2024 Cadillac Lyriq review: Setting the stage
RRP 58,590.00 USD
“It’s great to see the Cadillac Lyriq as a vehicle that doesn’t require additional money to be spent on options to increase range.”
Per
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Slim design
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Comfortable interior
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Solid range
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Still has CarPlay
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Helpful driver assistance functions
Disadvantages
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A bit expensive
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Slow charging
While Ford, Hyundai and Kia were relatively quick to move to electrification in at least some of their vehicles, others were not quite as quick. Cadillac, for example, waited a while and only announced the Cadillac Lyriq in 2020 as a 2023 model year. Early in the Lyriq’s life cycle, it was incredibly difficult to get hold of the car, and even now there are supply issues, though they are slowly improving.
The Lyriq is more than just Cadillac’s first electric car. Like so many other automakers, Cadillac took the opportunity to launch its first electric car to introduce a new design language that represents Cadillac’s vision for the future. In addition, the Lyriq offers new technologies and features that make driving a Cadillac more modern than ever before.
Now that it’s been on the road for just over a year, how does the Lyriq fare in an increasingly competitive electric vehicle market? I recently had the opportunity to drive the Cadillac Lyriq Sport 3 for a week to find out.
Design and interior
As mentioned, Cadillac introduced a new design language for its electric vehicles with the Lyriq. To be clear, the Lyriq does feature design elements from previous Cadillac cars. For example, it has the large Cadillac grille at the front, although the Lyriq’s is a faux grille and not a real one. It also has the vertically aligned headlights that have become a hallmark of Cadillac design. I really like the overall look of the Lyriq, even with the faux grille. I drive a white model and the black and white look is nice.
The rear of the vehicle is equally interesting. It has angled taillights that run down from the back of the roofline and then curve around the rear of the vehicle. The two sides don’t quite meet in the middle to form a full light bar, but it’s still a sleek and modern look.
The interior of the vehicle is also great. It looks luxurious and modern and is not too kitsch, which is always nice to see in cars that are supposed to be luxury vehicles. The Lyriq has sturdy and soft-to-the-touch leather upholstery, under which you can find seat heating, seat cooling and massage functions. Again, the seats are very comfortable.
The Lyriq also offers plenty of room for most people. There’s plenty of room in the second row of seats, and you get a large, open trunk that I think offers plenty of room for large items like a stroller. The trunk has 28 cubic feet of cargo space, which is a solid amount.
Ultimately, design is a subjective thing, but I really like the look of the Lyriq and find the interior to be comfortable and luxurious. It’s not over the top, but it’s definitely premium.
Technology, infotainment and driver assistance
The Lyriq not only offers a new design, it is also packed with technology that makes the driving experience more modern and comfortable.
The star of the show is the large display at the front that stretches across the dashboard. This display combines the instrument monitor and infotainment screen, and even offers a touch panel on the far left that allows the driver to customize what is displayed on the instrument panel. For example, you can switch between the instrument panel with map functions, driver assistance functions, or simply instrument displays. It’s a nice approach, although I suspect most people will choose their favorite view and stick with it without having to constantly access those settings.
The software experience with the Lyriq isn’t terrible, but it’s not incredible either. The software in the second-generation Rivian R1S I recently drove is far superior to what the Lyriq offers. That’s a bit of a shame because, as a GM company, Cadillac is slowly moving away from offering CarPlay, although the Lyriq I drove still had CarPlay built in. The software is laid out similarly to a phone, with buttons to access most of the major functions arranged in a grid. There’s also a quick-access menu bar at the bottom of the screen that lets you switch between things like maps, music, and vehicle information. I found the software to be quite responsive compared to other vehicles, though still not as responsive as that of a Tesla or Rivian.
Thankfully, there are some features that aren’t built into the screens, like climate control. Cadillac has resisted the urge to cram fan speed and temperature controls into software, and you still get physical paddle shifters that are easy to control without taking your eyes off the road. It’s a safer and more convenient approach, and I hope others follow suit and reverse the decision to put everything in software.
