Cadillac Reviews

When the Cadillac Lyriq launched in Australia, it was met with mixed opinions from the road testers of this publication. The style, the price, the apparent target market - question marks above the latter in particular. Would anyone bite?Now, Cadillac’s first EV in Australia has been updated and it brings a new model grade into the fold. This is the 2026 Cadillac Lyriq-V. The V denotes the American brand’s V-Series performance models, think of it like BMW’s M. What it means is the mid-size electric SUV now has the option of some bite, even if it lacks the bark, as well as a slightly more menacing look and some other little inclusions.Its dual-motor all-wheel-drive system boasts 459kW and 880Nm instead of ‘just’ 384kW/720Nm, useful for launching near-2.7 tonnes of US-sourced EV (built there in right-hand drive) to 100km/h in just 3.4 seconds.You’d expect to be paying a fair chunk for that then, especially given the Lyriq originally launched at more than $120,000 (though now $90,000). Not quite - Cadillac has managed to keep even the quicker version of the Lyriq under the six-figure mark at $99,000 before on-roads.One way it’s managed this is keeping a fairly identical specification between the Sport and the V when it comes to the features and interior.It shares a 92kWh Lithium-ion battery with the Sport grade, now the only other Lyriq available with the Luxury grade gone, though the extra power at hand in the V means a 471km WLTP range instead of the 503km in the Sport.Cadillac says with its 7.4kW AC charging you can add around 32km of range an hour, or 98km per hour of charging with three-phase 22kW AC charging.When using its max 130kW DC charging, ten minutes will add 107km of range, though the brand doesn’t supply a charge time for the standard 10-80 per cent charge. We’d estimate about half an hour.Inside, the inclusions run almost the same as the Sport:Electrically adjustable heated and ventilated front seats with massage functionHeated rear seatsNappa leather upholsteryHeated steering wheelAmbient interior lightingAcoustic windshieldTri-zone climate control 33.0-inch curved multimedia touchscreen with 9K capabilityRotary multimedia control23-speaker AKG sound system with Dolby Atmos3 USB-C portsWireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlayWireless phone chargingWhere it differs is one of the five drive modes - V-Mode with performance settings and launch control. There’s also a set of adaptive dampers rather than the passive single-mode set on the Sport, plus the brakes are painted red. Sporty!The styling also features darker 22-inch wheels instead of silver 21s, and body-colour trim instead of the Sport’s chrome. Of course, there’s V-badging and interior trim elements too.Black Nappa leather and a combination of chrome, silver and wood-style trim makes the Lyriq’s interior feel more classically upmarket than high-tech, but that seems to suit the brand.There’s a wide screen that incorporates the driver display and multimedia touchscreen which is low and doesn’t impact visibility while also fitting in nicely with the interior, plus there are plenty of physical buttons for controls including the climate and the multimedia. The latter includes a panel of buttons in the centre console and a scroll wheel, which feels like BMW or Mazda was the inspiration - not in any way a criticism as those systems were some of the best.There’s also a Dolby Atmos feature in the already excellent sound system, though the highest quality audio can only be accessed through the native Amazon Music app and not via a phone mirroring player, which is a shame.It shares the Sport’s set of safety features including the six airbags, a little on the low side for a car this size with no front-centre airbag, plus adaptive cruise with lane centering and lane-keep, intersection auto emergency braking (AEB), cyclist alert, front and rear park-assist and automatic park assist.It doesn’t have an ANCAP rating, but its advanced driver assist systems (ADAS) don’t interfere much so it’s a case of swings and roundabouts.The five-year/unlimited km warranty and free roadside assist period is five years, which is now about standard for a premium brand. There's also the usual extra warranty on the high-voltage battery, eight years or 160,000km, whichever comes first.Service intervals are a very comfortable 24 months or 24,000km, whichever comes first, but Cadillac’s servicing costs are case-by-case, with no published estimated pricing or capped-price offers.Essentially, despite a couple of missing pieces, Cadillac has fulfilled the premium brief of the Lyriq. But what about the performance brief of the V?A week behind the wheel including one long drive in the twisty surrounds of Melbourne revealed a car that’s a little more nuanced than expected.The standard Lyriq was already fairly brisk for a mid-size SUV at almost 2700kg with its 4.9sec sprint to 100km/h, but the extra power afforded to the V means people watching you take off from the lights are genuinely surprised, especially given the Cadillac’s luxury lean.The acceleration isn’t brutally instantaneous, not shoving you back into your seat as much as quickly spooling into play, and there’s a paddle for ‘regen on-demand’ which can be pulled as firmly as needed to engage the regenerative braking at the desired strength.The SUV’s weight comes into play during enthusiastic driving, but its adaptive suspension does a decent job of balancing comfort on rough roads with control in tight cornering. There’s less body roll and pitching than you might expect from something this comfortable on a highway drive, though the Lyriq-V is still not a super-focused sports car.

