The 2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ Pairs Electric Excess With Some Surprises

Nobody is going to accuse the 2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ of being subtle. The automaker's first all-electric, full-size SUV comes bearing a huge battery, huge performance, huge 450-mile range estimate, and a huge $130,000 price tag. Then again, considering just how important the Escalade is to Cadillac, it's no surprise that they're pulling out all the stops.

As a nameplate, it's now a quarter-century old, with more than a million global sales under its belt. One in every three vehicles sold in the luxury full-size SUV segment is an Escalade, Cadillac boasts. Whether you associate them with rap videos, "was that a celebrity?" limousine service, or simply school run duties for those who demand lavish to-go with their three-row scale, there's no question that Escalade has carved out a niche of its own.

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That's a whole lot of legacy for the Escalade IQ to consider, and interestingly enough, Cadillac has only kept part of it. A blank-sheet design process gave some headroom for what will be one of the automakers two electric flagships, as it transitions its full portfolio to EV by the end of the decade. 

For General Motors, meanwhile, it's another opportunity to show how its Ultium platform can deliver gas-shaming performance — just as long as you're willing to pay handsomely for the huge batteries that huge EVs like this demand.

No Escalade is small, but the 2025 Escalade IQ is particularly vast. A full 224-inches long, 94-inches wide, and 76-inches tall, it manages to make the standard 24-inch wheels and their whopping 35-inch tires look normal. Anything smaller would look ridiculous in the three-row SUV's outsized arches.

Just how recognizable it is as an Escalade, mind, is a bigger question. Aerodynamics and the general smoothing that an EV requires is almost certainly to blame there, with Cadillac saying the Escalade IQ has a roughly 15% lower coefficient of drag than previous models. The grille is now blacked-out plastic, flanked with upright lamps, and the whole thing has multiple LED elements which animate in welcome and goodbye patterns.

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From the side, it's the rear detailing and the sloping roofline that stand out as the most obvious departure from classic Escalade styling. At the rear, Cadillac has divided its upright lamp clusters: they still run from the lower bumper and up the sides of the glass, but now sheet-metal interrupts them.

Under it all is GM's Ultium platform, as we've already seen underpin GMC's Hummer EV pickup and SUV. For the 2025 Escalade IQ, that means two electric motors — one front, one rear, for all-wheel drive — normally delivering an estimated 680 horsepower and 615 pound-feet of torque. Switch to Velocity Max mode, however, and those figures get bumped up to 750 horsepower and 785 pound-feet of torque.

Just as we saw on the Hummer EV pair, a vast battery pack is required in order to keep a vast EV moving. In this case, it's a 200+ kWh, 24-module battery, from which Cadillac estimates the Escalade IQ will drive for over 450 miles on a single charge.

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With 800-volt DC fast charger support, 10 minutes plugged in could add up to 100 miles of range, Cadillac suggests. Plug in at home, meanwhile, and the included 7.7 kW charger is a little more humble: less than 15 miles added per hour plugged in. With a 19.2 kW 240V Level 2 charger, you're looking at around 37 miles per hour of charging.

Cadillac promises that actually using that power should be more fun than you might expect from the Escalade IQ's apartment block dimensions. 0-60 mph will arrive in an estimated sub-5 seconds, the automaker says, and there'll be up to 8,000 pounds of towing capacity.

Four-wheel steering is standard, with the rear wheels turning up to 10-degrees to either reduce the turning circle — to 39.4 feet — or to improve stability during high-speed maneuvers. SLA suspension front and rear gets air springs — for up to two inches of lowering from the standard 6.9 inches of ground clearance, or one inch of lift — and MagneRide dampers. 

An OTA update will deliver the optional "Cadillac Arrival Mode," allowing the Escalade IQ to crab-walk diagonally in and out of tight parking spaces, while "Low Ride Mode" will let it drive at low speeds at the lowest possible suspension setting.

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Super Cruise will be fitted as standard for hands-free driving on pre-mapped divided highways, along with a three-year service subscription. Blind zone steering assist and intersection automatic emergency braking will also be standard, along with a 360-degree camera, automatic parking assistance, and front pedestrian/cyclist braking.

Inside, Cadillac certainly hasn't been shy when it comes to fitting screens. There are elements both of the Lyriq and the Celestiq EVs here, with familiar switchgear and styling flourishes. A total of 55-inches of display spans the dashboard — 35-inches for the driver, and 20-inches for the front passenger — with a new infotainment system powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon and an integrated 5G connection.

A cantilevered center console adds an 11-inch touchscreen interface for media and other settings, as well as dual wireless phone chargers, while underneath it is a larger storage space for a handbag or purse. A 40-speaker AKG Studio Reference audio system is available: 36 and 19-speaker versions come with other packages and trims. 126-color ambient lighting is standard; illuminated trim is optional, with laser-etched patterns on the wood and speaker grilles.

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Cadillac has used a new, two-spoke steering wheel design, while a panoramic glass roof — covering the first and second rows — is standard. Power open-and-close automatic doors are also available, with the driver's door optionally opening as soon as someone holding the key fob approaches.

The second row is arguably the place to be in the Escalade IQ, assuming you've opted for the Executive Second-Row Seating Package. That upgrades the dual captain's chairs with massage functionality, and adds 12.6-inch displays, a rear command center screen, dual wireless phone charging, USB-C and HDMI ports, and stowable tray tables.

By the time you reach the third row, things are looking a little more snug. There's room, officially, for three back there. Or, the seats can power-fold flat, expanding the standard cargo volume from 23.7 cubic-feet with all seven seats in place to 69.1 cubic-feet with the third row down. Fold the second row, and that expands to 119.2 cubic-feet.

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At the front, there's a sizable 12.2 cubic-foot trunk — or, as Cadillac is calling it, an "eTrunk" — accessed via the power hood. It's a wide, long, but relatively shallow space, which the automaker says can hold two golf bags. A 400W, 120V outlet is accessible in there, but more mundane matters like windshield fluid washer bottles and other maintenance-focused parts are hidden under plastic cowls.

Cadillac expects the Escalade IQ to start at around $130,000 when it goes on sale — a healthy uptick over the regular Escalade that kicks off at $81K, but less than the $150K Escalade-V. There'll be Luxury and Sport trims, distinguished in part by whether they have bright or dark exterior and interior metal trim. Seven exterior colors will be offered, and a black-painted roof option for two-tone finishes.

Clearly, this isn't the EV that will get the mainstream out of their internal combustion vehicles and onboard with electrification. Then again, the Escalade range has never been about mass-market transportation. For Cadillac, it's part of a showcase of how EVs needn't dilute the reasons that have made the brand popular. For GM as a whole, it's a further halo for Ultium, as we wait with narrowing patience for more affordable vehicles to use the well-marketed platform.

2025 Escalade IQ production is expected to begin in GM's Factory ZERO Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Center in Michigan in summer 2024.