Cadillac's cheapest EV arrives

The Optiq is Cadillac's entry-level electric crossover, starting just under fifty thousand dollars. That's less than the average American car price, making it the cheapest way into a GM luxury EV.

The test drive setup

A two thousand twenty-six Cadillac Optiq Premium Sport with rear-wheel drive stickered at fifty-eight thousand nine hundred seventy-six dollars with options including twenty-one-inch wheels, two-tone exterior paint, and Autumn Canyon leather interior.

Luxury feel at entry-level price

The Optiq nails first impressions with stacked LEDs, a curved thirty-three-inch dashboard display, and caramel-colored seats that look expensive. The steering is accurate, suspension smooth, and road noise virtually nonexistent.

Performance and charging reality

The rear-wheel-drive Optiq accelerates leisurely but merges comfortably onto highways. At a Level three charger, it added forty-one point four seven kilowatt-hours in twenty minutes, taking the battery from thirty-two percent to seventy-two percent.

Cost-cutting shows through

Hard plastic abounds inside. The floating center console has a black appliqué that looks like wood but isn't. Silver rings around cupholders appear to be hammered metal but are plastic. More critically, there's no Apple CarPlay on the infotainment screen.

“losing CarPlay is a dealbreaker”

The Optiq's place in Cadillac's lineup

Cadillac now sells six electric vehicles: the Optiq, the slightly larger Lyriq, the three-row Vistiq, the Escalade IQ, the Escalade IQL, and the built-to-order Celestiq. The Optiq is the entry point, though only the Lyriq offers Apple CarPlay.