If you’re looking for an electric mid-sized SUV but don’t really want to drive another BYD, Geely or Zeekr just like everybody else seems to, then the Cadillac Optiq probably has your name all over it. Well, you’ll know if it does after you read this quick review. Yes, American brand Cadillac is back in Australia although you may not have missed it because it was the 1960s that the brand was here last. Now it’s back but this time with an all-electric line-up.Cadillac is General Motors' luxury sub-brand. Think Lexus to Toyota, only with way more history and a strong, glitzy show-biz connection. Elvis had more than 100 of them, although would he have an electric one today?So the Optiq is a little upmarket, a little bit luxurious even, but hoping to win over Aussies at a competitive price. Oh and yes that is Optiq with a “q”.In Australia the Optiq range consists of one grade and it lists for $80,000, before on-road costs. That prices it above many affordable, mainstream electric SUVs like the Geely EX5 or BYD Sealion 7 but not quite as high as the Mercedes-Benz EQB, Polestar 4 and BMW iX3. Instead the Optiq competes with the pricer end of Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 range, Skoda Enyaq and Zeekr 7X.Standout features include the 33-inch display which stretches from the centre of the dash to the driver’s side for media and the instrument cluster. The standard 19-speaker AKG stereo is excellent. The seats are heated up front and in the second row. The panoramic glass roof is expansive and opens, plus there’s a thick screen to close and keep the glare out.The Optiq has two electric motors - one at the front and the other at the rear - making this SUV all-wheel drive. The combined output of the motors is 224kW and 480Nm which isn’t huge especially considering its rather hefty 2379kg weight, so a 0-100km/h time isn’t outstanding for a sporty EV at 6.3 seconds.According to Cadillac the 75kWh battery provides 425km of driving range and energy consumption of 19.9kWh/100km.My own testing saw our car use slightly more at 21.2kWh/100km. The range is relatively normal compared to other EVs this size, as is the consumption.The Optic feels lower to the ground than most SUVs but also more solid and planted than a lot of its rivals. That said the steering feels heavy and acceleration isn't nearly as brisk as some rivals.But this is a super comfortable car - from the seats to the ride and dynamically, the Optiq is impressive for its weight and size.Adding to the serene driving experience is a super quiet cabin with active noise cancellation.A head-up display would make driving through Sydney’s ever-changing speed zones easier and the overly enthusiastic safety alerts are annoying - from the seat belt chimes the moment you get into the car to the driver distraction and speed warnings. The Optiq isn’t small at 4820mm end-to-end l but it is sleek rather than tall and boxy, and this reduces its cargo carrying ability.The boot is large at 744 litres, but the large sloping hatch means it’s deep rather than high. Oh and the Optiq is a five-seater only.Rear seats are comfortable and head and legroom is great back there, even for me at 189cm tall. Cabin storage is also impressive with big door pockets, a cleverly designed wireless phone charger, along with shelves and lots of storage under the floating centre console.So as a sleek and low SUV the Optiq is surprisingly practical. We lived with it for a week with my young family of four and I am happy with almost everything… but there are some things I’d change on this car.The Optiq is a nicely crafted, comfortable SUV, but there’s a few things I’d have trouble living with having spent a week testing this car. First, the door handles would be high on my list of things to change. The thin, stick-like handles just made opening these big heavy doors so hard for me and impossible for my children. Second, the Optiq has vibrating seats - yes, you read that right. They vibrate as parking sensors to let you know how close you’re getting to objects and also in conjunction with  blind spot warning. It’s gross and I don’t like it.Third, the styling. I don’t mind the Optiq from the front, but the side profile is very awkward to my eyes, while the rear is ungainly.It’s disappointing. A Cadillac should have a large, confident, show-stopping presence with a hint of Hollywood and the Optiq really misses the mark in the style stakes. Cadillac offers a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty in Australia with an eight-year/160,000km warranty on the EV battery. Servicing is required every 12,000km and 12 months.

