Everything We know About 2025 Cadillac Optiq

Today, we’re looking into the all-new 2025 Cadillac Optiq, a midsize two-row EV from Cadillac that I recently had the pleasure of exploring in Los Angeles. The Optiq is Cadillac’s response to the growing demand for electric vehicles (EVs), offering a smaller and more affordable alternative to the Cadillac Lyriq.

If you’ve been eyeing the Cadillac XT5 but want to switch to electric, the Optiq might just be what you’re looking for. Let’s take a detailed look at what this exciting new model has to offer.

2025 Cadillac Optiq Exterior Design

First, let’s take a look around the outside. You’ll notice that we have the distinctive sort of waterfall-style headlights, full LEDs, of course, that we see in other Cadillac models. We have another distinctive digital grille setup in this model, but obviously a little bit different than the Lyriq.

They really want to differentiate these two products. The Lyriq isn’t just more expensive and a little bit larger; it’s going to be a little bit more elegant and slightly different in shape as far as the exterior design goes. There are also going to be some differences as far as the drivetrain goes.

This is going to have a 10-module Ultium battery pack, so 89 kWh. It is going to be all-wheel drive standard, although the more powerful electric motor is going to be in the front, not in the rear. So, over 300 lb-ft of torque, 288 horsepower total. It’s a little bit less than we find in the Lyriq, and at least for the moment, there’s not going to be a two-wheel drive version.

You can see back here we get the latest Cadillac badging, 450 E4. 450 is the number of Newton meters that the system will put out, rounded up to the nearest 50. You can see the design is very Cadillac, but they have split the taillights, so we don’t get the single large taillight module that we find in some other Cadillacs out there. But we do get a lot of additional styling elements inside these modules.

For instance, these little stripes here, and those combine with the stripes on the sides. Everything ties together nicely, and there are a lot of light pipes going on, really helping dress things up. Just check out these taillight modules in the back with a sort of honeycomb-like multi-layer light strip.

That is a really cool touch back here. Cadillac says that dimensionally this is very close to the XT5, but clearly, the roofline is a little bit lower. It’s not actually as much lower as I thought, though. It’s less than an inch height difference between the two models.

Let’s check out the tires here. These are 275/40 R21 tires on 21-inch wheels. Definitely a pretty unique design right there. Going in for a closer look on the inside, you can see that we have pop-out door handles like that. Sorry, it’s a little bit difficult to do them with my wrong hand as I’m holding the camera.

2025 Cadillac Optiq Interior Design

The interior design is very much in keeping with the rest of the Cadillac lineup. You’ll notice one interesting touch right here at the top of the steering wheel. We are going to get Cadillac Super Cruise standard on the Optiq. Cadillac is going in a slightly different direction with this vehicle than some of their others.

They’re making a lot of stuff standard. There are only going to be two trim levels to begin with: a sport and a luxury trim. They’re going to come very well equipped in both models, and part of that standard equipment is going to be this enormous single LCD running across the dashboard.

Unlike some vehicles that have a big display in the dash, this is not two separate screens. This is actually one screen that runs all the way from one side to the other, and what looks like a seam in the middle is not a separation between displays. That is simply the way the software has been designed.

2025 Cadillac Optiq Technology and Features

Speaking of the software, obviously this is going to be very similar to what we find in the Lyriq, but there are some important changes. One of those important changes is on the phone side. We don’t get smartphone projections, so no Apple CarPlay, no Android Auto here.

This is part of GM’s new direction for their electric vehicles. A lot of folks have been asking about this. This is simply related to the electric vehicle lineup. If you get a gasoline Cadillac or gasoline Chevy product, they’re going to still get Apple CarPlay for the foreseeable future.

But on the EV side, if you want to navigate, you’re going to have to use the factory navigation. You can see it requires a device subscription because, of course, it is all internet-connected. But with this display, you can use this entire screen, including that cutout section there, for your mapping interface.

That’s a really cool touch, and the display is really snappy. It has a lot of clean touches there. Interestingly, it’s not the only touch section over here. The left side of the display, it’s a little bit difficult to show you there because it is so large, is also touch-enabled. That’s where we’re going to get a bunch of different features. I’ll show you that in just a second.

But before we get to that, let’s talk about the ambient lighting. Ambient lighting strips are going to be all around the vehicle. We have some in this little section there, some ambient lighting down below. We have the same sort of toggle controls for the climate control that we find in other Cadillac models, but we find recycled materials in here. They’ve been very proud of this.

Apparently, these are recycled yarn materials, etc. So, lots more recycled content than we’ve seen before, and some premium touches as well. That fabric goes all the way from the doors all the way up there to the dashboard, right there across the dash, and then it goes across the dashboard on the passenger side right around that glove compartment.

