NEW YORK– If you’re not a fan of the embiggification of American cars, possibly look away now. Today in New York, Cadillac took the wraps off its next electric car, and it’s a large one– a fully electric version of the Escalade. Called the Escalade IQ, Cadillac has gone full-blown, fitting this one with a monster battery that shops adequate energy to propel this leviathan 450 miles (724 km) prior to it needs plugging in.
The Escalade IQ isn’t simply a huge battery and some electric motors inserted into the internal combustion version that we checked in 2020. It’s a clean-sheet design that utilizes GM’s new Ultium battery platform and, in this case, the company’s architecture shared by the upcoming Chevrolet Silverado EV, to name a few.
It’s an imposing thing, with a high bluff nose, which is so sadly on-trend today, and honestly enormous 24-inch wheels. It’s in fact even bigger than the gas-powered Escalade, at 224.3 inches (5,697 mm) long, 85.3 inches (2,167 mm) large, and 76.1 inches (1,934 mm) high, with a 136.2-inch (3,460 mm) wheelbase.
There’s a guaranteed household style shared with the other Cadillac EVs, the $60,000 Lyriq and the $340,000 Celestiq; like those cars the Escalade IQ– which starts around $130,000– uses lights to create a grille-like look at the front without the aero drag, and features a blanked-off D pillar. Cadillac hasn’t given us a drag coefficient however says the Escalade IQ creates 15 percent less drag than previous Escalades.
As one may expect, there’s an electric motor for each axle. Together, in normal mode, they offer the Escalade IQ 680 hp (507 kW) and 615 lb-ft( 834 Nm ), but a”Velocity Max”mode temporarily updates this to 750 hp (560 kW) and 785 lb-ft (1,064 Nm). Cadillac says because mode the Escalade IQ will strike 60 miles per hour in five seconds. That’s the very first idea that this EV will weigh a lot– Cadillac did not divulge a curb weight.
Any doubts we’re speaking about a really heavy vehicle should be eliminated when you learn the battery pack has a capacity of 200 kWh– the same as the 9,063-lb (4,110 kg) GMC Hummer EV. The pack uses a nickel cobalt manganese aluminum chemistry, and like the Hummer EV it has a party technique where it can fast-charge at 800 V despite running at 400 V.
Cadillac says it will add up to 100 miles(160 km) of variety every 10 minutes on a DC fast battery charger. To completely charge the battery with an AC supply, you can anticipate to wait about 12 hours utilizing a 19.2 kW AC charger, or 30 hours if you need to utilize a 7.7 kW air conditioner charger. And as a model-year 2025 car, the Escalade IQ will include a NACS charging port, not the CCS1 port currently discovered on GM EVs, as well as the capability to carry out bidirectional charging.
To make the Escalade IQ more active, it comes with rear-wheel steering as standard. This can turn up to 10 degrees, turning the opposite direction at low speeds (to lower the turning circle by more than 6 feet) or with the front wheels at highway speed for higher stability. Cadillac says it can move diagonally out of parking areas, similar to the Hummer EV’s crabwalk ability.
Possibly unsurprisingly, Ars never really gelled with the V8 Escalade, but we did value some of the driver-assist innovation that Cadillac packed into that SUV. The Escalade IQ makes that cars and truck look almost old-fashioned by contrast.
The bit you can’t see is GM’s latest Ultifi electronic architecture that provides this EV lots of bandwidth to power the bit you can see– a 55-inch screen that extends from A pillar to A pillar. Qualcomm provides the Snapdragon Cockpit Platform that powers the huge touchscreen. There’s no Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, however the infotainment system uses Android Automotive OS and includes Google Maps, Google Assistant, and the Play Store.
The Escalade IQ goes into series production next summertime at GM’s Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Center in Michigan.