Cadillac is the second oldest continuously operating car company in the U.S., founded in 1902 by Henry Leyland – three years after Buick.

Within just a few years, Leyland’s car company had achieve many firsts, including the first electric starter in a production car in 1912 Model 30, a first mass-produced V-8 in 1915, the first independent front suspension in 1934; and in 2023, the first GM product crafted on its unique Ultium EV-only platform.

The Lyriq was ostensibly an SUV, but in reality it’s a fairly low, sleek and lush 5-door that really says “Cadillac.” It’s almost hard to believe that same Ultium platform is part of the GMC HUMMER EV, as well as the Chevrolet and GMC electric pickups, which are all pretty unique themselves.

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Now comes the performance version of the midsize Lyriq, and in our test vehicle’s stunning metallic red with serious performance rubber, it has serious presence. This Cadillac is massaged by its V division. That normally means a Corvette-derived, supercharged 6.2-liter V-8. But this is the first Cadillac EV to get the V treatment. That means the combined output of the base Lyriq’s twin motors is hiked from 515 hp/450 lb-ft of torque, to the V’s 615 hp/650 lb-ft if you select the most-power-for-your money setting.

You have Tour, Snow/Ice, Sport, My Mode, V-Mode – and Velocity Max, this last bringing all power and torque to the table while managing steering, suspension, power and braking for the quickest launch. Tour mode gave us 515 hp and a quick launch to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds. Passing power is mighty fine. I used Tour mode the most as it also gave us a comfortably taut ride and precise steering with decent feedback from the electric steering – plus the best range by backing off the power a bit.

But wait, there’s more. Launch Control in Sport mode. Hold the brake down, floor the throttle, and when you release the binders, twin motors deliver almost all power and torque to all four wheels with enough safety nannies to keep it straight. First, we did it in Competitive mode, which is accessed after tapping the V Mode button.

That saw this red rocket hit 60 mph in 3.6 seconds, the launch is immediate as all four wheels grab with no wheelspin. The EV drivetrain gave us an electronic whirring as we launched the EV motors.

Steering gained more feel and even more precision, while the suspension was taut enough that we felt the back side of speed bumps a bit. But there’s a wilder option – Velocity Max, which unleashes warp speed in Launch Control. Tap it on and a red line circles the entire display panel as you depress the brake and gas.

A screen says “Brake Harder,” then tells you to let off the binders as speakers emit a howling electric soundtrack for more instantaneous torque and a power dump. There’s no wheelspin or drama as we hit 60 mph in 3.2 seconds, as confirmed by an E/T readout. The G-Force display read an impressive .8Gs on launch. Oh yes, Cadillac estimates 3.3 seconds.

Cadillac’s V Division recalibrated the Continuous Damping Control, and lowered the suspension attached to those 22-inch tires. But at 5,890 pounds, and despite an almost 50/50 weight distribution, the Lyriq-V did understeer when pushed hard.

There’s a quicker steering ratio that even feels direct, with tight road feel in Competitive Mode. And in steady-state cornering, the V pulled a solid .9Gs, while most curves saw a very neutral .5Gs with no drama.

Upgraded 15.35-inch front brakes with Brembo calipers, and 13.6-inch rear discs helped bring the V to a halt quickly, with good stability and no fade after three back-to-back 60 mph stops. We also saw a very good 1G in braking power with minimal nose dive.

There’s SuperCruise autonomous driving too, which is straight and true most of the time on highways, with lane changes done after scanning blind spots when initiated by the driver.

The Lyriq-V has a 102 kilowatt-hour battery, with an EPA-estimated 285 miles of range if you keep it in Tour mode and drive sedately. We started with 88% charge and an estimated 254-mile range. We drove 124 miles in the first three days, half interstate, and had an estimated 107 miles of range left.

Cadillac says it will pull in up to 19 miles of range each hour on a 240 volt/7.7kW Level 2 charger, with a full charge in about 10 hours; a 19.2kW charger does up to 44 miles each hour, resulting in a full charge in 5 to 6 hours. At a Level 3 DC Fast Charger with 480 volts, it’s up to 75 miles of range in 10 minutes, while a 10% to 80% charge takes up to 40 minutes. Cadillac also supplies a NACS adapter so a Lyriq-V can use Tesla Superchargers.

We decided to recharge with Level 1 on our home garage’s regular household 120-volt outlet. Cadillac says that takes about 70 hours to fully recharge, delivering 3 to 4 miles of range per hour. We plugged it in for 15 hours the first night and gained 32 miles. Then came a week of 14-mile round trip commutes, and after about 14 hours each night, we went from about 50% to 60% battery level, gaining about 28 indicated miles of range each time. Despite driving in Tour most days, we used up 31 miles of range on average during each 14-mile commute, albeit with a tall bridge and a bit of interstate with no regen braking. Suburban stop-and-go and one pedal full regen braking saw us maintain range longer. But tap that V-Mode to make this Lyriq sing – its most fun mode – and range drops quicker.

