2025
Cadillac Optiq

“It’s quick, effortless, and immediate, even if the horsepower figure isn’t all that impressive on paper,” said a CR tester. The Optiq’s dual electric motors, one at each axle, give it all-wheel drive and produce 300 horsepower, not a remarkable number among luxury EVs. But electric motors are about instant torque, and here the Optiq shines. As with just about every Ultium-based EV we’ve driven or tested, the Optiq’s power is delivered in a strong yet smooth fashion, whether you press your foot down gently or put the pedal to the metal at lower speeds.

The sensation of effortless and near-instant response diminishes once you’re up to about 60 mph, such as on a highway. Still, we found that there’s enough reserve power if you need to get around slower traffic in a two-lane passing zone on secondary roads.

As with many EVs, the Optiq’s regenerative braking system—which slows the vehicle when coasting while recouping energy that’s sent back to the battery—can be set to a “one-pedal driving” mode. This allows the driver to modulate acceleration and braking through the accelerator pedal, a technique that many EV owners prefer.

And similar to what we’ve experienced in other General Motors EVs we’ve tested, one-pedal driving in the Optiq’s Normal mode (vs. the stronger High mode) works well. Most of our drivers have found it pretty easy to drive the car smoothly because of the linear way it adds slowing force as you release pressure on the accelerator pedal. We also found it easy to reduce pressure on the accelerator pedal and come to smooth stops where you intended, without having to step on the physical brake pedal.

A neat feature we’ve seen in some other GM EVs is a paddle on the left side of the steering wheel that adjusts the regenerative braking. It allows the driver to apply strong regen-braking force on demand, even if the Optiq isn’t set to either of its one-pedal driving modes. The paddle is progressive, meaning you can modulate the amount of regen-braking force by how much you pull on it, similar to a hand brake on a bicycle. Besides the fact that it’s nice to have choices, some of our drivers prefer the paddle vs. using one-pedal mode with the accelerator pedal. It’s easy to forget that you’re in one-pedal mode until you fully let off the accelerator pedal and the car starts slowing more than expected. With the paddle, the slowing force can’t ever take you by surprise because you have to intentionally pull on the paddle to activate it.

So far, we’ve found that the Optiq delivers a relatively smooth and absorbent ride. The suspension does a good job of soaking up bumps and handles transverse ridges well, too. Some larger potholes at lower speeds come through quite hard, though, and the sensation is compounded by noticeable suspension and tire noise. It’s only in those challenging settings that it starts to feel a bit unrefined for a luxury car. On the other hand, the Optiq’s body always stays nice and controlled, without as many side-to-side rocking motions when driving on undulating roads as in many SUVs.

This isn’t a sport model; Cadillac is saving that for the forthcoming Optiq V. But the regular version of the Optiq still performs pretty well on twisty roads. The steering turns naturally into corners, with an appropriate heft. Body roll is fairly well-controlled, but the steering is very vague and lacks proper feedback to tell the driver what the front tires are up to. You also feel the Optiq’s weight through corners. The result is that it doesn’t feel all that sharp, although we think that’s probably fine for most buyers.

“The handling is pretty good; nothing to really complain about here,” a tester said. “Turn-in seems quicker than the Equinox EV, and steering effort feels natural. The Cadillac doesn’t always feel completely secure, though. I found that when you push it a bit hard on curvy back roads, it doesn’t feel all that tied down. Sure, you can hustle it along, but it’s better suited for more casual driving.”

The brake pedal in some EVs (and hybrids and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, or PHEVs) can feel a bit different than in conventionally powered vehicles. They can be spongy or abrupt and touchy at low speeds. But the Optiq’s brake pedal is easy to use. It feels appropriately firm and scrubs off speed nicely, giving the driver confidence when slowing down from higher speeds.

The one issue we’ve encountered is that the braking force tends to clamp down abruptly just as you’re about to stop, at about 3 mph and below.

The Optiq’s cabin is fairly quiet overall, with notably low levels of road noise and minimal ambient noise from air wafting about the cabin. But we’d be lying if we said it doesn’t bother us that you can’t defeat the fake motor noises that Cadillac pipes into the cabin. On the bright side, the sounds are pretty tame and mostly only noticeable when accelerating from low speeds, or anytime you really punch the pedal.

The biggest source of noise comes from the wind rustling around the car’s giant windshield pillars, starting at around 50 mph and becoming much more noticeable at highway speeds. On occasion, you can also hear the tires slap and the suspension clunk over more pronounced imperfections.

