Cadillac is barreling full steam ahead towards full electrification by 2030. The first step on that path is the 2023 Lyriq, which aims to pack the traditional virtues of the 118-year-old brand into a modern, electric-powered crossover. The Lyriq arrives next year, but Forbes Wheels recently got an in-person preview of what buyers can expect from this new machine.
General Motors’ original intent to join the electrified space dates a quarter century back to the EV1, the late (and greatly maligned) 2-seater that eventually went the way of the dinosaur, but paved the way for the electrified Bolt two decades later. The Bolt was the tip of the spear for GM’s modern EV program, and the automaker now plans for 30 global models to be powered by electricity by 2025. The Lyriq will be among the first to arrive.
Previewed in 2020 by a slick concept car, the Lyriq is a sleek 21st century reinterpretation of Cadillac’s luxury themes. When it arrives, it’ll play in one of the most status-conscious and competitive segments: luxury crossovers.
Lyriq will kick off with a heavily equipped launch edition that starts at $59,990. At first blush, the crossover looks sharp, jaunty, and very much in the spirit of the concept car.
A Show Car Come To Life
Up front is a sleek, flush nose dotted by lights which include the industry’s slimmest daytime running lights (there are some 736 LEDs throughout the exterior). Cadillac’s so-called black crystal grille is particularly striking, as it uses a flush, laser-brazed rear surface to incorporate animated illumination that offers a welcome sequence when the car is unlocked. The sleek vertically oriented lamps and lighting choreography and are a slick way of adding a premium touch before passengers climb into the cabin.
In person, the cabin feels like well-finished, elegantly styled space that should stand out among competitors which include the Audi E-Tron, Jaguar I-Pace, and Tesla Model X. The Lyriq’s perforated leather seats and minimalist cabin offer more echoes of the show car, with cool details like cutouts in the veneer trim that create a backlit feature within the door panels.
Cadillac’s director of interior design, Crystal Windham, says the cabin design was tweaked to create more clean spaces and flat surfaces, as evidenced by the interior door handles which are now positioned horizontally beneath the side windows.
The battery architecture frees up the cabin to feel spacious and airy, as does the glass roof, which comes standard on the initial model and can be covered with an opaque attachment. The roof joins a number of standard options including the company’s semi-autonomous Super Cruise system, a 19-speaker AKG sound system and an advanced LED display whose 33 diagonal inches of diagonal screen encompasses nearly the entire stretch of the dashboard.
The screen is positioned low to aid visibility, and offers two areas with touchscreen capability: a strip along the left (for key display functions) and a large area on the right for traditional multimedia controls. The prototype on hand offered a crisp, bright display and can process over 1 billion colors, but was not (yet) functional for operation due to the global chip shortage.
The display is complemented by a few hard buttons which are discreetly integrated below the thin strip of HVAC vents controlled by a small knurled knob/dial. Tucked within the center stack are two hideaway storage bins, just ahead of a large tray sitting low between the front footwells. There’s a knurled control wheel to the left of two large cupholders, a wireless phone charging slot, and another storage compartment between the seats.
Though the multimedia system on the prototype wasn’t functional, a Cadillac representative reassured Forbes Wheels that it would feature Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity in production form.
The back seats offer a good amount of legroom, and fold down nearly flat to open the cargo area into the cabin, offering 28 cubic feet of volume with the rear seats upright, and 60.8 cubic feet when folded down. Those numbers are comparable to the Audi E-Tron, but smaller than the Tesla Model X. The Tesla’s numbers are bolstered by its height, which offers more vertical space, but that space isn’t always fully usable in the real world.
Lyriq Via Ultium
The Lyriq is based on GM’s soon-to-be-ubiquitous Ultium platform, which also underpins the Hummer EV. In this case, a 100 kWh lithium-ion battery system powers a permanent magnet motor driving the rear wheels.
Beneath the hood is a 19.2 kW onboard charger, which GM claims is best-in-segment but also prevents the front area from being used as a “frunk” (front trunk). The charger, which is standard at launch but will be optional following the 2023 model year, enables up to 52 miles of range to be added per hour using a Level 2 home charger. When using a DC fast charger, only 10 minutes is needed to add 76 miles of range; 195 miles can be added in 30 minutes.
Total range has not yet been officially announced, but Cadillac promises in excess of 300 miles on a single charge, a number that puts the Cadillac ahead of the current Audi E-Tron (which claims 222 miles of range), but behind the 2023 E-Tron which is anticipated to climb to 373 miles and the current Tesla Model X Long Range, which claims 360 miles of distance on one charge. It’s worth noting s that Tesla’s estimated range numbers tend to be on the optimistic side compared to other manufacturers.
While we can’t report on how the Lyriq drives until we get behind the wheel, GM product and brand communications rep Katie Minter hints that the crossover will offer surprisingly nimble handling since the battery creates a relatively low center of gravity. Minter adds that the crossover should also be comfortable enough to satisfy luxury-focused buyers.
The single electric motor produces a reasonable 340 horsepower and 325 pound-feet of torque but the Lyriq tips the scales at a hefty 5,610 pounds, so we don’t anticipate rocket-like acceleration.
The performance-oriented Audi E-Tron S boasts up to 496 horsepower and 718 pound-feet, and the Tesla Model X Plaid claims a stunning 1,020 horsepower. However, the Audi and Tesla are also $25,000 and $53,000 pricier, respectively, strengthening the Lyriq’s positioning as an attainable luxury crossover within the electrified realm.