One of the Lyriq’s standout features is access to GM’s Super Cruise technology, which essentially allows hands-free driving on the highway. Super Cruise differs from basic adaptive cruise control in that it not only allows the vehicle to drive without the driver having to keep their hands on the wheel, but also offers advanced features like automatic lane changing, which the car performs when it’s stuck behind a vehicle traveling slower than the driver-set speed limit. I found it worked pretty well and was a little surprised the first time the car changed lanes on its own. Again, the feature really only works on highways, and only on select highways—you can’t activate it in a zone it’s not set up for. Other helpful driver-assist features include bird’s-eye parking views and true adaptive cruise control, which can be used in situations where the vehicle can’t use Super Cruise.
Driving experience
I found the Lyriq’s performance to be quite good overall. I specifically drove the Cadillac Lyriq Sport 3, the highest-end version of the Lyriq. While the Sport 3 offers design tweaks and some additional features compared to other versions, all iterations of the Lyriq have the same performance. The Lyriq is available in rear-wheel and all-wheel drive, and I drove a Lyriq with all-wheel drive.
The AWD Lyriq is very fast. The dual motor delivers 500 horsepower and can accelerate from 0-60 mph in around 4.6 seconds. While there are many faster electric cars, even after years of test driving, I still get a thrill when I step on the accelerator and experience that instant response and quick acceleration. Most drivers will find the car is more than quick enough for maneuvers like fast overtaking on the highway and quick acceleration on an on-ramp.
The Lyriq also offers excellent one-pedal driving options and, unlike some other modern vehicles, it remembers previous settings for the next time you start the car. This might not sound like a big deal, but it’s definitely an added convenience that EV drivers will appreciate. In many everyday driving situations, I found that I never actually had to touch the brake pedal in one-pedal driving mode.
In general, I found the Lyriq’s steering to be relatively responsive and in tighter corners the car felt smaller than it actually is. There wasn’t a lot of lean either. The suspension makes the ride comfortable and smooth, although it certainly doesn’t border on excessive softness and you still feel larger bumps when driving over them. This might make driving over rough terrain a little less comfortable than in other vehicles, but overall I found the Lyriq to be smooth.
Range and charging
The Lyriq’s range varies a little depending on whether you get an all-wheel or rear-wheel drive version – but not as much as you might expect. The rear-wheel drive Lyriq has a range of 314 miles, while the all-wheel drive configuration reduces that to 307 miles. It’s nice to see a vehicle that offers more than 300 miles of range in all configurations.
The Lyriq also charges reasonably quickly, though not as fast as the upcoming Cadillac Escalade IQ. The Lyriq maxes out at 190 kilowatts on a DC fast charger. The Lyriq’s charging curve seems a little different than some other EVs, and the car seems to take a little longer to fully charge than I would have liked. To get from 10% to 80% takes over 40 minutes, which is a bit slow. Essentially, that means that while the vehicle could reach 190 kW at some point during charging, it mostly charges much slower.
As with other electric vehicles, you should think carefully about how you want to charge the vehicle – ideally, you should charge it overnight at home.
How DT would configure this car
The Cadillac Lyriq is an excellent electric vehicle. It offers a sleek exterior, a luxurious interior, and solid range overall. Of course, it’s not cheap—it is a luxury vehicle, after all. Even for the base model of the car, you’ll pay $58,590. But if you’re willing to spend some money on a more luxurious crossover-sized electric car than, say, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6, you’ll love what the Cadillac Lyriq offers.
It’s great to see a vehicle that doesn’t require you to spend more money on range-enhancing options. The base model of the Lyriq is called the Cadillac Lyriq Tech and has the same range as other versions of the Lyriq. However, some people may want to spend the extra $4,000 to upgrade to the Cadillac Lyriq Luxury, which offers Super Cruise driver-assist technology, a better speaker system, seat ventilation and massage, and more. These are luxury items, of course, but the Lyriq is generally a luxury car, and if you want high-end features, it’s probably worth upgrading to the Lyriq Luxury.
Most people won’t need to spend the extra money on the Cadillac Lyriq Sport, which costs about $500 more and has only some minor design changes compared to the Luxury model. Many buyers will also want to upgrade to all-wheel drive, which adds another $4,000 to the price. The all-wheel drive Cadillac Lyriq Luxury starts at $66,190. The all-wheel drive Cadillac Lyriq Sport 3 we tested costs $74,815.