That is an electronic latch for that glove compartment. The button is right over here in the screen, and I was happy that they included that because a lot of EVs where they’re trying to go for a really slim dash design end up deleting the glove compartment. But here they’ve kept that really slim design with the glove compartment, which is a nice touch.

Over here on the doors, you’ll notice we have controls for the seat massage, the lumbar support, the rest of the seat controls there, seat heating and ventilation, and memory for both the driver and the front passenger on those seats. Now, sorry about that.

I’m trying to sit in the back seat at the same time. I don’t have too much time with this vehicle, but we have two big cup holders here, more of that recycled material on the center console, and then the Cadillac infotainment controller. This appears to be slightly refined versus what we’ve seen in some other Cadillacs.

I have to say I like the look and the feel of that, but I’m not the biggest fan of these roller-style volume controls. The general dashboard design is somewhat similar to the Lyriq, but as you can see, instead of the powered storage area there in the middle, we have an open storage area all the time with the ambient lighting, some USB-C ports right there.

That’s definitely a little bit more cost-effective than that power drawer. And then we get a very large storage area just under that. So, you can see the fabric section right there on the center console and that big fabric or, I guess, a carpet-coated area right there under that floating center console. Definitely lots of storage going on in here.

2025 Cadillac Optiq Rear Seat and Cargo Space

Moving back down that center console to the rear, we find big air vents here in the back. I’m sitting right here in the middle seat. We have heated outboard seats, USB-C charge ports there, and as you can see, plenty of legroom. I’m sitting here in the back seat with those front seats comfortably adjusted. I have quite a lot of legroom left.

Cadillac won’t say exactly what the competition is for this vehicle, but they have said this is going to have some of the largest legroom figures in the segment. It’s definitely cut down in this center seat position because even though this moonroof doesn’t open, it has a powered shade, and that is a feature that I really, really love.

Moving over here to the outboard seat, I do get a little bit more headroom, but it is still a little bit more limited than I had expected. You will find a little bit more second-row room in something like the Cadillac Lyriq or the Acura ZDX, which I would actually say is probably going to be a very direct competitor to this Cadillac. And of course, it is also a related vehicle because it’s also riding on the GM Ultium platform.

2025 Infiniti QX80 Roof and Door Design

Here’s a better look at the power shade that closes off this big glass roof. This is one of the reasons that we have limited headroom in the rear. The other reason, of course, is simply the sexy styling back here. Moving down to the doors for just a second, you can see the ambient lighting right there integrated into that speaker grille.

We have an AKG audio system, and here’s a better look at this enormous sheet of glass in the front. Now, in a bit of contrast to the rear seat headroom, front seat headroom is very generous in here. You can see at 6 feet tall with the seat bottom cushion not completely on the ground, I have several inches left. And in this seating position, the glass definitely makes this look airy.

Of course, it is a power shade, which is something that I really appreciate. So, if you don’t want all that sunlight shining right there on your head, you can actually power that closed. It’s a pretty big sheet of glass, so it does take a while to close off, but I really appreciate that feature.

Driver’s Seat and Controls

Jumping into the driver’s seat, we find the familiar Cadillac logo on a steering wheel that’s a little bit different than some of the other Cadillac models. It has some physical buttons for things like the adaptive cruise control over there, volume up/down, and some settings on that screen, and then some touch buttons with haptic feedback for other system functions like media selection, the voice command, track forward/backward, the heated steering wheel, Super Cruise enable/disable, etc.

These are all touch buttons, but the steering wheel gives you haptic feedback on that. Again, you’ll find that display for the Super Cruise system that is standard right there at the top of the steering wheel.

We have a single paddle on the back for regeneration and the same sort of stocks and shifter that we find in other Cadillac vehicles. Not just the Ultium vehicles, but actually, we’re seeing that spread across other vehicles in the General Motors lineup.

LCD Display

Now, the big LCD over here on the driver’s side does require a little bit of explanation. You’ll notice that the steering wheel obviously covers some portion of that display, and that’s why as I cycle through the various different options for that large LCD, you notice that most of them do leave some blank space on either side for the various functions.

We have more of a driver-assistant-centric view right there, a clean view, there’s also a moving map display view that’s going to be coordinated with the moving map display in the center, or more of a traditional gauge look. And then on this side, you can see again ambient lighting there and similar button modules to what we find in the Cadillac Lyriq.

Also similar to the Lyriq is the door latch mechanism on the inside. It’s a pull-up right there on that door panel. Although these look like the manual handles you find on a Tesla and some other vehicles, they’re in fact powered and they will pop out automatically based on the presence of the key in your pocket.

They’re also going to retract over time, so that way it gives it a cleaner look. But you can also open it manually by pushing it at the edge there, just as you saw me do earlier.

Cargo Area

Behind the power hatch, we find a large and very square cargo area. This is definitely differently dimensioned than many EVs, where the dimensions tend to be fairly low as far as the vertical height and rather long.

