Cadillac CT5 Reviews

A luxury, three-row, six-seat SUV that packs more punch than a Porsche 911? It must be an EV, and one with quite the battery and aggressive dual motors - meet the very large, very impressive-looking Cadillac Vistiq, coming to Australia in early 2026. We flew to Detroit for a preview drive.

American giant GM, which is in the midst of launching Cadillac as an EV-only brand in Australia, is determined to take on China, and win, when it comes to battery technology, announcing a new way of “layering” its batteries, which can reduce the number of cells by as much as 75 per cent, reducing both weight and cost.

Before I talk about how Super Cruise — the hands-off self-driving system that’s being used by hundreds of thousands of Americans every day in GM and Cadillac vehicles — almost killed me, I’d like to say how impressed I was by its work.

Cadillac has created a hand-made luxury EV with proportions that it admitted “look impossible to achieve”, a price tag that can run well north of $1 million, and an Active Roll Control system it claims can deliver “zero degrees of roll, which is better than any sports car out there”.

Australia and America used to be close allies on the automotive front, but it seems time is increasing the distance between the two countries.

General Motors Australia is running out of options.The American automotive giant has just introduced its third brand into the Australian market, with GMC now available here alongside Chevrolet and Cadillac. The new GMC Yukon Denali joins the Chevrolet Silverado and Corvette as well as the new Cadillac Lyriq in Australian showrooms. But it also represents one of the last new models the conglomerate could offer in Australia in the near-future.Put simply, there aren’t many other models in the broad General Motors portfolio that could make sense here. Cadillac has the most growth potential, with the Optiq, Vistiq and Lyriq V already confirmed for local sale. But despite introducing the GMC brand, it looks to be a one model brand.The challenge for GM Australia and its GM Speciality Vehicles off-shoot, which oversees Chevrolet and now GMC, is that while the Cadillacs and Corvettes are built in right-hand drive from the factory, there are no other such options available. That means anything else would need to be converted to right-hand drive locally, by GMSV’s partner Promoso; which now has 140 employees working on GM products.The obvious challenge with right-hand drive conversion is the cost it adds into the vehicle, which is why the more premium GMC brand was chosen for the Yukon SUV, rather than introducing the Chevrolet Tahoe - as both the Yukon and Tahoe sit on the same underpinnings as the Chevy Silverado. By opting for the more premium brand, it has allowed GM Australia to price and position the Yukon in a semi-premium area of the market.GM Australia Managing Director Jess Bala is still confident the brands have room to grow. ”I mean, we're always assessing what might make the most sense for our market from an opportunity standpoint, from within the GM portfolio,” she told CarsGuide.“So I would say that that work's never done. We're having discussions all the time. From a GMSV standpoint we've just agreed to open two more dealerships, one's already open in Springwood in Queensland.“So I was looking at those growth opportunities to allow us to maximize our own sales volume, but also provide the support that we think our customers should be getting in a country of our size and geography. So I'd say no, we’re still very much believers we're in a growth phase and working with the team back in the US as to what those other opportunities could be and should be.”However, there are not many other GM models available for right-hand drive conversion that could be offered here at a competitive price, besides the likes of the Tahoe and GMC Sierra pickup, which are simply alternative versions of what’s offered here already in the Yukon and Silverado.“ Definitely for conversion, a hundred per cent, you're a hundred per cent correct,” Bala said. “But we're always in conversations as GMs working through product plans and next generations and things like that. When and if there might be an opportunity to study right-hand drive in the plant. That depends . It's got to be a much bigger global study, obviously extensive business cases, things like that.“And then that's only part of it. And then if not, to your point, what could we look at potentially converting here? We're always working with Promoso very closely. They do a phenomenal job of finding efficiencies, cost savings and things like that. And then also learnings as they go.“So, you know, there are things that they've discovered and improved from converting the trucks that are now being flipped into the Yukon conversion as well, and finding efficiencies. Obviously it definitely helps that it's all the one architecture underneath, it's all off the T1 platform, but we're always assessing what else could be and what makes the right sense, especially in a very competitive and saturated market.”She added: “And to your point, from a conversion standpoint, it really doesn't make a lot of sense for us to bring in… a very mainstream model entry that's just gonna be priced higher when we're in so much heavy competition.”That effectively rules out any chance a vehicle such as the Chevrolet Colorado, the smaller sibling of the Silverado, which would make a natural rival to the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux, could be offered here as it would be much too expensive to be competitive after local conversion. ”It would,” Bala admitted. “Knowing where the, the two main players in the mid-size truck market are versus where we would end up if we had to convert it. We are better off as a company focusing on the full-size truck.”But she’s confident that long-term GM management will look after its Australian outpost.“ We have a very strong seat at the table and we've got some really great advocates back in the US that have learned a lot about us, have visited us in the last 18 months, two years to learn more about what we're doing and then what we could potentially do in the future,” she said.

