2025
Cadillac Escalade IQ

Dual electric motors provide 615 horsepower of strong, ultra-smooth, and nearly silent forward thrust. There’s plenty of grunt, even in the IQ’s Tour mode. And the accelerator pedal tuning is spot-on; it’s always smooth leaving the line, even if you punch it.

Pressing the V Max button on the steering wheel enables you to access the IQ’s full 750 horsepower. We found this helpful for situations such as getting around slower traffic in two-lane passing zones. You don’t really need the extra ponies because the IQ’s default mode is plenty potent, but why not make the pass as quick and seamless as you can, right?

You can also tailor specific settings within the IQ’s My Mode function, which allows the driver to fine-tune parameters such as the steering effort, suspension firmness, and throttle response to individual preferences.

As with many EVs, the IQ’s regenerative braking system, which slows the vehicle when coasting while recouping energy that’s sent back to the battery, can be set to a one-pedal driving mode. This allows the driver to modulate acceleration and braking just through the accelerator pedal, a technique that many EV owners prefer.

And similar to what we’ve experienced in other General Motors EVs we’ve tested, one-pedal driving in the IQ’s Normal mode works well, making it relatively easy to time stopping points without having to step on the brake pedal. Some of our drivers felt the tuning could be more linear in the way it added slowing force, while others thought it was plenty smooth. As with other GM EVs, the High one-pedal driving mode is definitely too abrupt. It starts braking the vehicle with too much force as soon as you start releasing pressure on the accelerator pedal, making it difficult to drive without lurching. It’s possible to be smooth, but it requires the driver to be very attentive to the application of force on the accelerator pedal.

A neat feature that we’ve also seen in some other GM EVs is the regen-braking paddle on the left side of the steering wheel. It allows the driver to apply strong regenerative braking force on demand, even if the IQ isn’t set to either of the one-pedal modes. The paddle is progressive, meaning you can modulate the amount of regen-braking force by how much you pull on it, similar to a hand brake on a bicycle. Some of our drivers appreciated the paddle; others found it simpler to just use the accelerator pedal, while many of us typically forgot that the paddle was even there.

The Escalade IQ’s gigantic, more-than-200-kilowatt-hour battery results in a Cadillac-estimated 460-mile driving range. This means the often talked about and thoroughly dreaded (and personally experienced by CR testers) EV “range anxiety” won’t be a big factor here because the driving range—400-plus miles—allows you to go for days (and some pretty long road trips) without the need to recharge. That long driving range just further adds fuel—er, electrons—to the IQ’s luxurious feel.

Just be aware that if you do any towing or take a road trip and run the battery down, it’s going to take a long time to recharge the massive battery. While the IQ can charge at 19.2 kW on a Level 2 home-charging system, it requires a 100-amp circuit that’s not commonly found in even modern homes. It can theoretically charge at 350 kW DC fast chargers and, according to Cadillac, gain 100 miles of range in about 10 minutes. But finding a charger with that maximum rate can be a challenge. Not to mention that it’s common to experience less-than-ideal charge rates due to the battery temperature, outside temperature, or issues with public charging stations.

Like the other Ultium vehicles we’ve tested, we didn’t have any issues with the IQ’s brake pedal feel. There’s good power when you need to slow down quickly, yet it’s easy to come to a smooth stop without any of the low-speed touchiness or nonlinear changeover from regenerative braking to friction braking, problems we’ve experienced with some EVs.

The Escalade IQ has an independent front and rear suspension and an adaptive air system that enables it to adjust to road conditions dynamically. The air suspension also allows the IQ to be lowered a couple of inches to make access easier and improve aerodynamic efficiency on highways. While the suspension might not be as cushy as you’d expect of such a luxurious vehicle, it does a good job of soaking up most bumps. Large single bumps, such as potholes, are handled quite well, both from an absorption standpoint and with minimal side-to-side rocking motions. 

But what isn’t luxurious is the jitter and shudder that’s experienced over certain road imperfections. When encountering multiple small impacts in a row, you can feel vibrations permeating through the floor and pedals. And to us, that’s a pretty big flaw. And although the IQ does absorb large single impacts well, it’s often accompanied by a clunking sound and sensation from the front suspension.

Considering that the Escalade IQ nearly crushed our scales at 9,143 pounds, it actually handles reasonably well. Its EV-specific architecture, with the huge and heavy battery placed low underneath the floor, makes for a favorable center of gravity, which aids handling. The adaptive air suspension system is a big help, too, as it keeps things pretty settled.

Another neat tech trick is the IQ’s rear-steering system, which helps the SUV turn around in driveways or parking lots like a much smaller vehicle. That’s because at lower speeds, the rear wheels turn in the opposite direction of the front wheels.

