Driving Cadillac's Vistiq Convinced Me That A Baby Escalade EV Isn't Just Marketing

You can't exactly blame Cadillac for wanting to compare the 2026 Vistiq to its larger Escalade. After all, the alternative is reminding potential buyers of the all-new three row electric SUV about the XT6, and even the most on-brand of GM employees might struggle to wax lyrical about that car. On balance, borrowing a little of the flagship's halo seems a far better deal.

That's not to accuse the Vistiq of stolen valor, mind. While General Motors' Ultium platform for all-electric vehicles may have had a patchy start, a burst of more recent momentum suggests the gamble on one architecture to rule them all is paying off. Ultium now underpins everything from the charming-yet-affordable Chevrolet Equinox EV, to the long-legged Silverado EV, and all the way to GMC's ridiculously-boisterous Hummer EV.

Then, of course, there's Cadillac's own Escalade IQ — no less lavish than its V8 sibling, but without the hydrocarbons — and the smaller Lyriq. The latter now accounting for 1-in-5 of Cadillac's sales in the U.S., and being the best-selling luxury EV in the country last year. A fine showing, but perhaps all that was missing was that third row of seats.

Expanding, the "IQ" next is arguably the most important electric model in Cadillac's line-up. The 2026 Vistiq — unlike its stablemates — lands in a barely-served segment, the number of three-row all-electric SUVs being vanishingly small right now. Like the XT6 before it, there's a sense that Cadillac has to play in this category if it wants to be taken seriously. Unlike the XT6, though, the Vistiq avoids feeling like a Chevy playing luxury dress-up.

Hence, the Escalade gamble, then, and when you're up against rivals that include the Rivian R1S and Kia EV9, you can't afford to leave any wildcards unplayed. Potential Vistiq buyers probably covet a 2025 Escalade IQ — which starts at $127,700 before destination and any applicable incentives — but might not have that six-figure spending power. A 2026 Vistiq, from $77,395 plus $1,695 destination, suddenly seems like a relative bargain.

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Cover the badge, and you could forgive neighbors for not realizing your cunning. The Vistiq has the same visual heft as the Escalade IQ, with squared-off sides, signature upright LED lighting front and rear, and an illuminated grille; it makes the 21-inch alloys standard on the Luxury and Sport (from $77,895 plus destination) look normal. 22-inch wheels are standard on the Premium Luxury and Platinum (from $91,895 and $96,495 respectively, plus destination) and 23-inch versions optional.

Despite the blunt edges, Cadillac says the Vistiq has a relatively slippery 0.29 coefficient of drag. Credit more than 350 hours of wind tunnel work for that. Aluminum used for the doors, fenders, and hood help with weight, but this is still a hefty SUV at 6,326 pounds. With the right hitch, it can tow up to 5,000 pounds. Overall, it looks suitably imperious, and I particularly like how the upper front lights integrate with the chrome trim across the grille.

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It's inside, though, where you can tell Cadillac has learned its lesson from the XT6. Where the gas SUV always felt barely elevated over its Chevy Traverse cousin, the Vistiq samples liberally from the Escalade IQ. An eye-catching 33-inch LED display curves across much of the dashboard, paired as standard with five-zone climate control and a 23-speaker AKG audio system with Dolby Atmos support.

A second, 8-inch touchscreen underneath handles HVAC and other key settings; there's another of those for the second row to adjust rear cabin climate. As in other GM EVs, there's neither Apple CarPlay nor Android Auto support. Instead, you get Google built-in, with Google Maps for navigation, the Google Assistant for voice control, and Google Play Store access for third-party apps, all delivered over a baked-in 5G connection that doubles as a pipe for the Wi-Fi hotspot.

Cadillac's infotainment UI is familiar, and familiarly frustrating. Changing drive modes or switching between regenerative braking strengths each requires several taps through the touchscreen. Even just opening the glove compartment gets a virtual button, not a physical one. The result is a clean dashboard, certainly, and there are basic navigation controls on the center console, but some more physical switchgear would make life so much easier.

