Cadillac unveils electric Escalade IQ; 200 kWh, 450 miles; pricing starting around $130K

Cadillac unveiled the all-electric 2025 Escalade IQ. Offering a Cadillac-estimated 450 miles of range, the Escalade IQ features a curved pillar-to-pillar 55-inch total diagonal LED display, available Super Cruise driver assistance technology, and vehicle-to-home bidirectional charging technology with GM Energy’s available Ultium Home products.

The Escalade IQ is the first full-size SUV from Cadillac built on GM’s Ultium Platform, and incorporates GM’s Ultifi software platform to support and deliver ongoing software updates to its technologies.

Escalade IQ features independent front and rear suspension, with power transferred to 24-inch wheels with 35-inch tires via front and rear drive motors that work in conjunction as an eAWD system.

A suite of fully integrated advanced technologies including Magnetic Ride Control 4.0 and Adaptive Air Ride Suspension isolate passengers from undesirable road surfaces while providing precise steering and feel.

The Adaptive Air Ride Suspension system enables the vehicle to be lowered up to 2 inches (50 mm) and raised 1 inch (25 mm), while additional features such as the standard Four-Wheel Steer, available Cadillac Arrival Mode and Low Ride Mode enhance capability as well as the Escalade IQ’s presence.

Four-Wheel Steer reduces the turning diameter to 39.4 feet (12 meters) at lower speeds and reduces the turning diameter by more than 6.5 feet for greater maneuverability in parking lots and tighter overall turning radius. It also enhances handling and stability at higher speed, particularly when trailering.

Cadillac Arrival Mode is a Four-Wheel Steer feature that allows the Escalade IQ to move diagonally, making it easier when pulling into or out of tight spaces.

Low Ride Mode enables the Escalade IQ to be driven at low speeds with the suspension fully lowered.

A 24-module Ultium battery (NCMA cathode, blended graphite anode) serves as the foundation of the Escalade IQ, producing more than 200 kWh of available energy. It also employs a flexible, high-voltage architecture that enables 800-volt DC fast charging, the quickest form of charging currently available, providing up to 100 miles of range in 10 minutes of charge time.

Escalade IQ will be equipped with Vehicle-to-Home (V2H) bidirectional charging technology with GM Energy’s available Ultium Home products, providing customers with the ability to send power directly from the vehicle to a properly equipped home.

This capability will be enabled via an over-the-air software update for the 2025 model year. Escalade IQ will also offer the option of Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) offboard power, allowing the vehicle to power external devices.

The Escalade IQ uses its Ultium battery pack as part of its fundamental body structure. This allows the battery pack to provide the vehicle’s Cadillac-estimated 450 miles of range while also protecting the battery in the event of a crash and adding overall strength and rigidity to the vehicle.

The electric propulsion configuration—consisting of the battery pack, power electronics and a two-motor eAWD system—offers great power on demand and surprising performance, including:

Up to 750 horsepower (with driver-selectable Velocity Max, Cadillac estimate)

Up to 785 lb-ft of torque (with driver-selectable Velocity Max, Cadillac estimate)

0-60 mph in less than 5 seconds (with driver-selectable Velocity Max, Cadillac estimate)

Up to 8,000 pounds of towing capability (Cadillac estimate)

Additionally, Escalade IQ offers One-Pedal Driving and Variable Regen on Demand to allow customers to feel more connected to their drive. Plus, Ultium Energy Recovery—a heat pump thermal system—allows for energy to transfer between the battery/power electronics and the cabin, using every watt possible to optimize range and minimizing the power from the high-voltage battery used for five-zone climate control.

Escalade IQ will have Super Cruise as a standard feature with three years of the OnStar Super Cruise plan. Super Cruise is a hands-free driver assistance technology that enables drivers to travel hands-free on more than 400,000 miles of compatible roads in the US and Canada.

When Super Cruise is engaged, the vehicle’s precision LiDAR map data, real-time cameras, radars and GPS keep the vehicle traveling along the lane path for a hands-free driving experience. These systems work together through sensor fusion to create a sensory field around the vehicle that assists in keeping it centered in the lane while elevating the driver’s comfort and convenience.

Super Cruise accelerates or brakes the vehicle to maintain a selected following gap from a vehicle ahead and steers to maintain lane position. Additionally, Super Cruise can perform both driver and system-initiated lane changes to pass slower traffic and to move from a lane that may be ending, while monitoring the driver’s head position and/or eyes in relation to the road to help ensure driver attention.

Escalade IQ also features a suite of standard active safety and driver assistance11 features, with highlights including:

Blind Zone Steering Assist: Can provide a brief, firm turn of the steering wheel when a potential crash is detected with a moving vehicle in the lane the vehicle is entering

Intersection Automatic Emergency Braking: Can help drivers avoid or reduce the severity of an intersection collision with a detected cross-traffic vehicle

HD Surround Vision: Provides selectable digital camera views of the area around the vehicle and can help drivers park or avoid vehicles and objects

Enhanced Automatic Parking Assist: Can automatically steer, brake and shift gears to park the vehicle into a dedicated parallel or perpendicular parking space and can help unpark the vehicle

Front Pedestrian and Bicyclist Braking: At speeds between 5 and 50 mph, can help drivers avoid or reduce the severity of a collision with a pedestrian or bicyclist it detects directly in front of them

Escalade IQ is estimated to be the most aerodynamic full-size SUV ever produced by GM, with an approximately 15% lower coefficient of drag than previous generations.

That more efficient aero performance reduces wind resistance, contributing to the Cadillac-estimated 450 miles of range. Cadillac’s aerodynamicists also worked the smallest details to achieve big aero gains, including a sharp trailing edge of Cadillac’s iconic taillights, a smooth underbody, intelligent grille shutters that close off airflow when it’s not needed and even the shape and profile of the wheels.

Regular production of the Escalade IQ begins next summer at GM’s Factory ZERO Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Center in Michigan, with domestic and globally sourced components.

Factory ZERO was renovated and retooled with a $2.2-billion investment to serve as the launchpad for GM’s EV strategy.

Posted on 10 August 2023 in Electric (Battery) | Permalink | Comments (2)