Cadillac Escalade IQ Review

The Escalade IQ is Cadillac's electric reimagining of America's status SUV, and it is enormous in every dimension, including its 200 kWh battery. That pack is good for a Cadillac estimated 460 miles, and the dual-motor drivetrain makes 680 hp normally or up to 750 hp in short Velocity Max bursts. It starts at $129,990 and climbs well past $175,000.

The cabin is the reason to buy one. A 55 inch pillar-to-pillar display anchors a genuinely lavish, quiet, tech laden interior, and GM's Super Cruise hands-free highway system is the best of its kind. Rear-wheel steering makes a vehicle this size shockingly maneuverable, and 800 volt charging can add about 100 miles in ten minutes.

The physics are harder to argue with. This is a nearly four ton vehicle, so efficiency is mediocre for the range on offer, and its sheer size is a liability in cities and garages. Being a first-year build on a new platform, early software and quality wrinkles are a real risk, and large luxury EVs have depreciated brutally.

It is a magnificent, slightly absurd thing, ideal for a buyer who wants maximum presence, comfort, and screen real estate and rarely leaves the interstate. Value minded it is not.