Cadillac's new 2025 Escalade IQ: A first look at the new electric full-size SUV

Twenty-five years of Cadillac’s big, bad SUV has taught us what makes an Escalade an Escalade: It’s all about presence and attitude. The 2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ is the new, all-electric version of Caddy’s flagship SUV, and it definitely has that Escalade presence and attitude — in every place but one.

Escalade IQ: It's bigger than it looks.

Photos of the Escalade IQ belie its size — credit (or blame) the massive 24-inch wheels wrapped in 35-inch tires— but in person, the Escalade IQ looks properly huge. Its length is somewhere between those of the standard Escalade and the extended Escalade ESV, and while the sloping roofline recalls the electric Lyriq and the XT-series SUVs, the nose is sort of a ’Sladed version of the Lyriq’s visage: Just as the internal-combustion Escalade announces its arrival with a massive, in-your-face grille, the Escalade IQ does it with a massive, in-your-face grille-like panel that displays a light show to greet its owner on arrival. Sport models such as the one seen here have more blacked-out trim; luxury models will shine with more chrome.

Step back and you’ll see the Escalade IQ’s proportions deviate from its gas-powered sibling’s. Freed from the need to share underpinnings with a Chevy pickup truck, the electric Escalade has a long, sleek hood and a massive dash-to-axle measurement, much like a classic Cadillac Eldorado from the 1970s. But instead of a massive 500-cubic-inch V-8 up front, there’s a massive 12-cubic-foot frunk —“E-Trunk” in Cadillac parlance —with enough space for a couple of golf bags or a couple of guys who wouldn’t listen to reason. The E-Trunk is so long and deep Cadillac will offer a rolling tray so short people can load it, too.

Everything is right until it’s wrong.

It's only around back that the design misfires. The big, sloping D-pillar works for us, and while opinions among MotorTrend editors are split on the black-painted roof, it’s optional. We can live with the deeply slanted backlight, though it cuts into the IQ’s rear cargo space. Our issue is with the taillights, which are split between the body and the D-pillars. They look as if the designers were so exhausted from styling the rest of the Escalade IQ that they went to the parts bin for the back end, using one set of taillights from the CT4 — installed upside-down in order to avoid detection — and the upper set from a first-generation Honda CR-V.

Inside the Electric Escalade IQ: Welcome to the high-luxe future.

Happily, the electric Escalade IQ redeems itself inside. Behind doors that can be ordered with a power-opening function is a cabin that blends the future with the here and now. The headline feature is a massive screen that stretches nearly from one end of the dashboard to the other — and in a vehicle as large as the Escalade IQ, that’s a big stretch. Caddy cites a 55-inch diagonal measurement, but keep in mind the screen is actually two panels divided into a roughly 66/33 ratio. The 33 percent in front of the passenger is polarized so it can be hidden from the driver’s view — and that clears the regulatory hurdle that will let passengers stream video or surf the internet while the electric Escalade is on the move. The infotainment system running the screens is Qualcomm-powered, Google-enabled, and 5G connected.

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Secondary controls for climate and the like are accessed through a smaller tablet-style screen, which Cadillac calls the Command Center, below the main instrument panel. But there’s more to this interior than screens: Take the ash wood trim laser-etched to allow the 126-color ambient lighting system to show through. The thronelike seats are covered in a material that looks, feels, and even smells like leather but is actually a synthetic substitute.

The Escalade IQ’s second row is populated by twin captain’s chairs with a large center console. Cadillac says a three-place bench will not be offered, which strikes us as a bit odd; one of the key advantages of an electric SUV is a big back seat with a flat floor. The electric Escalade IQ seen here has the optional Executive Second Row Seating package, with massaging and reclining seats, individual 12.6-inch screens (which can stream media or take input from twin HDMI ports), fold-away tray tables sturdy enough to hold a laptop, and a rear-seat Command Center. This package puts two additional speakers in each rear headrest, raising the speaker count for the optional AKG Reference stereo from 36 to 40. A power-folding third row expands seating capacity to seven, and while we weren’t allowed to crawl around inside this very early prototype, that backmost row looks more cramped than the one in ICE Escalades.

Ultium Platform, Dual-Motor Powertrain Being electric, the Escalade IQ is built on the same Ultium platform as the Hummer EV and Chevrolet Silverado EV. The Caddy’s 136.2-inch wheelbase — 2.1 inches longer than that of the Escalade ESV — makes room for a massive 200-kWh battery, which the company says will provide up to 450 miles of range. We figured such a long wheelbase would make the Escalade IQ nearly impossible to maneuver, but Cadillac has fitted it with the same four-wheel steering as the Hummer EV pickup. This tightens the turning circle by some 6.5 feet, and in fact the electric ’Slade will turn more sharply than a short-wheelbase fossil-fuel Escalade. And yes, it also has the Hummer’s Crab Walk feature, though in Caddy parlance it’s called Cadillac Arrival Mode, presumably for its ability to glide, gracefully and diagonally, right up to the curb.

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The Escalade will arrive with a dual-motor all-wheel-drive powertrain, with output of “up to” 750 horsepower and 785 lb-ft of torque. What does “up to” mean? Cadillac cites these figures for the Escalade IQ’s Velocity Max mode, which we presume is Caddy’s answer to the Hummer EV’s Watts to Freedom (WTF) setup. With Velocity Max engaged, Cadillac claims a 0–60 time of less than 5.0 seconds, which doesn’t strike us as terribly quick. Consider that the Tesla Model Y gets to 60 in 4.1 seconds if you merely mash the throttle — but then again, the Model Y doesn’t weigh in excess of four tons, which is our educated guess for the Escalade IQ.

It's ready for the long haul.

Because we’re in a guessing mood, we’ll speculate that Cadillac might have limited maximum power in pursuit of that spectacular 450-mile range figure. (We’d also guess the Hummer EV’s three-motor setup will appear in a mightier but lower-range “V” version of the Escalade IQ.) Cadillac tells us the IQ can tow up to 8,000 pounds, and here that long-range battery will really come in handy: If a trailer cuts the Caddy’s range in half, a reasonable estimate in our experience, it’ll still go a useful 200-plus miles.

The Escalade IQ features an 800-volt fast-charging architecture. Cadillac hasn’t cited a 10–80 percent charge time, and given the massive size of the battery, it likely isn’t going to be quick, but the company tells us the Escalade IQ will be able to add 100 miles of range in as little as 10 minutes. Come 2025, after an over-the-air software update, the Escalade IQ will be able to power external devices and even homes equipped with GM Energy’s Ultium Home hardware. And speaking of home, that’s where Cadillac will build the Escalade IQ, at the Hamtramck Assembly Center in Detroit, Michigan. The Escalade IQ should roll into dealerships next summer with a starting price around $130,000.

First impression? It's an electric Escalade done right.

Overall, our first look at the 2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ made a favorable impression. We like that Cadillac did more than just electrify the Escalade; it created something with all the presence and attitude of the conventionally powered vehicle, a family resemblance to other Cadillac models, and all the luxury we expect from Cadillac’s best. Aside from the rather unfortunate rear styling, the Escalade IQ hits all the right notes, a true “Standard of the World” EV if we’ve seen one. It took Cadillac a couple of tries to get the regular Escalade right, but when it did, the SUV was a massive success. We predict the 2025 Escalade IQ will hit all the right notes, right from the start. Nice job on this one, Caddy.