If you’re a fan of the Cadillac Escalade, and live in an area where EVs are viable, then you may be wondering about the Escalade IQ. Is it just a regular Escalade with the V8 swapped out for an electric motor?
The truth is, they’re two very different vehicles. I was lucky enough to get behind the wheels of both three-row SUVs in the last few months. Here are the differences I spotted.
Let’s get the obvious part out of the way
If you know near nothing about these cars, you’re probably still aware that the standard Cadillac Escalade is powered by a pretty hefty 6.2 liter V8, while the Cadillac Escalade IQ is an EV with a dual-motor setup. The regular escalade produces 420 horsepower, though that goes up to an impressive 682 horsepower with the supercharged V-series. The electric option is far more powerful, offering up to 750 horsepower when you slap the little V button.
With that being said, the IQ has significantly more weight to heft around due to its enormous batteries. The regular ICE Escalade isn’t exactly light, weighing around 6,000 pounds. The IQ is 3,000 pounds more than that, so it essentially weighs an entire family sedan more than its conventional cousin.
That massive battery does get you around 460 miles of range on a single charge, which is impressive. While it does take a lot of energy to move the Escalade, no matter how that energy is being delivered, the IQ is a lot more efficient. It gets around 60 MPGe, while the regular Escalade averages about 16 MPG.
The Cadillac Escalade IQ feels smaller, but isn’t
I had a bit of a weird time with the Escalade IQ. It isn’t a small vehicle in the grand scheme of things, but it does not feel like a large SUV. A regular Escalade feels like a yacht, this felt like a Ford Explorer. Before I actually looked at the spec sheet, I would have placed money on the IQ being the smaller of the two.
But it isn’t. It’s actually notably larger than its ICE equivalent. Around a foot larger in total, and less than three inches smaller than the extended range Escalade. What may have thrown me is the interior space, which is actually smaller in the IQ. You get 23.7 cubic feet of space behind the third row in the EV, as opposed to the ICE version’s 25.5 cubic feet. With the first and second rows down, you get 121 cubic feet even in the gas-powered Escalade, and a slightly tighter 119.2 in the Escalade IQ. So that cramped interior may be what threw me a little.
It is worth mentioning that you do get a bit of extra storage room with the Escalade IQ. It has a 12.2 cubic foot frunk, which is large enough to be useful.
The larger Escalade IQ does have a longer wheelbase, which increases comfort and stability. The Escalade IQ also features “4-wheel-steer” which makes its turning circle ridiculously tight for a vehicle of its size.
The “regular” Escalade seems a little fancier
Admittedly, I did drive two different trims so this isn’t an exact like for like comparison. But the Cadillac Escalade Platinum is pretty much what you’d expect from a Cadillac Escalade. Plenty of wood, leather, tray tables and screens for the second row. The whole shebang.
The Cadillac Escalade IQ Sport is a lot more stripped down. The word “Sport” is perfectly descriptive in this case. It looks very modern, almost futuristic inside. It’s all very efficient and not something that screams “Cadillac Escalade” at you.
Now this is mostly the trim, I have performed a bit of research and the IQ does include trims that give your rear passengers their tray tables and screens while also popping a bit of leather and wood around. But it still does look very modern.
Another major omission from the IQ is third party infotainment software. GM has discontinued both Apple Car Play and Android auto in their electric vehicles. So while the regular Escalade still has a poorly implemented version of Android Auto (it forced me to use a cable), the IQ leaves you using Cadillac’s pretty awful (and still Google-based) infotainment system.
On the plus side though, both vehicles come with GM’s fantastic SuperCruise self-driving system. I’ve said a few times, it’s arguably the best Level 2 system on the market. It can overtake, works on a phenomenal number of backroads.
Overall, given a straight choice between both vehicles I’d opt for the traditional Escalade. It just has more of that Cadillac feel about it. That’s not to say GM’s luxury brand isn’t doing a great job with EVs. The Cadillac Lyriq is one of the best things I’ve driven in recent years. But there are some days when you just want to buy a boat.