General Motors Australia has conceded for the first time that it would consider introducing petrol-powered vehicles, most likely the Escalade SUV, if electric vehicle sales stay flat.

Cadillac has arrived in Australia, with this Lyriq the first in a fleet of new electric vehicles built in right-hand drive in the USA and shipped to our shores. It's big, lux and definitely has premium intentions, but it also goes up against the best of BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi in the battle for our well-heeled dollars.

Despite a global slowdown in EV sales, Cadillac is remaining bullish about its prospects in Australia.

Cadillac likes its chances in the Australian market.Before commencing deliveries of its electric Lyriq SUV and its high-performance sibling, the Lyriq V, the all-American brand has gone and announced two new SUVs for its Australian line-up.Poised to land on our shores in 2026, the Optiq and Vistiq electric SUVs will serve as two luxury electric SUVs on either side of its middle-of-the-road Lyriq.The Optiq will be the brand’s entry point, Cadillac said, while the full-sized, seven-seat Vistiq will resemble the closest thing Australia has ever had to an Escalade.Pricing for either models is yet to be determined, but we do expect a starting price of near the $100,000 mark for the Optiq and closer to $140,000 for the Vistiq, based on the Lyriq’s local starting price of $117,000 and the Lyriq V’s estimated price of $125,000 (both at before on-road costs).The Optiq lines up at 4820mm long, 2126mm wide and 1644mm tall, making it the smallest electric Cadillac model to date.It still exceeds the Tesla Model Y, BYD Sealion 7 and more luxurious models such as the BMW iX3 and Genesis GV70 in size.It comes equipped with dual electric motors for an all-wheel drive setup and an output of 224kW/480Nm available from the pedal.An 85kWh battery provides 482km of range, while 150kW DC fast-charging capability can add up to 130km range in ten minutes, the brand claims.Inside, it carries a 33-inch LED 9K display for the driver's instruments and the car's multimedia functions. It has Google Built-in, a 19-speaker AKG audio system with Dolby Atmos, heated front seats and steering wheel, synthetic leather seats and a fixed glass roof.Over to the Vistiq, it lines up at 5222mm, 2203mm wide and 1804mm tall, giving it additional room for a third row.That will make it one of the largest EVs on the Australian market, exceeding rivals such as the Volvo EX90, BMW iX and Hyundai Ioniq 9, while falling roughly 300mm shy of LDV's eTerron 9 ute, which will line up at 5500mm long when it lands here later this year.Underpinning the Vistiq is a dual-motor all-wheel drive setup that provides 452kW/880Nm on US-specified versions, although Cadillac hasn’t confirmed outputs for Australia just yet.A 102kWh battery pack delivers approximately 482km of range in the US, while the Vistiq is quoted with a staggering 3.7 second 0-98km/h sprint time, which is mighty impressive for a nearly 3-tonne beast.Inside it carries the same 33-inch touchscreen, which sits above an 8.0-inch display for climate control functions, of which the Vistiq has five-zones. Additionally, there is a 23-speaker Dolby Atmos sound system, optional 21-, 22- or 23-inch alloy wheels, along with carbon-fibre and real wood trims.Cadillac says supreme ride comfort is delivered via GM’s adaptive damping control which provides coil springs or air springs as customisable options.Both the Optiq and Vistiq will come equipped with Cadillac’s blind zone steering assist system, cyclist alert, forward collision alert and night vision, the latter of which uses infrared camera technology to give the driver better vision of cyclists and pedestrians at night.More details on Australian specifications, including prices, are expected closer to either models launch in 2026.