• Auto123 gets in a first drive of the 2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ.
San Francisco, CA - Cadillac electrifies its behemoth! The 2025 Escalade IQ arrives with a starting price to make your accountant shudder: $160,000. That's almost 50 percent more than the gasoline version. For that price, you could buy an Escalade w/V8 and an XT5 for the kids. But hey, who said luxury had to be reasonable? The Sport version will relieve you of $180,000.
2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ - What's new?
Using a Hummer base, Cadillac goes into electric excess with the Escalade IQ, which is even more imposing than its gasoline equivalent. The Hummer’s 205-kWh battery is on duty in the Cadillac as well. You have an announced range of 740 km with a maximum power of 750 hp and 785 lb-ft of torque.
These are extreme figures for an extreme machine. But surprisingly, driving the thing feels substantially less extreme. It’s quite a trick Cadillac pulled off.
Design of the 2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ – 9.0/10
In photos, the Escalade IQ seems immense. In reality, it’s even more so. With its 24-inch rims and 35-inch tires, it has the presence of a yacht on wheels.
Cadillac has also offered itself a spectacular light signature: an immense backlit grille that welcomes its owner with a real sound and light show like a nightclub.
And for the look, two styles are available: Luxury, with its chrome accents, and Sport, which plays the stealth black card.
Cadillac has also reworked the aerodynamics, which improves by 15% to maximize the range of the electric model.
Interior of the 2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ – 9.0/10
Open the power door and enter a home cinema on wheels. A 55-inch screen spans the entire dashboard, with integrated Google features and a 5G connection. Climate controls are on a secondary screen, to maximize the “spaceship” effect. There’s 126-colour ambient lighting illuminating the laser-engraved wood inserts. This is a cross between a trendy lounge and a modern work of art.
Know however that Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are no longer available from GM. An element that might deter some potential customers. GM chose to develop its own system with Google, because in the medium term, the idea is to sell users services via its systems, and GM wants to keep the profits for itself and not give everything to Apple, for example.
The seats are thrones, but of a kind Henry VIII could only dream about – these have heating, ventilation and massage functions, and are covered with a synthetic leather that perfectly imitates real leather (down to the smell!).
Rear passengers get captain's chairs, with folding tables, individual 12.6-inch screens, USB-C and HDMI ports and a 40-speaker AKG audio system. All that's missing is a butler.
Technology in the 2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ – 9.0/10
Under its gargantuan exterior, the Escalade IQ hides an Ultium platform (the same as the Hummer EV), with four-wheel steering that reduces its turning radius to that of a short-wheelbase SUV. Even better: it takes up the famous Hummer's Crab Walk (renamed Cadillac Arrival Mode), allowing it to drive diagonally.
Blind Zone Steering Assist puts you back on the right track with a firm but benevolent steering wheel blow. Intersections stress you out? Intersection Automatic Emergency Braking monitors vehicles crossing your path and, if necessary, applies the brakes to avoid an unwanted encounter.
Have trouble gauging space when maneuvering? HD Surround Vision offers you an ultra-detailed panoramic view. Enhanced Automatic Parking Assist parks the Escalade, braking and shifting gears in your place. And even better, it also helps you get out!
Finally, for situations where a pedestrian or cyclist finds themselves in front of you, Front Pedestrian and Bicyclist Braking takes over between 8 and 80 km/h to avoid any accidents, or at worst limit the damage. In short, a technology that watches over your peace of mind as much as the vehicle’s bodywork.
We haven’t even mentioned Super Cruise, the most advanced semi-autonomous driving on the market at the moment.
The Escalade IQ is also equipped with vehicle-to-home (V2H) bidirectional charging technology, offering customers the ability to send power directly from the vehicle to a properly equipped home. The Escalade IQ also offers the option of onboard vehicle-to-load (V2L) power, allowing the vehicle to power external devices.
2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ Powertrain – 9.0/10
The Escalade IQ develops 680 hp and 615 lb-ft of torque at the base. The Velocity Max mode boosts output to 750 hp and 785 lb-ft of torque. The IQ might weigh four tons, but it catapults its occupants from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.7 seconds. A more than impressive performance.
The announced range is 740 km thanks to a massive 205-kWh battery. Fast DC charging (350 kW) allows you to recover about 160 km in just 10 minutes. Of course, for a home charge, you’ll have to be more patient. Such a large battery will require more charging time.
You can also tow up to 8000 lb.
Driving the 2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ – 8.0/10
For something this size, the Escalade IQ is surprisingly maneuverable thanks to the rear steering wheels and the adaptive air suspension. It literally floats on the road, absorbing irregularities with disconcerting ease. In the city, the turning radius of only 12 meters makes it as agile as a compact car.
During our day of driving in Northern California, which offers fairly poor roads, we found the Sport driving mode the most interesting. The Tour or Normal mode leaves a kind of vagueness in the steering that lacks communication. If you are in town the tour mode becomes more interesting because the less hard direction is easier to live at low speed. The "One-Pedal Driving" driving mode optimizes energy recovery and makes driving more intuitive.
And thanks to Super Cruise, Cadillac's autonomous driving, long journeys are that much more relaxing. And, at the risk of repeating ourselves, Super Cruise is the best semi-autonomous driving system on the market right now.
Still, what’s most striking about the drive this EV offers is that its massive girth is forgotten once you take the wheel. You only return to reality when you’ve got to park in a constricted space.
Consumption
Cadillac has not shared official energy consumption figures for the Escalade IQ, but knowing that the architecture is similar to that of the Hummer, you have to expect something between 40 and 50 kW/100 km. Which is why the battery is so large.
The final word
The 2025 Escalade IQ is not just an electrified version of the Escalade: it’s a separate model, more luxurious, more technological and even more spectacular. Is it expensive? Obviously. But Cadillac is hitting hard by offering a vehicle that combines grandeur and electrification without compromise.
Cadillac wanted to impress with its Escalade IQ. Mission accomplished. But at this price, impressed buyers must also be well-to-do ones.