Cadillac now has a new model, and a volume player, to kickstart its Australian sales ambitions, with the Optiq arriving to take on everything from the BMW iX3 to the Genesis GV60. So, does this all-electric medium SUV have what it takes to compete?

Cadillac is known for its larger than life, ultra-flashy cars and it has finally launched a baby Escalade in Australia with an electric powertrain. See how it stacks up against fierce competition.

The Cadillac Lyriq is a stylish contender in Australia's luxury EV SUV market but does this handsome American represent a genuine alternative to prestige European marques in this space?

It's unusual for the cheapest and smallest member of a car company's line-up to be the most impressive. Indeed, it's like preferring the acting of the Hemsworth whose name no-one can remember, but there's just something surprisingly attractive about Cadillac's Optiq, which will be the entry point for Cadillac's all-EV offering when it arrives later this year. We went to Detroit for a drive.

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.

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.

The expression “Yank tank” could have been coined for Cadillac, the American luxury brand whose history is filled with hulking motoring palaces that are ideal for cruising on US freeways but have foundered everywhere else.Not the Cadillac CTS.The car that will bring the American brand to Australia is taut, youthful and surprisingly good to drive.For something built in America, the quality is surprisingly good.And just like the gangster Chrysler 300C, the CTS will stand out in any crowd. In a good way.The CTS will go on sale here in the final quarter of the year with a starting price in the $75,000 range, which will put it up against a range of rivals, including BMW's 5 Series and the Lexus GS.Its arrival is part of a strategy for GM Premium Brands that began with Saab, grew with Hummer and will reach its full potential with Cadillac.The plan is to eventually have a broad spread of luxury cars and four-wheel drives from throughout the General Motors world, all banded together in Australia in a network of premium dealerships.The Cadillac plan was revealed more than two years ago and, at the time, looked wildly ambitious. There was nothing international about the Cadillac family — despite promises of a new generation of global cars — that would work in Australia.The first of the global Cadillacs is the second-generation CTS — for compact touring sedan — and it was previewed to the Australian press last week during a drive from San Diego to Palm Springs in California.It made a strong impression, from the bold styling to the roomy cabin and enjoyable driving, and proved the global approach to Cadillac development.To the best of anyone's knowledge, Cadillac cars have not been sold in Australia by an official importer for more than 70 years. There have been Caddys on the road, mostly the ghastly '70s limousines, but they were granddad cars that were ugly in every way.The chief engineer on the CTS program, Liz Pilibosian, knows all about the challenges in creating something special and says Cadillac has made a fundamental change.“We're in the game now. This was a global car from the beginning,” she says.“It is much easier to start from the beginning. There is less need to rework things.“You have to make sure you are satisfying your global customer. And you need to understand them.”So who will be buying a CTS sedan, or the CTS wagon and coupe that will eventually follow?“It's an affluent buyer in a country like Japan or China, but in America it is a middle-class person, and that's probably the same in Australia,” Pilibosian says. “It's for the entrepreneur, for the up-and-coming person. They are looking for more than just transport.”She says the CTS was always intended to be a European-style drive, despite its aggressively American design. That meant a total commitment from the 500-plus people who worked on the program.“The biggest challenge was engineering the car while keeping the styling,” she says. “We had to make sure we emulated the design we were given, and that doesn't always happen.“We basically worked with two cars, the previous-generation BMW 5 series for steering, handling and ride. And we looked at Audi for fit and finish.”So the shape is the same as the CTS concept car revealed at last year's Detroit Motor Show and the mechanical package is built around a 3.6-litre V6 engine, a six-speed automatic gearbox, rear-wheel drive and a roomy four-seat cabin.The engine is basically the same as the one used in the VE Commodore, but picks up high-pressure direct fuel injection and other tweaks to lift output to 227kW and 370Nm.The chassis is a wide-track layout with independent control at all corners — with two suspension settings — and there is switchable electronic stability control and anti-skid brakes.The safety package runs to six airbags, though a costly pedestrian-friendly bonnet will not make it to Australia. The car is also available with a keyless entry system, Bose sound system with 40GB hard drive, LED interior lighting and a lot more.Satnav is fitted for the US, but will not be coming here because of a conflict in mapping. The 2009 model cars will land here with a a paddle gearshift change and some other tweaking.Parveen Batish, GM Premium Brands boss in Australia, says: “We have not finalised the specification or the pricing. That will happen closer to the on-sale date.”Work on the CTS is continuing, with new features and a tough emphasis on safety.Pilibosian says she is committed to making the '09 model even better.But she is happy with what the Cadillac team has produced and is looking forward to the next full model change on the CTS.