The base Lyriq carries Cadillac’s new face for its EVs, and it is stunning, as we saw in EV Rider’s video drive of one, and our recent test of its Vistiq brethren. There’s a smooth, shield-shaped grille flanked by LED accents and vertically-stacked LED light bars with inboard vents. Lyriq-V adds more aggression with a black chrome accent bar atop the illuminated grill and big Cadillac emblem. The working side vents inboard of the headlights units seem bigger and more aggressive in gloss black. And you can’t miss the deeper lower front air intake with aggressive air dam below.

It is an aggressive, yet refined look that is like nothing else sharing this platform. And it seems to sit lower on its 22-inch Continental PremiumContact 6 performance tires on semi-gloss dark gray V-Series alloy wheels, big red Brembo brake calipers visible in front. The flanks get more black chrome sill accents.

There’s gentle sculpting along the doors with a rising line matched by the window sill under a low roofline that fades down at the B-pillars. It flows into a sloped rear window as an LED light bar rides down D-pillar/hatchback edges, then flows above a neat spoiler in black. The lower fascia’s aero goes gloss black.

The Lyriq-V is particularly handsome at night, its taillight LEDs framing the hatch as grille accents glow, both doing a progressive light show as you walk up. There’s also a small backlit Cadillac crest behind the navigation screen, a jewel-like glow from outside.  

In our test model’s Radiant Red Tintcoat, this V positively sizzled in the 95-degree Florida sunshine at a local classic car museum cruise-in, sitting long of wheelbase and low, with lots of enthusiasts asking about it.

Stepping inside the Lyriq-V allows one to slide into quilted, bolstered black leather bucket seats with white stitching and piping. It has embroidered V emblems and a myriad of power adjustments as well as gentle massage, heating and cooling. The seats are plush but nicely supportive.

You are surrounded by stitched black leather and matte silver accents as dark wood wraps around front seat occupants, ending with organic piercings to showcase just some of the AKG sound system’s 23 speakers, with some in the head restraints too.

Ergonomic power seat controls are near the door speakers, with heating and cooling buttons, dual memory presets, and a clumsy massage/lumbar support knob.

The driver faces a 33-inch curved glass screen, with a configurable gauge display that also showcases EV info, navigation and more.

To the left there are headlight and other touch icon buttons. The right has information displays including elapsed time counters when you put it all in Competitive mode. Then comes a wide-screen map that can show other information, even G-force and motor outputs. A row of climate control buttons – real buttons – live under a slim center air vent, with a slide-out drawer under that.

A floating center console hosts a chrome knob to control the center touchscreen main menu items. There’s an inductive phone charger slot, cup holders and a center storage area under the black leather armrest with a 12-volt outlet inside. The storage shelf under that is big, with a USB port and accent lighting.

With so much handled by touchscreen buttons left and right of the steering wheel, it sometimes means a tap or two to get into a menu for some climate control, drive mode or audio needs, or even the glove box. And while I like real metal inside vs. silver plastic, some controls and surfaces got hot in the Florida summer sun.

Access to the quilted black leather rear bench seat is easy, with very good head and leg room, and a long sunroof overhead should you want to stargaze. AKG speakers live in wood and alloy frames with heated outboard seats, climate controls, and more USB ports and 12-volt ports.

The hatch area has 28 cubic feet of storage, 60.8 if you power fold the split rear seats, and more room under the floor.

You can open the hatch by waving a toe through the petite Cadillac crest spot-lit on the ground. But do not look for a frunk. The bonnet can be opened, but Lyriq-V’s cooling systems and power electronics are there under a neat cover panel.

The base Lyriq starts at $78,595; our Lyriq-V starts at $83,795 with only a few options – final price of $86,690

Bottom line: There are no performance luxury SUV EVs this side of the pond – discounting some German and Italian stuff – that move out as well, and look so good doing it for a price under $90,000. But as quick as this EV sings, and how well it carries people and stuff doing it, the range is just shy of great compared to other Ultium-platform users, and it’s not super slick in handling – just good.  

2026 Cadillac Lyriq-V Specifications

Vehicle type – 4-passenger all-wheel-drive EV sports crossover
Base price $83,795 ($86,69 as tested)
Engine type – Dual motor w/12 Lithium-ion NCMA cathode, blended graphite anode battery modules and 102 kWh of useable battery energy
Horsepower (net) – 615
Torque (lb-ft) – 650
Transmission – direct drive
Wheelbase – 121.8 inches
Overall length – 197 inches
Overall width – 86.9 inches
Height – 64.1 inches
Front headroom – 38.6 inches
Front legroom – 44.3 inches
Rear headroom – 37.7 inches
Rear legroom – 39.6 inches
Cargo capacity – 28 cu. ft./60.8 w/2nd row foldedTowing capacity – up to 3,500 lbs.
Curb weight – 5,980 lbs.
Max estimated range – 305 miles
Mileage rating – 80-MPGe combined

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