What's the difference?
Cadillac launched in Australia last year as an all-electric brand and its first offering was the Lyriq large SUV. It now has a follow up in the form of the Vistiq which has a similarly confusing name but is even larger.
With three rows of seating and an electric powertrain, it’s a key rival to the likes of the Hyundai Ioniq 9, Kia EV9 and Volvo EX90.
We’ve already had a spin of the Vistiq over in the USA but this is our first time on Australia soil, so let’s see how it stacks up.
Ford has given its Ranger ute range a mild facelift. And mild is the word. If you look closely, you might notice some small visual changes, but the real news is under the bonnet where a new entry-level powerplant lives.
And however you look at it, this new engine that addresses the ownership issues experienced by some Ranger buyers since the bi-turbo diesel engine was released back in 2018, was probably overdue.
But the new powerplant comes at a cost; in terms of power and torque, even though the vital towing statistics remain for the Ranger.
The other changes that come with this facelift include some new tech, and the availability of the V6 turbo-diesel (which is unchanged) across the entire Ranger 4X4 dual-cab line-up.
For this review, we’ve concentrated on the new engine as being the major point of difference, and we’ve driven it the base-version XL trim specification. That means this is potentially the lightest variant, and heavier specifications might blunt the performance a little. But overall, this is representative of the new powertrain and represents the biggest point of difference in what is otherwise a very minor facelift.
The Vistiq is a properly luxurious car that cleverly undercuts all the premium players. It has a flashy exterior with a generously equipped and spacious interior. Plus, it’s got enough oomph to move a small mountain.
Cadillac seems to be onto a winner with this car, especially at this price point. However, it will be interesting to see whether buyers of big SUVs like this are willing to make the jump to electric. The upper large SUV segment has been dominated by the Toyota LandCruiser and Nissan Patrol for decades now and I don’t see this changing anytime soon.
Our time with the new Ranger was limited in terms of distance driven and the number of variants we could sample. We were also unable to test the vehicle with a trailer attached, so we’re unsure as to how well the new, lower-powered engine will cope with towing duties.
We do know the new engine is being welcomed by owners and fleets who held concerns over the technical layout of the previous 2.0-litre powerplant, but only time will tell if the reduced performance is seen as being balanced by the technical upgrades.
We can also tell you there’s nothing inherently wrong with the new 2.0L in the context of normal driving on normal roads and its refinement is still an improvement on a lot of its competitors’ offerings.
Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with meals provided.