“There is always room for improvement. The current car is really close to a 10, for what we wanted. But I know what I'm going to do in the next program,” she says. ON THE ROADThe CTS is a very, very good car. There, we said it. We landed in the US with a low expectation and some baggage from earlier Cadillac cars, but the CTS turned us around. Fast.It took only 5km and a couple of tight corners to realise the chassis is taut and responsive, the steering is most un-American and the final finishing is tight. It looks good and has zero squeaks or rattles.The upgraded V6 rattles like a diesel at idle — which means an impressive noise-suppression package — but really gets along. It pulls more like a V8 from a standing start and the six-speed auto is smooth and has well-spaced ratios.Just as good, considering the likely price, the cabin is roomy, with good space for tall people in the back, and there is plenty of equipment, including a punchy sound system and even a built-in garage door opener.The ride is compliant and smooth, but still has good control, though opinion is split on the FE2 and FE3 suspension choices.The CTS is smooth and refined on freeways when running the slightly softer FE2 suspension settings, but the sports-tuned FE3 pack meant some thumping over potholes and broken surfaces. Both are good on twisty roads, with a bit more grip and response from the FE3 set-up.The CTS is not perfect. Fit and finish is not up to Lexus or Audi levels, but Pilibosian is quickly on to the flaws and promises an investigation and improvements. She cannot do anything about the restricted rear vision, but the car does have parking radar.So there is a lot to like and little to criticise, at least until we know the final prices and specifications for Australia.And one thing is certain — this is not your granddad's Caddy.  INSIDE VIEWCadillac CTSON SALE: estimated OctoberPRICE: estimated $75,000ENGINE: 3.6-litre direct-injection V6POWER: 227kW at 6300 revsTORQUE: 370Nm at 5200 revsTRANSMISSION: six-speed automatic, rear-wheel driveECONOMY: not availableSAFETY: front, side and curtain airbags, electronic stability control, anti-skid brakes  CTS-V NOT RIGHT FOR AUSTRALIAThe king of the hill Cadillac — a super-hot CTS-V (right) claimed to be the world's fastest four-door sedan — will not be coming to Australia.Like so many US cars, the steering wheel is on the wrong side, and there's no chance of a change.But, unlike heavyweights such as the Ford F150 and Dodge Ram, the CTS problem comes down to engineering and not just neglect during planning.“When we put the 6.2-litre V8 engine in and the supercharger plumbing on it, we ran out of real estate,” General Motors product boss Bob Lutz says.Its mechanical package includes magnetic ride control for the suspension, Brembo six-piston disc brakes and Michelin Pilot Sport 2 tyres.Still, the key is the engine: a supercharged V8 with either a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic directing power to the rear wheels. The bottom line is 410kW and 745Nm.But Lutz, always the optimist, believes there is potential for Holden Special Vehicles to tweak a go-faster CTS for Australia.“Talk to HSV. I'm sure they will whomp up something,” he says.  APPEALING CONCEPTTwo bold new concept cars point the road to the future at Cadillac. They couldn't be more different — a four-wheel-drive family wagon and a two-door coupe — but they share the same design direction and youthful approach to the world of cars.And both are going on the road and could easily join the Cadillac product offensive in Australia.The CTS Coupe concept is as good as anything at Detroit '08 and points to a new style of two-door headliner, with as many angles and edges as the curves on most coupes.It was previewed with a turbodiesel engine, but will take the V6 petrol motor used in the CTS sedan, and the rest of its running gear.The Provoq was billed as a fuel-cell electric car at the show, but its real purpose is to win younger families to a Cadillac family wagon.It is fitted with GM's E-Flex drive system, which uses electric power with a petrol engine as a “range extender”.But the body and cabin have a much bigger job to do.And it is definitely coming to Australia as an under-the-skin twin to the Saab 9-4X prestige wagon.