Only in the early days of electrification that we’re experiencing now could a machine like the 2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ be built. Fully electric with 750 horsepower and 450 miles of range, GM’s big three-row EV has a 200-kilowatt-hour battery, rides on 24-inch wheels, and doubtlessly weighs close to five tons. It’s a rolling business suite, and at launch, it’ll be the electric luxury barge to beat.
When you can spec a 40-speaker sound system and an Executive Second-Row Seating Package with fold-down trays, massaging chairs, personal 12.6-inch monitors, and a host of USB-C and HDMI ports for in-car entertainment, you know it’s fancy. GM’s Super Cruise hands-free driving system also comes standard for three years, and even with the Escalade IQ’s impressive powertrain specs, the act of driving really seems secondary. As proof, the electric Escalade gets the 55-inch diagonal infotainment display from the Celestiq, which stretches all the way from one A-pillar to the other.
The interior as a whole takes cues from modern architecture with the aim of making the already-huge cabin feel bigger than it is. There’s a fixed-glass panoramic roof, which does a lot of the lifting. Then Cadillac incorporates subtle touches like intricately laser-etched wood throughout the cabin that show just how much special attention was paid to the Escalade IQ.
“Those are some of the details, even when you see the production vehicle, the gaps, the flushness, we sweat every single one of those details,” said Mandi Damman, Escalade IQ chief engineer, to The Drive. “That was different, because usually we’d be starting from a Chevy full-size SUV, and we’d be limited. This was really a blank sheet of paper, what would you do to take this to the next level of luxury. So we were able to finesse a lot of those things and pour our hearts into getting this right.”
Outside it takes styling cues from the Lyriq and the aforementioned $340,000 Celestiq sedan. The rear end ditches the combustion-powered Escalade’s full-height vertical taillamps for something more segmented. On the mechanical side, it gets two single-motor drive units with distinct ratios. Suspending the whole thing are active air springs and GM’s latest adjustable magnetic dampers. It may not look like it, but the IQ’s 24-inch wheels are fitted with 35-inch tires. This helps disguise its truly massive 136.2-inch wheelbase, which is a little over two inches longer than the current ICE-powered Escalade ESV (that’s the extended version).
To say the electric Escalade is unprecedented is virtually indisputable. It’s an absolute monster. Ever wanted a car that says “1000” on the back of it? This is your machine. It demands to be taken seriously just as a matter of its specs, but it has a few interesting features to lighten the mood as well. Thanks to four-wheel steering, it can “crabwalk” like the Hummer EV, a feature Cadillac calls Arrival Mode. The automaker effectively says this feature was included just to show off. When not being used for this purpose, the four-wheel steering also reduces the vehicle’s turning circle considerably, of course.
The silliest feature included has to be the descriptively named Low Ride Mode. Thanks to the adaptive air suspension, Cadillac says the car can be raised an inch or lowered two inches for practical purposes. Low Ride Mode is not just practical, however. It allows the Escalade IQ to be driven at low speeds with the suspension fully lowered. Put all of this together, and the truck can be driven dropped on the ground and sideways from the factory, just because Cadillac thinks it’s cool. Maybe you do too.
Similar to other GM EVs, the Escalade IQ will offer one-pedal driving and a paddle behind the steering wheel which can be used to variably apply regenerative braking without touching the actual brake pedal. Its charging speeds are typical of other modern EVs, with 14.8 miles of range per hour from a basic 240-volt 7.7kW charger, 37 miles per hour with a 19.2kW 240v charger, and up to 100 miles of range in 10 minutes with a high-speed DC faster charger, although the latter rate depends on the battery’s state of charge.
Max power can only be uncorked when the car is set to Velocity Max mode. In all other situations, it will have to make do with 680 horsepower as opposed to 750. That’s still about as much as a supercharged Escalade V, and when you really want to scurry away from a stoplight, you can engage Velocity Max and hit 60 mph in less than five seconds.
Useful features like a large 12-cubic-foot frunk round out the package. Cadillac has also indicated that the automaker’s nearly autonomous driving system, Ultra Cruise, could be available in the future.
Pricing for the base Escalade IQ is far steeper than its ICE-powered cousin. A short-wheelbase, gas-powered Escalade starts at $82,690. The Escalade IQ will cost $130,000 before any options are added.
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