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Seven seats are fitted as standard, with a second row bench. A six seat configuration — swapping that bench for a pair of captain's chairs — is $800 on the Luxury and Sport trims, and standard above that. The first and second rows are spacious, with standard heating, ventilation, and massage for the front seats, and heating for the second row. Cadillac has some genuinely pleasant materials, too, including open-pore wood and real metal trim, but true leather is off the menu. The eco-friendly fake stuff looks and feels fine.

You can't accuse Cadillac of ignoring the third row, either. A fixed glass panel overhead leaves it light and airy; as well as dedicated USB charging ports and cupholders, the automaker points out, there are even wrapped armrests and metal grilles for the speakers. Little details, sure, but at odds with rivals where it can get markedly more low-rent the further back you're seated.

Physics still applies, of course. At 5 feet 8 inches myself, my knees just grazed the second row seat-backs, though I still had headroom to spare. The chunky second row — though toppling forward and then tilting up — meant accessing the two rearmost chairs wasn't entirely graceful, especially given the somewhat sizable wheel arch intrusions.

With all seats up, there's 15.2 cu-ft of cargo space, 2.6 cu-ft more than in an XT6. That expands to 43 cu-ft with the third row folded, and 80.2 cu-ft behind the first row, roughly on a par with the XT6. Unlike the Escalade IQ, which has a decently-sized front trunk, the Vistiq is frunkless.

We've grown inured to electric cars with faintly ridiculous power figures, taking for granted that even little EV crossovers should tote the sort of torque that once required a supercar budget. The 2026 Vistiq, initially only offered in a dual-motor, all-wheel drive configuration, embodies that "big numbers because we can" ethos. Its pair of Ultium motors bring 615 horsepower (458.6 kW) and 650 lb-ft of torque (880 Nm, hence the "900" badge on the trunk) to the school run.

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As a result, 0-60 mph arrives in a mere 3.7 seconds, when the electric SUV is in Velocity Max mode. Luxury and Sport trims pair that with sport suspension fitted with continuous damping control, the latter adjusted according to the Tour, Sport, or other drive modes. Premium Luxury and Platinum trims get Air Ride adaptive suspension and active rear-wheel steering, for an even plusher ride and more nimble turns.

Nail the accelerator in a straight line, therefore, and the Vistiq surges forward with predicable — but still impressive — urgency. Invited by Cadillac to get behind the wheel of an example with the base steel springs and continuous damping, though, the overall experience doesn't encourage frisky driving. Sat up high, an intentional move by Cadillac to ensure you have a commanding view of the world around you, the scale of the Vistiq never slims.

Even with just two people occupying the frontmost seats, the more comfort-centric driving dynamics made lifting off markedly in the corners feel wise. Fail to do so with a full cohort aboard, and I suspect you'd quickly be picking vomit out of those all-metal speaker grilles. Sport mode makes the go-pedal more urgent and brings the Newton-meters into play more aggressively, but the weight and poise of the Vistiq hardly lend themselves to back road thrashing.

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Neither, frankly, ought they. Even Cadillac reps, questioned as to whether a three-row electric SUV actually needs this sort of power, conceded that necessity was as much a matter of keeping up with the competition as what buyers will regularly use. And honestly, driven in the sort of placid manner that the average family SUV buyer likely defaults to, the Vistiq's refined composure makes far more sense.

I can't help but wish, in fact, that Cadillac's engineers had focused a little more on range than they did on electric horsepower. 305 miles from a 102 kWh battery isn't dire — I saw around 2.8 miles per kW on the SUV's trip computer, albeit over a shorter distance than I'd prefer for full range tests, and with some more spirited driving at times — but I suspect that, had GM managed to push the Vistiq past the 350-mile mark, this would already be a very different conversation.

