Premium vehicles broadcast their prestige in different ways. Some rely on powerful engines and ostentatious exhausts. Others stand out thanks to eye-watering hues of paint or big wings and big wheels.
Cadillac’s all-new, all-electric Escalade IQ stands out from the crowd by simply being bigger than most anything else on the road. Measuring 224 inches long, it is a full foot longer than a standard Escalade, a machine that has become a staple on the red carpet circuit thanks to its prodigious dimensions and blunt-force style. The Escalade IQ has all that and more, paired with 750 horsepower and a remarkable 460 miles of all-electric range.
It might be the ultimate three-row luxury SUV, at least when measured by volume. But the regular Escalade is also known as an SUV that’s surprisingly smooth and great to drive. Is the new IQ not only bigger but better?
By the Numbers
The Escalade IQ is an expansion of Cadillac’s EV aspirations that also include the stylish Lyriq wagon and slightly taller Optiq SUV. The Escalade IQ surpasses them both in just about every category.
It is built on the same basic platform as GM’s Hummer EV, here housing a massive 200 kWh battery – twice what you’ll find in a Tesla Model S. That powers two electric motors, one at the front and another at the rear, which together provide that 750 hp and an astonishing 785 pound-feet of torque to all four wheels.
Those wheels attach to adaptive air suspension with Magneride dampers, which not only can stiffen or soften on demand, but can raise or lower the IQ as needed. Is your plow guy a little late to clean up your driveway? A few quick taps and the SUV gains an inch of ground clearance. Loading up your haul on a Costco run? It can drop by two inches.
There’s a generous 23.7 cubic feet of storage behind the third row, or 69.1 cubic feet when those seats are folded. If that’s not enough, raise the hood to expose a massive 12.2 cubic feet frunk. It’s just about the biggest frunk I’ve ever seen, large enough for an adult of moderate size to curl up and take a nap.
However, there’s really no need, as the seating inside the cabin is much nicer.
Getting Comfortable
Each of the four doors on the Escalade IQ is big and heavy, as you’d expect from a machine of this size, but Cadillac has seen fit to make them powered. Just press the button on the inside of each handle, and the door swings open automatically, stopping just in time to avoid sweeping aside whatever you’re parked next to.
Once seated, you can use the car’s myriad touchscreens to shut each door individually, or if you’re in the driver’s seat, a quick press of the brake pedal shuts yours. The process is a bit slow, but it’s suitably dramatic.
The interior is clean and sophisticated, my test vehicle mixing tan upholstery with trim of black and gray. Normally, I’m not a massive fan of the black and tan combo, but the sparkling wooden surfaces that run across the dashboard, doors, and center console do a wonderful job of bringing it all together.
Chances are you’ll barely notice that material beneath the perspective-spanning trio of displays that run from one pillar to the next. There are 55 total inches of display here, including the gauge cluster on the left, the infotainment display in the middle, and a third display just for the passenger on the right.
Sadly, none of those displays can access Android Auto or Apple CarPlay. Cadillac is following General Motors’ lead here by disabling all forms of smartphone projection, so if you have media on your mobile you want to listen to, you’ll need to follow the old-school approach of Bluetooth streaming. I wouldn’t call that luxurious. I’d call it awkward.
The interior is otherwise beautifully outfitted. Materials, from the microfiber headliner on the roof to the soft-touch plastics near the floor, are generally quite good. Seating is legitimately comfortable in any of the three rows. However, anyone with long legs will struggle in the way-back.
The front seats offer a very middling massage, but both heating and ventilation are effective. The second row is heated as well, but those in the way back will need to find other ways to keep warm.
Media is played back on a variety of AKG sound systems, depending on which Escalade IQ trim you choose. The Sport 2 model I tested featured the middle-tier 36-speaker system, which was powerful and offered good sound, but honestly, it was a bit underwhelming considering the SUV’s cost. Spend another $7,500 for the Executive Second Row package, which includes more comfortable, massaging second-row seats, and you’ll step up to a more powerful, 40-speaker system.
Under Way
Somehow, over the years, Cadillac has managed to find a way to make the Escalade more fun to drive than any large, three-row SUV should rightly be. With the IQ, sadly, it seems the brand’s engineers have run out of ways to bend the laws of physics. Even at moderate speeds, the way the IQ swings and sways reminds you at every moment that you are piloting a prodigious machine. This is a vehicle that weighs roughly 50 percent more than a regular Escalade. That’s over 9,000 pounds, and you feel every one of those.
Navigating roundabouts or twisty roads is an exercise of shuffle-steering that big wheel back and forth as the Escalade IQ rocks from side to side, floating over bumps and never quite feeling settled.
But the ride quality is admirably good considering the gigantic, 24-inch wheels and tires this thing rolls on. The suspension keeps you isolated from the worst of the road’s imperfections, while the interior stays nicely hushed at highway speeds.
Dialing the Escalade over to Sport mode tightens things up a bit, removing some of the imprecise feeling from the big SUV’s demeanor, but that comes at the cost of unwelcome harshness on rougher roads. The throttle response gets far sharper here, and while the Escalade IQ doesn’t leap forward with anywhere near the fury of something like a quad-motor Rivian R1S, it is quick enough to startle everyone on the school run should you need to get the whole crew’s attention.
Drive like that and you’ll struggle to reach the Escalade IQ’s 460-mile rating. In my more aggressive driving, I saw an efficiency rating of just 1.7 miles per kWh, equating to an estimated max range of 340 miles. But, driven more judiciously, 500 miles on a charge seems possible.
To help keep you efficient, the Escalade IQ offers Super Cruise, GM’s hands-free driving assistance system. On most highways and an increasing selection of secondary roads, Super Cruise lets you sit back and let the car handle the steering — so long as you pay attention. The SUV will also park itself at the tap of a few buttons, useful given how completely this thing will fill most spaces.
Large and Charged
General Motors has been making an interesting series of statements with many of its electric vehicles, like the ostentatious Hummer EV and the uber-luxe Celestiq. The Escalade IQ is no less of a statement, a too-big, too-powerful, battery-rich SUV that lacks few creature comforts. It genuinely offers enough features, performance, and range to make its $130,000 starting price worthwhile.
But all those attributes come at another cost, a massive weight, which you feel with every turn of the wheel. As a ticket to the red carpet, a means to reach the end of your journey, the Escalade IQ excels, but this is surely one of those vehicles in which it’s better to be driven than to drive.
