The 2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ Gets Impressive Tech and a Six-Figure Starting Price

by Chris Teague

Published: August 10th, 2023

the 2025 cadillac escalade iq gets impressive tech and a six figure starting price

There are Cadillacs, and then there’s the Escalade. The hulking luxury family hauler has been around since the late 1990s and has become a showcase for the automaker’s technology and design prowess, but GM is going electric, and a three-ton V8-powered SUV doesn’t fit with that vision. Of course, Cadillac couldn’t just drop the Escalade, so it’s going electric with the 2025 Escalade IQ, an impressive and expensive EV that looks every bit as deluxe as its liquid dinosaur-guzzling counterparts.

The IQ’s $130,000 starting price buys a three-row SUV with curvier lines than the current gas model, and Cadillac said it’s the most aerodynamic Escalade to date. Riding on 24-inch wheels, the SUV has air suspension, a 450-mile range, and eye-popping specs. It delivers up to 750 horsepower using the Velocity Max setting, and there’s a whopping 785 pound-feet of torque. Those numbers enable a sub-five-second 0-60 mph time and up to 8,000 pounds of towing capacity.

Like the GMC Hummer EV, the Escalade IQ has rear-wheel steering and its own version of the funky crab walk feature that helps the big-boy Cadillac maneuver in tight spaces. The IQ also offers one-pedal driving and adjustable regenerative braking. Cadillac also equipped a heat pump system that improves range and speeds up charging. It can also redirect heat from the battery to the SUV’s climate control system.

The current Escalade’s cabin is packed with screens, and the IQ will follow suit. It features 55 inches of screen that stretches across the dash. The system uses a powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and runs Google built-in. That said, one of the most notable stories about the IQ’s tech comes from what it’s missing: Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. GM promised that the features would not be available in its upcoming EVs, and we’re now starting to see the controversial policy in action.

Cadillac equips a long list of safety features, including intersection automatic emergency braking, blind spot steering assist, and an HD surround-view camera system. Super Cruise comes standard with a three-year free subscription through OnStar, bringing hands-free driving on more than 400,000 miles of highway in the U.S. and Canada.

The IQ will be built in GM’s Factory Zero in Michigan and enter production in the summer of 2024.

[Images: Cadillac]

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Chris Teague

Chris grew up in, under, and around cars, but took the long way around to becoming an automotive writer. After a career in technology consulting and a trip through business school, Chris began writing about the automotive industry as a way to reconnect with his passion and get behind the wheel of a new car every week. He focuses on taking complex industry stories and making them digestible by any reader. Just don’t expect him to stay away from high-mileage Porsches.

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4 of 31 comments

MaintenanceCosts on Aug 10, 2023

This is what results when your answer to any engineering issue that crops up during development is "MAKE IT BIGGER!"

Like Reply
- FreedMike on Aug 11, 2023
  
  That's the nice thing about electrification - you can make vehicles HUGE and they still don't pollute. This might bode well for the return of the big family sedan or coupe - the market is beyond glutted with SUVs and crossovers, so it might be time for something new (or something old that's new again).
  
  Electro 6000 SUX!
  
  Like
- Peter on Aug 11, 2023
  
  MERICA
  
  Like
Art_Vandelay on Aug 11, 2023

wow...some posts deleted here. I guess some folks don't like being reminded of the Motors Liquidation Corp

Like Reply
- RHD on Aug 11, 2023
  
  Lots of posts were deleted. What, we can't say that when someone buys an Escalade IQ, they get too much of the former and lack too much of the latter?
  
  Like

Recent Comments

Tassos Obsolete relic is NOT a used car.It might have attracted some buyers in ITS DAY, 1985, 40 years ago, but NOT today, unless you are a damned fool.
Stan Reither Jr. Part throttle efficiency was mentioned earlier in a postThis type of reciprocating engine opens the door to achieve(slightly) variable stroke which would provide variable mechanical compression ratio adjustments for high vacuum (light load) or boost(power) conditions IMO
Joe65688619 Keep in mind some of these suppliers are not just supplying parts, but assembled components (easy example is transmissions). But there are far more, and the more they are electronically connected and integrated with rest of the platform the more complex to design, engineer, and manufacture. Most contract manufacturers don't make a lot of money in the design and engineering space because their customers to that. Commodity components can be sourced anywhere, but there are only a handful of contract manufacturers (usually diversified companies that build all kinds of stuff for other brands) can engineer and build the more complex components, especially with electronics. Every single new car I've purchased in the last few years has had some sort of electronic component issue: Infinti (battery drain caused by software bug and poorly grounded wires), Acura (radio hiss, pops, burps, dash and infotainment screens occasionally throw errors and the ignition must be killed to reboot them, voice nav, whether using the car's system or CarPlay can't seem to make up its mind as to which speakers to use and how loud, even using the same app on the same trip - I almost jumped in my seat once), GMC drivetrain EMF causing a whine in the speakers that even when "off" that phased with engine RPM), Nissan (didn't have issues until 120K miles, but occassionally blew fuses for interior components - likely not a manufacturing defect other than a short developed somewhere, but on a high-mileage car that was mechanically sound was too expensive to fix (a lot of trial and error and tracing connections = labor costs). What I suspect will happen is that only the largest commodity suppliers that can really leverage their supply chain will remain, and for the more complex components (think bumper assemblies or the electronics for them supporting all kinds of sensors) will likley consolidate to a handful of manufacturers who may eventually specialize in what they produce. This is part of the reason why seemingly minor crashes cost so much - an auto brand does nst have the parts on hand to replace an integrated sensor , nor the expertice as they never built them, but bought them). And their suppliers, in attempt to cut costs, build them in way that is cheap to manufacture (not necessarily poorly bulit) but difficult to replace without swapping entire assemblies or units).I've love to see an article on repair costs and how those are impacting insurance rates. You almost need gap insurance now because of how quickly cars depreciate yet remain expensive to fix (orders more to originally build, in some cases). No way I would buy a CyberTruck - don't want one, but if I did, this would stop me. And it's not just EVs.
Joe65688619 I agree there should be more sedans, but recognize the trend. There's still a market for performance oriented-drivers. IMHO a low budget sedan will always be outsold by a low budget SUV. But a sports sedan, or a well executed mid-level sedan (the Accord and Camry) work. Smaller market for large sedans except I think for an older population. What I'm hoping to see is some consolidation across brands - the TLX for example is not selling well, but if it was offered only in the up-level configurations it would not be competing with it's Honda sibling. I know that makes the market smaller and niche, but that was the original purpose of the "luxury" brands - badge-engineering an existing platform at a relatively lower cost than a different car and sell it with a higher margin for buyers willing and able to pay for them. Also creates some "brand cachet." But smart buyers know that simple badging and slightly better interiors are usually not worth the cost. Put the innovative tech in the higher-end brands first, differentiate they drivetrain so it's "better" (the RDX sells well for Acura, same motor and tranmission, added turbo which makes a notable difference compared to the CRV). The sedan in many Western European countries is the "family car" as opposed to micro and compact crossovers (which still sell big, but can usually seat no more than a compact sedan).
Jonathan IMO the hatchback sedans like the Audi A5 Sportback, the Kia Stinger, and the already gone Buick Sportback are the answer to SUVs. The A5 and the AWD version of the Stinger being the better overall option IMO. I drive the A5, and love the depth and size of the trunk space as well as the low lift over. I've yet to find anything I need to carry that I can't, although I admit I don't carry things like drywall, building materials, etc. However, add in the fun to drive handling characteristics, there's almost no SUV that compares.