Cadillac has crafted quite a nice cabin for the Optiq, especially considering our test car’s $55,000 price. Once you sit down and take a look around, the Optiq feels special. Things like the center console, with its clear plastic over a carbon-fiber-like weave, add class. (It’s also much better than the fingerprint- and scratch-prone glossy-black trim seen in so many cars these days.) There’s also a nice fabric trim on the center console, doors, and the mid-dash in front of the passenger. Brushed-aluminum-like interior door latches are another nice touch, as is the felt-lined upper tier of the bin under the center armrest. That’s not to say it’s perfect; we noticed some rough surfaces here and there, such as on the inner edge of the front door pockets, and the upper/inner portion of the bin underneath the center armrest.

“The materials are unique, and the end result is pretty attractive,” a tester said. “From the carpetlike material in the door pockets to the fake carbon trim, the woven material on the dash, and even the white trim under the air vents. There’s a lot happening, but it feels a bit special. Most things feel well assembled, too.”

The Optiq comes standard with Super Cruise, GM’s active driving assistance system that allows for true hands-free driving. It will take care of acceleration, braking, and steering on more than 400,000 mapped miles in the U.S. and Canada. It uses lidar-created map data, real-time cameras, radar, and GPS to monitor the roads and respond accordingly. This system, which pairs adaptive cruise control with lane centering assistance, has stood out in our testing of other GM models for its operation and clear indication when the vehicle is in control and when the situation demands that the driver take charge. Super Cruise comes with a three-year free trial; afterward, owners will need to subscribe to a connected service plan to continue using the system.

Unlike some ADA systems, with Super Cruise, you aren’t required to have either hand on the steering wheel while it’s operating. Instead, it uses an infrared camera perched on the steering column that’s trained on the driver’s eyes to make sure the operator is looking at the road ahead, and will give several warnings if it detects that they aren’t. Quick glances toward the audio and climate controls don’t result in warnings, but a few seconds of looking at a handheld device or out the sides of the vehicle will result in the Optiq telling you to pay attention.

As with other versions of Super Cruise we’ve used, this one has worked well so far, although we haven’t formally tested the one in the Optiq yet. It still makes more small steering corrections to keep the vehicle near the center of the lane than some active driving assistance systems, but beyond that, the performance is sound. It also benefits from an automatic lane-change feature that’s capable of making the decision to change lanes to move around a slower vehicle on the highway on its own.

Android Auto and Apple CarPlay aren’t available on the Optiq, an example of General Motors’ plan to ditch phone-mirroring infotainment systems on its EVs. Instead, owners will need to use a Google-based proprietary setup that forces them to log in to a limited number of apps within GM’s walled garden of software. You will probably need to use your personal Google account, which may increase privacy concerns.

The Optiq’s outward visibility is highly compromised by the car’s sleek styling and thick roof pillars. It all starts up front, with unusually long and extremely thick windshield pillars, which force the driver to move their upper body to see around them through sharper corners. Even more egregious are the wide side pillars (aka B-pillars). Combined with a particularly wide front-seat head restraint, the side pillar almost completely blocks the driver’s over-the-left-shoulder view during lane changes, such as on a highway. Further, the side mirrors are surprisingly small for an SUV, delivering minimal rearward views.

The side windows are rather chopped down, while the front ones are nice and long. As with most SUVs, the rear three-quarter view is heavily restricted due to very thick and squat back pillars. And finally, it’s an odd omission that the Optiq doesn’t have a rear window wiper, especially since the Equinox EV does.

At first glance, the Optiq’s interior is elegantly simple yet modern. It features a 33-inch-wide display that encompasses both the driver’s instrument screen and the infotainment system functions. We’re happy to report that the Optiq has physical controls (rather than touch-capacitive “buttons” on a panel, like many vehicles these days) for almost all climate functions, and they’re easy to use. The infotainment screen controller knob is in a handy location on the center console, and it can be useful if you prefer it over the touchscreen.

But many of the Optiq’s controls aren’t that intuitive or easy to use. For example, we’ve knocked numerous GM products of late for the location of the button for the emergency flashers on the overhead console. But the Optiq is arguably the worst implementation of the bunch so far. The hazard lights button is situated so far out of the way that you have to wrangle your hand around the rearview mirror to get to it. That’s just about the last thing you should be doing when you’re trying to warn other drivers about an emergency situation or an abrupt slowing of traffic on the road ahead.

