Cadillac’s entrepreneurs have informally christened the 2026 Vistiq electrical three-row SUV the “child Escalade,” consigning it from delivery to stay within the shadow of its extra aspirational sibling. Speak about throwing shade on a brand new product. Then once more, the $129,795 Escalade IQ is the scale of a small pole barn, so it makes loads of shade, even for one thing grander than the model’s two-row Lyriq however not as grandiose as its headlining SUV. This recent EV forged member will upstage Caddy’s soon-to-be-departed XT6 with out hogging the highlight. In such a job, the Vistiq provides a strong efficiency as a fancy but reserved folks mover.
The Vistiq’s scene opens with two trim ranges, the $79,090 Luxurious and the $79,590 Sport, adopted by the extra technologically superior $93,590 Premium Luxurious and $98,190 Platinum. Its familial resemblance to the Escalade IQ is obvious, but its extra affordable proportions and contoured flanks play higher on the eyes with out decreasing it to a wallflower. The Vistiq’s good-looking envelope stretches a considerable 205.6 inches in size and 79.8 inches in width. The elective 23-inch wheels, shod with meaty 305-section-width tires no much less, look completely at house underneath its haunches (21-inchers are obligatory on decrease trims; 22s are normal on the Premium Luxurious and Platinum).
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Heart Stage
The theater continues inside with beneficiant quantities of area, a beautiful architectural design, and a nice mixture of supplies for a mainstream Cadillac. Of the variations we sampled, the Sport featured carbon-fiber-like accents with copper-colored inlays, whereas the Premium Luxurious brandished fetching open-pore wooden trim that properly offset its brushed-aluminum speaker grilles (a booming 23-speaker AKG stereo with Dolby Atmos tuning is normal on all fashions). Smudge-prone piano-black trim is scarce but exhausting to keep away from on the steering wheel and heart console.
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The general structure is an efficient center floor between the Lyriq’s and the Escalade IQ’s, incorporating the previous’s curved 33.0-inch touchscreen for driver info and Google-based infotainment. A spacious heart console as within the latter features a secondary touchscreen for local weather settings, in addition to Cadillac’s flimsy rotary knob that may manipulate the principle show. Luxurious facilities abound, from normal soft-close doorways to five-zone automated local weather management with properly detailed vents even within the aft quarters. Night time imaginative and prescient and a head-up show with useful augmented-reality navigation overlays (a primary for Cadillac) come on increased trims.
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Elevated entrance seats with comfy facet bolsters present good help and a commanding view out the entrance. Within the second row—an ordinary three-seat bench or elective captain’s chairs—there’s barely extra legroom than in each the Lyriq and the outgoing XT6. Your long-legged creator might simply sit behind his personal driving place with out his knees touching the entrance seat, and his head was nowhere close to the usual panoramic moonroof. A second, fastened skylight sits above the power-folding third row, which due to the second row’s tilt-and-slide characteristic, is simple to entry even should you’re not a contortionist. Legroom in the best way again additionally will increase over the XT6. Adults ought to discover the low-slung backside cushions and first rate headroom acceptable for no less than brief outings.
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Motion Name
All Vistiqs include entrance and rear permanent-magnet motors that of their sportiest Velocity Max setting mix for 615 horsepower and 649 pound-feet of torque—acquainted figures should you’ve scanned the specs of the Chevrolet Blazer EV SS, in addition to the Cadillac Optiq V and Lyriq V fashions. It is also extra digital firepower than you will get in equally priced opponents such because the Volvo EX90 (402 to 510 horsepower), although lower than what’s accessible in pricier options from Lucid, Rivian, and Tesla. Regardless of the Vistiq’s estimated three-plus-ton girth, we’ve got little motive to doubt Cadillac’s claimed 3.7-second 60-mph time—one other midpack metric.
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Likewise, its 102-kWh battery ought to return round 300 miles of vary as soon as the EPA will get round to verifying it. Able to drawing electrons at as much as 190 kilowatts, the Vistiq is claimed to pack on about 80 miles of vary in 10 minutes at a DC fast-charger; an 11.5-kW onboard AC charger is normal, however a 19.2-kW unit is obtainable. As with all GM EVs, there are quite a few regen settings, together with one-pedal operation and a handy on-demand paddle on the steering wheel.
Although undeniably fast, the Vistiq’s defining street manners are its quiet consolation and assured functionality. Beneficiant sound insulation and street noise–canceling acoustics pumped via the audio audio system hush its cabin at pace. Adaptive dampers are normal and agency up barely in Sport mode, which additionally provides a tad extra weight to the steering and sharpens the accelerator response. However the trip is at all times properly managed and compliant, particularly with the height-adjustable air springs (on the Premium Luxurious and Platinum solely) that can also drop the car practically two inches for simpler entry. With rear-axle steering (once more, prime trims solely) that may swivel the rear wheels as much as 3.5 levels, the Vistiq reveals a refined nimbleness that belies its measurement.
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Step as much as the Platinum and also you additionally get larger brakes with Brembo six-piston entrance calipers. Given the Vistiq’s bulk, we want they had been normal throughout the board. Steering that is largely devoid of really feel regardless of being attentive to inputs erodes the Vistiq’s leisure when pushed spiritedly. However Cadillac has executed properly to tame the mass of the large wheels and tires, which solely returned some background trip frequencies on the rougher sections of our drive route. Elsewhere, this Caddy glided alongside easily, sustaining disciplined composure as we plied it round corners. Those that take pleasure in driving could discover a higher match within the lesser two trims, which trip on coil springs and smaller wheels and do with out rear steering. Although our time in a such-equipped Sport mannequin was restricted, it felt noticeably lighter on its ft than the extra indulgent Premium Luxurious trim, with little sacrifice in trip consolation or maneuverability.
Bonus Minimize
Much less eager drivers could respect the usual fitment of GM’s newest Tremendous Cruise hands-free assistant, which beneficial properties extra driver-selectable features: automated lane modifications based mostly on navigation route steering, corresponding to while you’re approaching a freeway interchange, plus the power to regulate the car’s pace based mostly on posted limits. For instance, should you’re going 60 mph in a 55-mph zone and the restrict modifications to 70 mph, the system will robotically keep that delta and bump you as much as 75 mph. Think about its wonderful lane monitoring and common situational consciousness, and this stays the benchmark of hands-free tech.
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Whereas it wasn’t way back {that a} new entry just like the Vistiq would’ve had little in the best way of competitors, the sector of three-row EVs is quickly increasing with compelling entries such because the Hyundai Ioniq 9 and the Lucid Gravity. The Cadillac Vistiq basically sits smack in the course of this rising gaggle, buying and selling on respectable energy, vary, and lodging, mixed with an opulent aura and not-quite-nosebleed pricing. As supporting actors go, the Escalade might have a lot worse.
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