Cadillac Optiq: Back with a World Car?
Let's start with the “Optiq” – which, for a Cadillac, is very subtle in appearance. In other words: It will work in Asia, Arabia, and Europe without causing any offense. Anyone who expected vertical LED slits like Kia or a wild rear end like the Lyriq may be pleasantly or unpleasantly surprised.
Cadillac placed great importance on road performance – very great importance
We were able to speak with John Roth, Vice President of Cadillac Global, and John Cockburn, the Chief Developer of the series, and it quickly becomes clear: The two want to become truly global at last. Cockburn has placed the highest importance on “drivability” and aimed for a crisp suspension tuning, which he learned to appreciate during his time at Opel in Germany. The smaller brakes of the US model and the all-season tires desired there are already a thorn in his tuning eye.
And Roth is looking for new and younger customers and officially states:
“Cadillac has welcomed about 600,000 new customers into its family over the past five years, while our share of younger buyers has increased by five percent. By the end of the decade, we aim to offer a fully electric portfolio. The Optiq will be an important trailblazer to attract luxury-oriented customers to Cadillac’s electric vehicles.”
And explains to us at the table that in China, Cadillac has the youngest customers: more like 25 to 40 years old, while in the USA, the target is more like 30 to 50-year-olds.
And it became a world car: The 4.8-meter-long Optiq will be sold in ten regions worldwide, including Europe, the USA, Canada, Mexico, Central America, China, and the Middle East. Also as a right-hand drive for the UK, Australia, and Japan, as Cockburn explained to us. That is easier to implement with an electric vehicle than with a combustion engine anyway.
Jaclyn McQuaid, President and Managing Director of General Motors Europe, is pleased to announce Paris as the presentation location for the EU model – and we can already tell: Half of Detroit, as French-sounding as Cadillac, has come to the Seine for the presentation….
At 4.8 meters long, with a wheelbase of 2.95 meters, 300 hp, and 480 Nm, the upper mid-range SUV is well-powered and spacious, and when we ask Cockburn about further versions, he only replies with a sly smile that the all-wheel-drive version is the “launch variant”. This means that long-range and a wilder X-something version can still be expected.
The range is specified according to US standards at 300 miles, which is 480 kilometers. This is relatively realistic, and we only deduct 80 km for the worst case, even though WLTP is likely to result in 500 plus. Cockburn also paid attention to details here: Conti tires with low rolling resistance, a through-flow rear spoiler, and diffusers promote aerodynamic efficiency.
In the USA, the Optiq starts with an 85-kWh battery pack with cells from LG, and HPC charging should work with up to 190 kW. We don’t want to spend a long time charging on long trips in the USA, explains Canadian Cockburn, who has also lived in China and the UK. In the USA, Cadillac calculates fast charging with up to 79 miles of range in 10 minutes – that fits!
"Regen." on demand – not referring to the weather, but to regeneration
And of course, there are different driving modes to switch between, including Tour for everyday driving, Sport for optimized performance and more precise steering, Snow/Ice to prevent wheel spin, and My Mode, which allows personalization of the driving experience including brake response and steering feel.
Body details are also interesting: For example, the rear side panel: The design of the rear window includes a pattern in sound-absorbing laminated glass, used for the first time by Cadillac. The graphic pattern extends over the entire vehicle and corresponds to the Mondrian badge as a reference to classic Cadillac design. Visually, it elongates the car and conceals the windows in the C-pillars. Otherwise, it remains rather inconspicuous.
Inside, it offers plenty of space in the front, decent space in the rear – especially legroom. The headroom is slightly lower than the Lyriq, both have huge trunk spaces. But no frunk. According to Cockburn, they consciously decided to pack as much technology as possible under the hood, where only a mini-frunk would have remained anyway. And like BMW, they do not want to see a Caddy with an open hood on the road. Instead, there are two large side recesses in the rear where you can stuff a long charging cable, which then, however, ruins the nice carpet…
Inside, the Caddy also presents itself in a rather cosmopolitan manner and could have been designed in Asia or Europe – perhaps it wouldn't have turned out quite so plush and cozy. And there are of course sustainable materials: The patterned fabric accents consist of yarn made from 100 percent recycled materials. The PaperWood veneer is composed of equal parts tulipwood and recycled newspaper.
Super-Cruise: It sounds like Elvis and the wild 50s – but it aims to offer driving assistance at German premium level
You look at a curved display with a 33-inch screen diagonal and a resolution of 9K, displaying more than a billion colors. Yes, it is very clear and high-quality. And it comes with the so-called Super Cruise driver assistance technology, which always has maps stored or 'preloads' them to brake in time before intersections or tight curves – with the help of high-resolution GPS mapping, attention system, lane change function, steering wheel light strip, and route planning. Here too, Cockburn has taken a close look at Audi, BMW, and Mercedes. They also use radars and cameras, but no lidar. The technology will be available in Europe once it has received the necessary approvals.
Standard safety and driver assistance technologies include Adaptive Cruise Control, Blind Zone Steering Assist, Enhanced Automatic Parking, Forward Collision Alert, and a cyclist detection system that prevents rear passengers from exiting when the Caddy detects a biker in the mirror.
.Besides that, it comes "fully loaded" as the Americans like to say: With an AKG audio system featuring 19 speakers with Dolby Atmos; 3D Surround Technology compatibility through specially crafted speakers and amplifiers for an "unadulterated and nuanced sound experience," according to Cadillac. We turned up the volume briefly and found it simply good.
The Optiq will be offered as Luxury and Sport, starting at $54,000 before taxes in the USA. In the EU, a price of 59,900 euros gross would be interesting. Production will begin in Mexico in late fall – in China, it is already being produced by partner SAIC in Wuhan and is just starting up.
What does it mean?
It is probably the most European Caddy they have ever built, which gives it good chances, provided the dealer network is right. But they are still searching here: With individual high-end luxury showrooms and pop-up stores, it will be difficult, especially in Germany... but it's not because of the car. P.S.: In 2023, Cadillac sold two cars in France - so in 2024 and especially 2025, an x-100-percent increase should be achievable...
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