This is going to be a bit more cargo practical, especially for some of those larger roller bags or if you want to do some home improvement and get boxy items in the back, like say picking up a barbecue from Home Depot. Under the floor, there’s some extra storage space, and you can lower this floor into a lower position if you want to gain that extra cargo height.

You can also raise it up so that way it’s level with the cargo area opening. Now, if I take a look back under there a second time, you’ll notice we have this relatively deep cargo well here. That’s where we have the charge cord for the vehicle because we don’t have a front trunk.

Pretty much every vehicle in the Ultium lineup except for the pickup trucks lacks a front trunk, and that’s because General Motors decided to push all those electronics further forward in the vehicle to try and maximize the cargo area in the back.

Second-Row Seats

Now, taking a closer look at the second-row seats, you’ll notice they fold in a 60/40 fashion. The latch is right there on the seat back itself, and a touch that I do appreciate is that the shoulder belt for the center position comes out of the seat itself rather than out of the ceiling. We have top tether anchors for all three seating positions but just latch anchors for the outboard.

So, if there’s no front trunk, what is there under the hood? Well, that’s where all of the charge electronics, the front electric motor, etc., that’s where they all live, and of course, the heating and ventilation system for the vehicle itself.

Charging Capabilities

Now, speaking of charging, we have some interesting touches up here. You’ll notice that behind this power charge door, we find the CCS charge connector. General Motors has committed themselves to the J34 standard. Some folks call that NACS, but J34 is subtly different.

We will find that in calendar year 2025 natively on the vehicle, but it’s not going to happen at launch for the Optiq. Now, what’s interesting about this is actually the charger that you can’t see under the hood.

There are going to be two different ones available. You’ll be able to charge this Level 2 at 11 kW or 19 if you choose the optional AC charger. For me, at least, that’s actually a bit more important than the ACS or J34 connector because most people are going to be charging this on Level 2 for the most part.

They’re going to be charging this at home or they’re going to be charging at the office, and that 19 kW charger means this is going to charge about twice as fast as any of the competition in reality.

Now, if you do want to DC fast charge it, it’s going to take about 10 minutes to get 70 miles of range. The current peak for this battery pack is going to be around 150 kW, but they’re saying it should maintain that for quite a long time.

Range and Pricing

We don’t have final range specifications for the Optiq just yet, but they’ve said this should be around 300 miles of range. Again, remember that that all-wheel-drive setup is standard. If you want to get your hands on the new Optiq, head down to your Cadillac dealer soon because these are going to be on sale Fall of 2024.

We don’t have complete pricing information yet, but we know it’s going to start around $54,000, and it’s going to come very well equipped for that base price. Obviously, expect the top-end trims to be more expensive, but you don’t need to work up the ladder to get any of the active safety systems because those are all going to be standard, and Super Cruise is also going to be standard on every model.

That’s an important differentiator between this and really all of the competition because even vehicles that offer systems like Super Cruise, and I wouldn’t say they’re the equal of Super Cruise but they’re similar, it’s usually optional, and on this, it’s going to be standard.

Super Cruise is really a standout system as far as hands-free driving assistance in North America goes.

Competition

Now, speaking of the competition, what exactly is the competition? Well, I will let all of you decide, but very clearly, you could consider this a discount alternative to the Cadillac Lyriq. The interior dimensions are actually somewhat similar. The Lyriq has a longer hood and a larger proportion.

It has some nicer interior components, but it’s also going to be more expensive. The Acura ZDX likewise is more expensive than this in some trims, and remember, it’s actually a General Motors EV under the skin. It just happens to be styled by Acura, but it is very much the same thing as what we see here.

I do like the interior styling of this, however, better than the Acura model. You can also take a look at the Lexus EV or the Genesis GV70. Those are going to be very direct competitors to this. The GV70, though, is not a dedicated platform EV, and even though it has the benefit of their 800-volt native hardware, the structure of the vehicle doesn’t have the benefit of being a ground-up EV.

You’ll notice that mostly in the interior dimensions. It is not as roomy as it could be on the inside, and it still has a transmission hump in the rear because it’s based on the regular GV70.

Conclusion

Let me know what you think about all that down there in the comments section below and what you would be cross-shopping against the Cadillac Optiq. Obviously, there is the elephant in the room, which is the Model Y from Tesla. We will probably be seeing some updates to that Model Y very soon.

The Model Y could be less expensive than this, but remember that this also is going to qualify for federal tax credits in North America, and that has also been one huge advantage of the Ultium platform over a lot of the competition. If you’re leasing your EV, it’s not going to make much of a difference, but if you are buying your EV, this is going to qualify for a tax credit.

The Lexus won’t, the Genesis won’t, etc., so that could make a big difference in terms of affordability. Let me know what you think about that down there, and of course, stay tuned because we will have a first drive review of this just as soon as we can get our hands on it. See all of you later.