Kia's EV9 tops out at 304 miles in its longest-legged form, just about matching the Caddy. Rivian's R1S Dual starts at $84k before destination and incentives but has 329 miles of range, or 410 miles with the $6k Max battery option. As for charging, on the road there's support for up to 190 kW at DC fast chargers; sufficient, Cadillac says, to add 80 miles of range in about 10 minutes. The 2026 Vistiq has a CCS charge port, not the NACS version. GM offers an adapter to plug the EV in at Tesla Supercharger stations.

At home, there's standard 11.5 kW onboard charging; figure on 29 miles added in around an hour. Like with the Lyriq, an optional 19.2 kW upgrade (it's $1,480, though you also lose 5 miles of total range) can — with a suitably-potent home charger– add almost 47 mph. GM's 80 amp home charger is $1,699, and also supports the Vistiq's bi-directional power system that, when combined with the GM Energy V2H Bundle (for a further $5,600 not including installation), can send energy back to the home during an outage.

Super Cruise — wisely fitted as standard to all Vistiq trims — also gets some usability tweaks. As before, on pre-mapped highways and select other roads, the Level 2 system allows you to take your hands off the wheel and have the SUV maintain speed and position in lane, just as long as its eye-tracking cameras are confident you're still paying attention and could take over should the need arise. Like in other recent "Enhanced" versions of the tech, the Vistiq can automatically overtake a slower car ahead, too.

Now, though, if you've programmed a destination into Google Maps, the EV can automatically move you into the correct lane for the route ahead. In practice, it's a cautious driver: we dawdled for some time behind slower traffic, I suspect because Super Cruise knew our junction was coming up in about 1.5 miles and so didn't want to overtake before that arrived. You can tap the turn signal stalk to trigger a maneuver if the system is reluctant to, but overtaking generally is carried out in a fairly leisurely manner, running the risk of annoying more speedy human drivers around you.

The Vistiq will also try to reengage hands-off functionality as much as possible (rather than demanding a button be pressed to reactivate it). That took a little getting used to, and Cadillac could make the Super Cruise graphics clearer given the screen real-estate here. Peering at tiny variations of steering wheel icons pushed to the very bottom of the driver's display feels needlessly demanding.

Higher trims do get a new augmented-reality head-up display, or AR HUD — standard on Premium Luxury and Platinum — which, in addition to floating key details like vehicle speed at the end of the hood, now can also place virtual graphics atop the road far further ahead. It's the fancy handiwork of GM's optical science lab, with other improvements like twice the resolution as previous HUDs and relying on lasers for more saturated colors. Sadly, it's still not entirely friendly to polarized sunglasses: you'll see some of the new information, but it won't have the same impact.

With the AR HUD, as well as being able to overlay navigation arrows over different lanes, Super Cruise can show its intentions. That includes things like flagging open lanes, boosting confidence in the system before it makes a maneuver of its own accord. While the AR HUD debuts on the Vistiq, it'll also be offered on the upcoming Lyriq-V.

Premium Luxury trim and above add Night Vision, though it's still a low-light video fed to the driver's display, not integrated with the AR HUD.

For Cadillac fans — especially those looking lustfully across the dealership at the Escalade IQ — there's a whole lot to like about the new Vistiq. It has much of the visual gravitas of its bigger sibling, and more than enough power. The cabin is comfortable and well-equipped, even in the base trims, not to mention distinctly on-brand in its look and feel. And, while 305 miles of range may not be segment-leading, it's still decent.

Were I considering the top-tier Vistiq Platinum, I might be tempted away by the Lucid Gravity Grand Touring (it's a little more expensive, from around $98k in its 7-seat form, but has 437 miles of range and more power). Rivian's R1S Dual Max is mighty compelling, too, especially if I had any aspirations of going off-road or otherwise adventuring beyond asphalt.

Those things may be true, but so is the fact that — for the gap in Cadillac's electric SUV line-up — the 2026 Vistiq is pitched near-perfectly. Cherry-picking the highlights of your flagship model and packaging them together more affordably is hardly a new strategy in the auto world, but that's not to say it can't be effective, done properly. This baby Escalade on a budget certainly gets a whole lot closer to repeating that magic than any other three-row SUV that's worn the Caddy crest.