But while it’s impressive how well the IQ hides its weight, that’s not to say it’s a good-handling vehicle compared with most on the road. The steering feels vague and loose in the regular Tour mode, yet it’s too artificially heavy if you switch it to Sport. On top of that, the front end feels ponderous, and the front tires lose grip quickly if you push the pace at all on a curvy road or through a sweeping highway on- or off-ramp. You also can’t escape just how wide the IQ is. It feels like it takes up a lane and a half, which makes narrow backroads challenging and a bit nerve-wracking.

Not surprising for such a huge vehicle, there’s lots of room up front for people of all sizes. The IQ has tons of headroom, well-placed armrests with comfortable padding, and a nicely placed left footrest. It’s also free of knee intrusions from the center console.

You’ll notice that we said “mostly well-sorted” because we did have a few issues. The first is that the steering wheel can obscure some items from view within the driver’s instrument screen, most notably the headlight icons. Smaller drivers also found that their left elbow tended to fall on the door armrest’s plastic trim rather than the padding.

The IQ’s standard audio system is a 19-speaker AKG Studio system. Nudging up the trims to Luxury 2 and Sport 2, as for the version we rented, brings a 36-speaker AKG system. You sometimes hear terms like “concert-hall level sound system” bandied about, and it’s often just hyperbole. But in the IQ’s case, the clear and sharp sound quality truly is impressive. But then it better be for the price you’re paying.

Most EVs benefit from a quiet cabin, in large part due to the lack of noise from an internal combustion engine, and that’s certainly the case with the Escalade IQ. The interior stays very quiet overall, with nicely hushed wind and ambient air noise. Wind noise starts to get noticeable only on the highway at about 70 mph, but it’s not to the level of many EVs we’ve tested.

The huge 24-inch tires transmit the occasional thump or slap over certain road imperfections. But the biggest issue for most of us, though a pretty minor one in the grand scheme, is that we wish we could turn off the augmented electric motor noises that Cadillac filters in. We’ve noticed this same malady in some of GM’s other Ultium EVs, too, and it’s disappointing. On the bright side, the fakery is pretty mild, and it’s mostly only when you’re accelerating hard.

The Escalade IQ is fitted with Super Cruise, GM’s active driving assistance system that allows hands-free driving, taking care of acceleration, braking, and steering for you, on more than 400,000 mapped miles in the U.S. and Canada. It uses lidar-created map data, real-time cameras, radar, and GPS to monitor the roads and respond accordingly. This system, which pairs adaptive cruise control (ACC) with lane centering assistance (LCA) stood out in our testing of other GM models for its operation and clear indication when the vehicle is in control and when the situation demands that the driver take charge. The service supporting this feature is free for the first three years.

As with other versions of Super Cruise we’ve used, the IQ’s system worked well, although we didn’t formally test it. It still makes more small steering corrections to keep the IQ near the center of the lane than some active driving assistance systems, but beyond that, the performance is sound. It also benefits from an automatic lane-change feature that’s capable of making the decision to change lanes to pass a slower vehicle on the highway on its own.

“Hope you like screens, because there’s a screen for your front passenger, a screen for you, and even a screen below your screen. And most of the IQ’s controls are located in these screens,” said one of our testers.

The IQ’s cabin is dominated by a curved 55-inch display stretching from pillar to pillar. The main center infotainment screen is too far away to comfortably use as a touchscreen without leaning forward, yet the rotary knob controller on the center console isn’t easy to use, either. It requires a really firm press to confirm your selection. Further, the shortcuts around the rotary knob get washed out in the sun almost completely. It’s also disappointing and annoying that the IQ, like GM’s other EVs, isn’t compatible with Android Auto or Apple CarPlay.

The lower screen, which houses the climate controls and other shortcuts, may even be worse than the main screen. It’s incredibly complex, with lots of tiny unlabeled icons. It’s never clear where certain settings are going to be located. The fact that there’s a shortcut bar along the bottom and a drop-down shortcut menu at the top that houses different features is incredibly confusing.

The headlight controls are also in this lower screen, and their placement means that whether you’re using this secondary display for climate or other functions, you’ll have to look down and away from the road for too long, in part because the capacitive-touch controls on the panel require a deliberate press.

Other oddities include the emergency flashers button located high up on the overhead console, far out of the driver’s line of sight and easy reach. The heated and ventilated seat controls are on the door and force an awkward wrist angle to press them. And while the lane keeping assistance (LKA) button is visible on the lower screen without having to wade into a menu, it requires two taps or a long hold to turn it off, and you have to read the text to understand those instructions while you’re driving.

“If you punch the throttle hard, you better make sure you have lots of open space, because this tank moves out like a sports car on fire,” said a tester. “But while the acceleration is thrilling, the front end gets disconcertingly light when you do that.”