We also aren’t getting along all that well with the touch-capacitive controls on the Optiq’s steering wheel, such as for skipping audio tracks. They’re more difficult to use than regular physical buttons because they aren’t well delineated. This makes them difficult to target and press without having to look down at them. The heated and ventilated seat controls on the driver’s door aren’t the best either; they require a decidedly unergonomic articulation of your wrist and finger to press them. The one-pedal driving icon on the infotainment touchscreen is also small and a bit of a reach.

An admittedly more minor problem is related to the massaging front seats. “The seat and lumbar controls are on the door panel, which are carried over from the Lyriq and Vistiq,” a tester said. “But the Optiq doesn’t let you push in on the lumbar adjustment knob for quick access to the massaging seat settings.” The only way to turn on the massage function is through the Controls menu in the infotainment screen. “I bet a lot of owners won’t even know the Optiq has this function,” said another tester. “It’s also annoying that you have to wade into the climate menu in order to activate the ‘sync’ function, especially since the rest of the physical climate controls work so well.” 

Another tester had more positive feelings, saying: “There is a lot I like about the infotainment system, though it’s certainly not perfect. The general layout and interaction work pretty well, including the menu bar at the bottom. Google integration is pretty effective, especially in conjunction with voice commands. It’s not a full replacement for Android Auto or Apple CarPlay, though. I really like the small touchscreen to the left of the gauge display on the driver’s screen, particularly for trip information. And using it to select other gauge-related options is pretty intuitive.”

The Optiq’s slim dashboard air vents look cool and have a satisfying fluidity when you adjust them to redirect the air. But we found that they aren’t very effective at pointing the air exactly where you want it, and some drivers have struggled to get the system to blow enough cool air directly at their face and upper body on hot days.

We get it. The Optiq isn’t a big SUV. As such, the rear seat will feel snug for adults and taller teenagers. Headroom is pretty tight, and the bottom cushion is quite low to the floor. This results in adult passengers having their knees with more of a bend than in many SUVs, and with that comes very little under-leg support. Also, the seatback is quite upright and can’t be reclined, and the Isofix child-seat hump at the base of the seat also might push uncomfortably into your rear end, depending on how you sit.

On the bright side, there’s plenty of knee room, and the seat’s padding is fairly comfy. The drop-down center armrest is also nice and plush.

As with many EVs, the Optiq has flush-mounted exterior door handles that extend when you approach with the key fob. Similar to the Vistiq that we’re also testing, these slim handles look elegant, but they feel like you’re shaking someone’s finger rather than their hand. And because they’re electronic, there’s always a minor delay after you pull on the handle before the door opens.

There also isn’t a capacitive-touch button on the handle to lock the doors as you walk away, unlike in most vehicles. The Optiq does have proximity locking, meaning that when you get a certain distance away from the vehicle, the doors will lock on their own. But many people prefer the comfort of knowing that the doors are, in fact, locked by pressing that button.

The Optiq has an EPA-estimated 302 miles of driving range, a competitive number for the times. As with all EVs that make their way through our program, we will do our own 70-mph highway-range test on the Optiq. We conduct this specific evaluation on every EV we test because we think that driving at a constant 70 mph on the highway provides a more accurate range for a road trip. Of note, the mechanically similar 2024 Equinox EV that we tested managed 304 miles in our 70-mph highway-range evaluation vs. the EPA-estimated range of 285 miles.

The Optiq’s standard 11.5-kilowatt onboard charger should allow for relatively quick home charging of the 85-kWh battery, adding about 33 miles of range per hour, according to Cadillac. An optional 19.2-kW onboard charger can provide up to 55 miles of range gained per hour.

The Optiq has just a mediocre 150-kW maximum acceptance at public DC fast chargers, which means it won’t charge as quickly on a road trip as some other EVs. Cadillac says it’s possible to add up to 79 miles of range in 10 minutes on public chargers, but keep in mind that the charging rate will vary depending on the charge level at the start.

In addition to Super Cruise, the Optiq has a full complement of standard active safety and driver assistance features, including automatic emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection, automatic emergency braking that operates at highway speeds, blind spot warning, rear cross traffic warning, reverse automatic emergency braking, lane centering assistance, lane departure warning, lane keeping assistance, adaptive cruise control, and automatic high beams. Some of the Optiq’s safety warnings are communicated via vibrations to the driver’s seat (called the Safety Alert Seat), a feature we’ve appreciated in numerous other GM products.

We’re happy to see that both a rear occupant alert system and a belt minder come standard. The former is designed to remind the driver—based on rear-door logic—to check the rear seat at the end of a drive to help prevent children and pets from suffering heatstroke or hypothermia if unintentionally left behind in the vehicle. The rear belt minder alerts the driver if a rear passenger unbuckles their seat belt during the trip.