Not your grandpa’s car – the 2023 Cadillac Lyriq, tested

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A Cadillac Lyriq parked in front of some Utah countryside.
Enlarge / The Cadillac Lyriq is the first expression of the future of the classic American luxury brand as an electric car manufacturer.

Jonathan Gitlin

PARK CITY, UTAH – They say – rightly so in my opinion – that nothing focuses the mind like a deadline. I’m not sure what the amplifying factor is when that deadline suddenly shrinks by nine months, as it did with Cadillac’s new Lyriq, but the result is a hugely competent new battery-electric SUV.

As we’ve reported in the past, General Motors is at the beginning of an electrification plan that it hopes will eliminate tailpipe emissions from its vehicles by 2035. Key to this is a family of batteries and electric motors (dubbed the Ultium) for everything from large body-on-frame trucks to small crossovers. We’ve actually tested a few early Ultium-based BEVs – the bombastic Hummer EV truck and the BrightDrop Zevo 600 van. Both tend to be niche applications, but the Lyriq is much more mainstream given America’s love of SUVs.

At launch, the Lyriq will be available in a single engine, rear-wheel drive configuration, with a dual engine, all-wheel drive version due out in early 2023. The RWD Lyriq uses a 340 hp (255 kW), 325 lb-ft (440 Nm) version of the Ultium Drive motor powered by a 102 kWh lithium-ion battery pack.

A full size model of the AWD Lyriq powertrain showing the battery and front and rear motors. The Lyriq needs half as many lithium-ion cells as the Hummer EV to achieve about the same range.
Enlarge / A full size model of the AWD Lyriq powertrain showing the battery and front and rear motors. The Lyriq needs half as many lithium-ion cells as the Hummer EV to achieve about the same range.

GM designed Ultium batteries to be highly modular, with each module having its own battery management system (which communicates wirelessly with the car). In the case of the Lyriq, 12 modules (and 288 cells total) are used, compared to the Hummer EV’s massive 24-module package. But the Lyriq is lighter, less powerful, and more aerodynamic than that big truck, allowing it to achieve an EPA range of 312 miles (502 km). (For more details on the Lyriq’s powertrain, enjoy our interview with GM’s head of EV powertrain a few years ago.)

Not that the Lyriq is exactly tiny — at 196.7 inches (4,996mm) long and 86.9 inches (2,207mm) wide (with its mirrors) it’s the right size for US roads. However, Cadillac’s designers and engineers did a pretty good job of packaging the batteries without making the 63.9-inch (1,623mm) SUV look unnaturally large. The 121.8-inch (3,094 mm) wheelbase means plenty of interior space for both front and rear occupants. But it’s definitely not a featherweight, tipping the scales at 5,610 lbs (2,545 kg).

I try not to waste too much time discussing a car’s looks given how subjective that is. But in my eyes, the Cadillac designers did a good job here, with some interesting touches like the light panels in lyrics nose and the treatment around the tailgate, which a colleague pointed out is reminiscent of the Cadillac Seville’s busy back. We don’t have a drag coefficient for the Lyriq yet, but it’s clear that aerodynamics was a design priority, with air deflectors at the front and low-drag treatments on the SUV’s alloy wheels.

An EV is definitely easier to pack than an SUV, but the Lyriq avoids looking too big.
Enlarge / An EV is definitely easier to pack than an SUV, but the Lyriq avoids looking too big.

Jonathan Gitlin

The interior is similarly impressive, especially for those of us who remember how lackluster GM interiors used to be. The most striking feature is the 33-inch display that curves around the driver. Unlike other large infotainment screens we’ve seen recently, this is a single screen, not multiple panels bonded under glass, Cadillac told us.

It’s structured similarly to the three-screen system in the Cadillac Escalade, with three zones – a small touch-sensitive multifunction area to the left of the driver, the main cluster for the driver (which can be configured to show a display, a map or even very minimal information (speed, battery level) if you don’t want to be distracted.The right side of the screen is touch-sensitive, but can also be controlled with the rotary controller on the center console.

The infotainment runs the Android Automotive operating system, although the user interface will be relatively familiar if you’ve used a more recent version of Cadillac’s infotainment in other vehicles. Wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are both supported, and this is the first implementation of either I’ve used that can project directions from your phone onto the map in front of the driver, rather than just appearing in the Android Auto or CarPlay window the infotainment side of the screen. The power of Android Automotive means you get excellent voice recognition too.