Part of what makes full acceleration slightly unnerving is the large amount of torque steer you get when you punch the accelerator pedal in a straight line. Although the Escalade IQ has all-wheel drive, when a vehicle has a lot of power going to the front wheels, accelerating quickly can produce a sensation where the steering wheel tugs back and forth in your hands, which is known as “torque steer.”

Press the V Max button on the steering wheel to unleash all of the IQ’s available 750 horsepower, and the sensation gets even worse. You must have a firm grip on the steering wheel.

The IQ’s outward visibility is pretty poor overall, exactly the opposite of what you want from an incredibly quick yet also super-heavy vehicle. The hood is long and tall, and the windshield pillars and side mirrors are very thick. Things only get worse as you glance rearward. The side pillars (commonly known as “B-pillars”) are quite broad, and combined with the wide headrests, they make over-the-left-shoulder views when changing lanes on the highway really tough. Over-the-right-shoulder views are even worse because the second-row head restraint completely blocks the third side window, so you have a huge blind spot from there all the way until the edge of the rear window. And even the rear window is oddly squat and narrow for such a large vessel.

Considering how huge the Escalade IQ is, you might assume it would have one of the better third-row seats among SUVs. While the space back there isn’t too bad in terms of headroom and knee space (that is, if the second-row passengers slide their seats forward a bit), it’s like a cocoon back there. The heavily raked third side window makes it so that passengers can barely see outside.

Foot space is cramped under the second-row seats, although there’s plenty of room for both rear passengers to slide their inner leg forward in between the second-row captain’s chairs. The outer armrest is lightly padded, but it’s positioned too high, which makes the passenger feel cramped if they place their elbow up there. Further, the seatback is at a very upright angle. While the seat is very flat without much support, at least the padding is reasonably comfortable.

What is Arrival Mode, you ask? Cadillac says it’s “a unique Four-Wheel Steer feature that allows the Escalade IQ to move diagonally, making it easier when pulling into or out of tight spaces while making a statement.”

The last part of that sentence, about “making a statement,” isn’t the most reassuring. And after fiddling around with the system, which is activated with a button on the screen, one of our testers said “It’s just a gimmick. I can’t imagine a situation where you’d actually use it.”

We found that it’s hard to predict what the vehicle is going to do as it moves slightly sideways while you frantically turn the steering wheel. You have to be pretty in tune with vehicle dynamics to even understand what’s happening as it lurches sideways. Plus, it doesn’t seem necessary, considering that the IQ’s rear-steering system already makes for an impressively tidy turning radius for a vehicle of this size.

No, we’re not talking about the rear liftgate, which is, of course, power-operated. We’re referring to the power opening and closing side doors, which come standard on the Luxury 2 and Sport 2 models. All four doors can be set to open and close on their own via buttons on the front and rear screens. The driver’s door will actually close after you get in fully on its own, as soon as you step on the brake pedal. It’s pretty cool, but it also gives us pause, both in terms of operation and longevity.

We found that the doors swing open so fast that we constantly worried they would slam into any car parked next to us. This feature also seems like it could go from being a convenience/luxury feature to a nuisance pretty quickly. Fortunately, the feature can be turned off if you don’t like it.

The front seats in a $150,000 full-sized SUV should be a slam-dunk, but our opinions were mixed. To be fair, comments were more favorable than negative.

“It’s certainly better than what we’ve seen in other Ultium front seats, as it should be,” said a tester. “There is better side bolstering, softer leather, and lots of adjustability. The seatback side bolsters provided decent lateral support. The upper back support adjustment didn’t seem to make much of a difference, though. The massage feature was decent but didn’t stand out for being anything special, considering the price.”

Another tester said: “These seats aren’t bad, but I didn’t find them as comfortable as I would have expected, considering the price and the vehicle’s intent. The main issue for me is that the upper portion of the seatback pokes into me a bit, even with that area fully retracted via the adjustments. The bottom cushion could also use a bit more side support, and as such, I found myself maxing out the leading-edge cushion tilt. The seatback side bolsters do a very good job holding you in place through corners, though.”

The Escalade IQ has a full complement of standard active safety and driver assistance features, including automatic emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian and cyclist detection, automatic emergency braking that operates at highway speeds, blind spot warning (BSW), rear cross traffic warning (RCTW), reverse automatic emergency braking (RAEB), lane centering assistance (LCA), lane departure warning (LDW), lane keeping assistance (LKA), adaptive cruise control (ACC), and automatic high beams.

Some of the Escalade IQ’s safety warnings are communicated via vibrations to the driver’s seat (called the Safety Alert Seat), a feature we’ve appreciated in numerous other General Motors products.

We’re happy to see that both a rear occupant alert system and a belt minder come standard. The former is designed to remind the driver—based on rear-door logic—to check the rear seat at the end of a drive to help prevent children and pets from suffering heatstroke or hypothermia if unintentionally left behind in the vehicle. The rear belt minder alerts the driver if a rear passenger unbuckles their seat belt during the trip.