Optiq-al Illusion: Cadillac introduces 2025 Optiq EV crossover (2024)

With GM’s luxury brand having committed to exiting this decade as purveyor of a model lineup consisting solely of all-electric vehicles, the clock is ticking for Cadillac to begin rolling out cars and SUVs which are a touch more mainstream than the EVs it has launched so far. Sure, the quarter-million-dollar Celestiq is a tremendous (and necessary for brand image) halo car – as is the Escalade IQ – but volume crossovers are going to be the bread and butter that keep the lights on.

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Introducing the Cadillac Optiq

While the sum of information released today is a grand total of two high-res photographs, there’s still plenty (including a data leak out of China back in July) to parse. But we’ll start with its looks.

UPDATE April 15, 2024: No, we won’t. We’ll start with this update, centered on our first look at the SUV’s interior, which seems to share a lot with its Lyriq big brother. Perhaps the biggest difference is the horizontal trim across the center, which can be made to glow with ambient lighting, just like the illuminated horizontal lines in the door panels.

There’s still a lot we don’t know about the Canadian-market model – destined for our shores in late 2024, as a 2025 model – but when we find out the details, we’ll have a new post up to fill you in. Now, back to the Optiq’s looks and the rest of our original November 2023 article. —Ed.

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Its front is pure (EV-era) Cadillac, wearing the same lighting signature in the form of tall vertical lamps with a skiff of DRL LEDs running horizontally to the Optiq’s non-grille. That area is very Lyriq-like, with triangle patterns adding some visual interest, since EVs don’t technically need a grille at all.

The front is also studded with sensors and cameras typical of this space, while a well-integrated flat plate in its chin suggests Super Cruise could be on the menu in some trims. We’re glad Cadillac has chosen to show the Optiq in an expressive colour instead of a dour shade off the grayscale.

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Around back, we find a design sharing much with the Lyriq and Escalade IQ — more so the latter, to these jaundiced eyes. Bifurcated taillamps span the D-pillar and bookend the rear hatch opening, with the latter still looking like bizarre afterthoughts, as if the design team initially forgot to add reverse lights and such. Perhaps it’s their flared design compared to the slim and attractive upper lamps; a black outline like Dame Edna’s glasses doesn’t help, either.

Speaking of pillars, it’s tough to tell from these photos, but it seems the space between the C- and D-pillars is filled with a textured material instead of a window. Perhaps this is just a styling feature overlaid on glass (like those all-over ads on city buses) since the absence of see-through space in this area would create one helluva blind spot. We’ll find out when we see the Optiq in person.

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Elsewhere, the vehicle cribs sensible and logical EV features from its brothers and cousins: flush door handles, well-placed charging port with an oversized door, and enough aero trickery to eke out every last kilometre of range from the battery. Michelin Pilot Sport 4 SUV tires are shown on this example, with a 40-series sidewall and 21-inch wheels. These hoops are gummier than some other options and generally get rave reviews from owners.

Sadly, those specs leaked back in July remain unconfirmed as of this writing. As per Jay Kana’s previous post:

China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology let loose some dimension details for the Optiq: the sport-ute comes in at 4,822 mm (189.8 inches) long; 1,912 mm (75.3 inches) wide; and 1,642 mm (64.6 inches) tall, with a wheelbase of 2,954 mm (116.3 inches). It’s 174 mm (6.9 inches) shorter than the Lyriq, but quite close, size-wise, to the XT5 (which is 189.6 inches or 4,815 mm long, with a 112.5-inch or 2,857-mm wheelbase).

And, for further yardstick comparisons, the Lyriq and related Honda Prologue have a wheelbase about five inches longer than the Optiq EV. Power and battery size are up in the air, but an Equinox EV with nigh identical exterior dimensions (assuming the above notations are correct) has power options between 210 and 290 horsepower and a driving range of between 400 and 490 kilometres on a full charge depending on trim.