Back in January of 2019, Cadillac’s big “one more thing” at the Detroit reveal of the 2020 Cadillac XT6 was news that an all-new, all-electric Cadillac crossover was coming in a few short years. GM is taking another step towards the luxury EV space against Tesla with the Cadillac Lyriq, but not until 2022.
When Cadillac announced its first electric vehicle would be a crossover, it didn’t even have a name ready for it yet. A year and a half later, we now know the thing is called the Lyriq, and it will be the first of a new nomenclature all unfortunately ending in -iq. At least they’re real names?
Today, Cadillac pulled the sheet off of another concept version of the Lyriq, supposedly representing around 80 percent of the finished product. The company also announced a range target of over 300 miles using General Motors’ new modular battery setup, and it will be capable of 150-kilowatt fast-charging. It will Level 2 charge at a rate up to 19 kilowatts.
It’ll be available in rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive, and obviously be more targeted for street performance. Cadillac also mentioned the Lyriq’s center of gravity sits 3.9 inches lower than the XT5. I bet the EV corners better. The Lyriq is also targeting the basic size and dimensions of the XT5.
When it goes on sale in the far future of 2022, it will also offer the latest generation of Cadillac’s Super Cruise driver assistance system. The updated system is able to assist the driver in performing new maneuvers like lane changes.
Inside, the Lyriq gets a curved 33-inch LED display that stretches to show the driver display information as well as the infotainment features. In front of the driver is also an “augmented reality” heads-up display that uses two planes instead of one to project images onto the road ahead as if they were in 3D space.
As for mechanism and specifics, Cadillac was tight lipped about any performance clues. Perhaps they’re staying out of the way of Hummer for now, which kind of rains on the Lyriq’s parade a little bit when it comes to perceived enthusiasm for the brand and its new car.
But a 2022 sale date (so a 2023 model year?) is almost inexcusable at this point, even for Cadillac, and particularly for General Motors. The Chevy Bolt has been on sale for how long? GM has introduced how many new EVs to the Chinese market? So why is it taking so long to get a real luxury rival into the market?
Audi is already there. Mercedes is there. Jaguar has been there, and BMW has the iX3 going on sale in Europe soon and an all-electric crossover for the U.S. market coming next year. So why has GM been stalling with Cadillac?
To be fair, the electric games are just beginning, and a lot could still happen. At least Cadillac is only a little behind this time, and not coming up from the rear in a very angry but poor-selling 600-horsepower V8 racecar.
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