Everyone loves dunking on GM for their rampant badge-engineering bender from the eighties, through to about the mid-aughts. Turns out, old habits die hard: this 2025 Cadillac Lyriq is one of four kissing cousins across two different car companies. But we’ve come a long way since the Cimarron and Catera; the thing about the Lyriq is, it’s actually quite great.
What’s new for 2025?
With the cars themselves? Nothing much. After a raft of pandemic-related delays and production kinks, GM finally found their groove in the last year or so with building these things—it’s wild to think Cadillac first announced the Lyriq in 2020, yet we got behind the wheel for the very first time last summer. Nevertheless, the Lyriq and its aforementioned kissing cousins—the Blazer EV, Honda Prologue, and Acura ZDX—still feel very new and fresh. As such, Cadillac hasn’t changed much this year, aside from some very minor tweaks to the Lyriq’s colour palette inside and out. Next year, however, a 615-horsepower Lyriq V will join the lineup.
As for GM’s electrification efforts as a whole? Just don’t call them “Ultium” anymore. GM dropped the nomenclature earlier this year after it sold its stake in the battery plant it was working with LG’s battery manufacturing division to build. That said, the two companies will keep working together to keep making the electrification magic happen.
How does the 2025 Lyriq look?
I don’t usually like to comment on styling because it’s so very objective, but the Lyriq is such a looker. GM’s EV underpinnings formerly known as the Ultium platform naturally lend themselves to a deliciously wide stance, which pairs very well with Cadillac’s decades-old but still-fresh Art & Science design language. Part of me always felt sport-utes like the XT4 and XT5 look too squished for their own good, but the Lyriq is long, flows well, and has one helluva presence due to its sheer width. Of all the clever and cohesive design cues, the window brightwork is my favourite. It starts at the corner of the front window and runs along the top, then connects with the running lights at the top of the D-pillar, then spills down, flows through the rear tailgate, and runs through to the other side. It all looks like one continuous line—very clever.
Inside, the Lyriq’s sheer width lends to a spacious cabin despite its rakish, coupe-like silhouette. It goes for minimalism like pretty much everything else these days, but Cadillac brightens up the space with a just-right mix of metallic accents, open-pore wood trim, and dimpled and knurled surfaces that look and feel lovely. The ambient lighting adds to the serene vibes at night, and unlike a certain other manufacturer also playing in the segment, it’s tastefully executed. Everything you touch, feel, caress, and interact with feels genuinely nice. If I had to nit-pick, the gloss black trim here and there cheapens the look, but fortunately there isn’t much of it.
Interior comfort, tech, and practicality
Like almost everyone else out there, a 33-inch widescreen dominates the dashboard, encompassing the instrument cluster, infotainment touchscreen, and a few other controls. But unlike almost everyone else out there, Cadillac’s execution with this arrangement is tasteful: the display follows the dash’s curves and is recessed, so it avoids looking like a tacked-on afterthought. By and large, the display uses its digital real estate well; it’s snappy and responsive to inputs, logically logically laid-out, and highly configurable. Plus, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are on board—for the time being, at least—along with GM’s full suite of active safety and driver assists including Super Cruise. It remains one of the best, if not the best semi-autonomous driving systems out there.
Mercifully, Cadillac hasn’t completely ignored the importance of good ergonomics. Say what you will about the haptic-feedback touch panels on the steering wheel, they work well, and I could kiss GM for still including a row of physical switchgear on the centre stack, as well as a rotary controller for the infotainment to keep unsightly smudges and fingerprints off the screen—yes, I’m that fussy. Visibility all around is excellent, there’s plenty of space regardless of where you sit, the “skateboard” nature of the definitely-not-Ultium platform results in a flat floor and plenty of cubbies and storage pockets down low. Cargo space comes in at 793 litres with the seats up; fold them flat and more than doubles to 1,722 L. One minor nitpick about the seats: I found the headrests stuck out a bit too much for my liking, so I couldn’t get totally comfortable. Your mileage may vary.
Powertrain, driving impressions, and range
Under the (again, very pretty) sheet metal, all Lyriqs use a 102 kWh battery pack. Base models use a single, rear-mounted electric motor rated at 365 horsepower, 325 pound-feet of torque, and up to 525 kilometres of range on paper. Our fully loaded tester had an additional electric motor up front, giving it a hefty boost to 515 hp and 450 lb-ft of torque. Range takes a slight hit, coming in at 488 km on paper. We managed 385 kilometres in the real world; not bad on account of the chilly ambient temps during our week with the Lyriq. Cadillac says a full recharge on a Level 2 charger—similar to what you might have at home or the office—takes up to 10 hours. Plug into a Level 3 fast-charger and you’re looking at a 10-to-80 per cent top-up in half an hour, albeit at 190 kW. Good luck finding one that fast in the real world.
Yes, the dual-motor, all-wheel-drive Lyriq is fast. It doesn’t quite do the insta-torque thing from a dig, but it’ll keep you pinned to the seats in a stoplight drag race, and unlike the Mustang Mach-E GT, it doesn’t run out of breath on the highway. Even then, that’s not the Lyriq’s MO. Sure, it corners well, staying surprisingly flat and delivering heaps of grip when you carry a bit of extra speed into your favourite on-ramp. But once you’ve cleared that on-ramp, the Lyriq is happiest just chilling. Despite the dubs and rubber-band tires, it’s extremely cushy, soaking up all but the harshest of bumps and potholes. It’s also well-isolated from wind and road noise; factor in the lack of an engine, and the Lyriq is nothing if not serene.
Is the 2025 Lyriq worth it?
The least expensive way to get into a 2025 Cadillac Lyriq is $67,499 for the base, rear-wheel-drive configuration. If you have eyes for something a little more dressed-up like our range-topping Sport 3 tester, you’re looking at $85,189 as-tested. That’s decent value among two-row EV SUVs; it’s about 10-grand more than a loaded Mustang Mach-E, but then again, this is a Cadillac. To that end, it does undercut the BMW iX and Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV by a fair bit while feeling just as luxe and well-built if not more so, especially compared to the Benz.
On top of all that, the 2025 Cadillac Lyriq is just really friggin’ nice. It’s quick, handles well, and looks great inside and out. It’s also fairly easy to live with in terms of range and charging, and the damn thing practically drives itself through rush-hour traffic. If this is what we can expect from stuff like the Optiq and Vistiq, then we’re here for it.
