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Cadillac Wows with All Electric Escalade IQ

Cadillac’s EV ambitions take another bold step forward with the upcoming all-electric Escalade IQ, offering size, sumptuousness, and loads of horsepower.  

The Escalade Goes EV 

2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ - media.cadillac.com
2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ - media.cadillac.com

It’s no secret GM is in the midst of a major shift toward electrification, and central to that shift is the Cadillac brand and their commitment to all future nameplates being electrified. The all-new Escalade IQ showcases their approach by utilizing a familiar and popular name even as the vehicle itself is a clean-sheet EV design. The Escalade IQ sits between the upcoming Celestiq, an ultra-luxury electric sedan intended to serve as the brand’s new flagship model and the Lyriq SUV, their first EV to market, released last year.

All three of these vehicles are built from GM’s Ultium EV platform, the same one that underpins the Hummer EV and the Silverado EV. This meant the design of the Escalade IQ wasn’t restricted or hampered by inheriting an ICE (internal combustion engine) platform, mostly translating to a capacious cabin and an “E-trunk” (Cadillac detests the term frunk and refuses to apply it to the front trunks of their EVs).

2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ - media.cadillac.com
2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ - media.cadillac.com

Even with this freedom to innovate, the new Escalade IQ doesn’t stray far from what makes an Escalade and Escalade. It’s still big, 224-inches long with a 136-inch wheelbase, making it just two inches shorter than the Escalade ESV, the long wheelbase version of the ICE Escalade. A near-shoulder height belt line and 24-inch wheels wrapped in 35-inch tires further accentuate the vehicle’s comically imposing size.

The Escalade IQ makes up for these ungainly dimensions with standard rear-wheel steering, allowing for a smaller turning radius than the short-wheelbase ICE Escalade. Air-suspension allows the Escalade IQ to raise up one inch and lower by two inches, with a max ground clearance of approximately seven inches.

Escalade IQ Specs 

2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ - media.cadillac.com
2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ - media.cadillac.com

Motivating all that mass is a potent electric powertrain consisting of two electric motors, one front, one in back combining for 680/750 horsepower and 615/785 lb.-ft. of torque depending on the configuration. All that power is sent from a 200-kWh battery pack to all four wheels. That’s the same battery pack as the Hummer EV gets, which likely means the Escalade IQ will be tipping the scales at a comparable weight nearing 9,000 lbs.

The Escalade IQ will be capable of 350kW of DC fast charging (DCFC) making it capable of putting on 100 miles of range in 10 minutes. According to Cadillac, total range for the Escalade IQ will be around 450 miles on a single charge. Towing caps off at 8,000 lbs. And in case you’re wondering, the Escalade IQ, like all proper luxury EVs, will be fast. Cadillac says it should do zero to sixty in just under 5 seconds.

Super Cruise, GM’s advanced driver assistance/semi-autonomous driving technology, will come standard with plans for over-the-air-updates to upgrade this to their forthcoming Ultra Cruise system which is set to debut on the Celestiq.

That’s Not a Screen, This is a Screen 

2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ - media.cadillac.com
2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ - media.cadillac.com

Because luxury today is measured in the size and number of screens a vehicle carries, the new Escalade IQ does its best to one-up Mercedes’ EV lineup with its own dash-spanning screen. That screen, or technically two screens, measures 55-inches across and is split between a passenger-side screen for infotainment and another comprising a digital gauge cluster and driver’s side infotainment. In case that wasn’t enough screen for some buyers, Cadillac also includes a smaller 11-inch screen for HVAC and other controls. Cadillac has said they’ve skipped Apple CarPlay integration in favor of their own Google-derived infotainment OS.

2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ - media.cadillac.com
2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ - media.cadillac.com

The Escalade IQ will be a devoted seven-seater as the second row is comprised of a pair of luxury-appointed captain’s chairs. Of course, these rear seat passengers get screens of their own, 12.3-inch screens for entertainment and another infotainment/HVAC control screen in the rear-seat center console. Legroom is ample in the second row, measuring 41-inches, while the third row does make a mild concession to its battery pack at 30-inches of legroom, down from the ESV’s maxed-out 36-inches.

Cargo is still generous, however. Behind the third row is 23 cu.-ft. of space, 69 cu.-ft. with the third row folded down, and a grand total of 119 cu.-ft. with the second and third rows folded down.

Big (EV) Things Arrive Next Summer 

2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ - media.cadillac.com
2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ - media.cadillac.com

The all-new Cadillac Escalade IQ is slated to enter production next summer and should hit dealerships shortly thereafter. Though it’s not the $300,000-plus price tag the Celestiq carries, the Escalade IQ won’t be cheap. It will reportedly start around $130,000.

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Chris Kaiser

With two decades of writing experience and five years of creating advertising materials for car dealerships across the U.S., Chris Kaiser explores and documents the car world’s latest innovations, unique subcultures, and era-defining classics. Armed with a Master's Degree in English from the University of South Dakota, Chris left an academic career to return to writing full-time. He is passionate about covering all aspects of the continuing evolution of personal transportation, but he specializes in automotive history, industry news, and car buying advice.

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