what you’d get in a Lyriq. But, sadly, there’s no frunk under the hood, nor is there any sub-floor storage to speak of in back. Smart EV packaging is still an area where GM—and many other legacy automakers—lag behind startups, Tesla and the Chinese.
2025 Cadillac Optiq Tech And Audio
I’m a big fan of the Optiq’s user interface, which is found in other Cadillacs like the Lyriq and Escalade IQ. In this car, the star of the show is a curved 33-inch, 9K screen that houses both the digital gauge cluster and infotainment system. It’s all one unbroken, vibrant display that gives the interior a high-tech look.
Photo by: Tim Levin/InsideEVs
The gauge cluster offers several styles to choose from, and I appreciated the inclusion of a low-distraction, minimal option. For a bit of extra cash, you can get a head-up display, which I found bold and easy to read.
The central touchscreen is snappy and feels a lot like a tech product. It’s not quite on the level of Tesla or Rivian, software powerhouses with truly dazzling and feature-packed interfaces. But it’s a cut above a lot of other automotive software. It runs on an Android operating system and includes Google Built-In services, which means you can download various apps from the Google Play store.
Photo by: Tim Levin/InsideEVs
But the most game-changing benefit of the Google tie-up is you get Google Maps as your native navigation system, rather than some unfamiliar, clunky garbage. Google Maps shows how much charge you’ll have remaining at a destination, makes it easy to search and filter through charging stations and integrates handsomely into the gauge cluster with turn-by-turn directions.
GM’s EVs don’t offer Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, but if you use Google apps or others available natively like Spotify, I think you’ll be alright.
Here’s something you can’t take for granted these days: All the climate functions are housed in a neat row of switches that are easy to reach. No touch-based or haptic controls here. Hallelujah.
I also need to tell you about Dolby Atmos. I’ll confess: I did not know what Dolby Atmos was before this trip. I assumed it was marketing mumbo jumbo for “really good audio.” I was wrong. Atmos is extremely cool, and it’s another impressive feature that comes standard in the Optiq as part of its excellent 19-speaker AKG audio system.
Photo by: Tim Levin/InsideEVs
Basically, Atmos is a technology that creates 3D audio and a much more immersive listening experience. In normal stereo listening, sound either comes from the left or right. When you listen to a song mixed using Atmos and played through the right sound system, different sounds can come from all directions: above, below, left, right, in front of you and behind you. So you can hear vocals coming from in front, a cymbal in the back left, and another noise circling around you.
I know this sounds like a guy trying to explain a dream or an acid trip, but trust me when I say the listening experience is incredible. This is in a handful of cars from other brands too, and it’s coming to all Cadillacs over time, starting with the Optiq. I had a blast sampling different Atmos songs while driving, and I could see buyers having a lot of fun with this too.
Unlike in-car AI or whatever, this is a tech feature that actually makes a lot of sense.
How Good Is It As An EV?
Over 300 miles of range immediately gives the Optiq heaps of EV street cred. Plus it achieves that with two motors and all-wheel drive, which consumes more energy and knocks range, as compared with a single-motor setup.
Photo by: Tim Levin/InsideEVs
DC fast-charging speeds are less competitive, though. The Optiq maxes out at 150 kW, which is just okay. Cadillac estimates that the Optiq can add 79 miles of range in 10 minutes under optimal charging conditions. On that front, it’s outclassed by quicker charging cars like the Genesis GV60 and Tesla Model Y, both capable of juicing up at well over 200 kW and piling on more miles more quickly.
And you might not even see that 150-kW speed as often as you’d like, for reasons explained in-depth in this InsideEVs story about the Equinox EV, which uses the same battery pack. In short, this pack operates at a low enough voltage that you probably won’t see peak charging power even if you plug into a station that’s rated to dispense 150 kW. You’ll need to find a higher-current charger for that.
Once we get an Optiq to test, we’ll be able to tell you more about how it performs when hooked up to various plugs. One important note: The Optiq can charge at thousands of Tesla Superchargers using an adapter.
Photo by: Tim Levin/InsideEVs
Cadillac says the Optiq can add 33 miles per hour when hooked up to an 11.5-kW Level 2 charger, like what you can install in a garage or also find in public. Spring for the option of 19.2-kW Level 2 charging, and that figure increases to 55 miles, per automaker estimates.
Early Verdict
The Optiq is an attractive, premium crossover that offers standard all-wheel drive, standard Super Cruise and 300-plus miles of range, all for under $47,000 with the tax credit. On top of that, you get satisfying in-cabin tech and an impressive Dolby Atmos sound system. It’s not exactly affordable—for that, buy an Equinox EV. But it does serve up an overall package that’s tough to beat.
Just look at the competition: Most other compact SUVs from luxury brands are either more expensive, have less range, or both.
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The Genesis GV60 is great, but it starts at $53,700 and doesn’t qualify for the tax credit. Jump up to the AWD version, and you’re looking at more money for a car with just 264 miles of range. The Twin-Motor Volvo EX40 ($55,545) is rated for 260 miles of range. The new Volvo EX30 beats the Cadillac on price, but has way less range and interior space. The all-wheel-drive Audi Q4 E-Tron ($56,495) is getting long in the tooth and rated to go 258 miles. The current Lexus RZ450e costs about as much, but returns an abysmal range of 220 miles.
What about the world’s most popular EV? The Tesla Model Y costs $52,490 (tax credit included) and is rated for 327 miles of range. So it’s a solid option here too.
Range and price aren’t everything, but they are two extremely important specs any EV buyer is looking at. The Optiq hits a sweet spot there, and that bodes well for its future sales.
Cadillac aims to be the top seller of luxury EVs in America this year. And this little SUV will drive that growth more than any six-figure land yacht ever could.
Contact the author: tim.levin@insideevs.com
