STERLING HEIGHTS, Michigan — While my Cadillac Lyriq tester drove itself in Super Cruise at 75 mph on I-696 eastbound, I swiped through the gorgeous, curved 33-inch dash screen to show my friend, Peter, our Zmash Padel destination north of General Motors Co.’s engineering campus on Mound Road.

As we bore down on traffic, the Caddy automatically put on its left-turn signal and accelerated into the left lane to pass the car in front of us. Once past, it returned itself to the middle lane.

“This car is so smooth. So quiet,” said Peter.

Cadillac’s first electric vehicle, the Lyriq, is leading the way on a not-so-quiet transformation of GM’s storied luxury brand to battery power. GM is yelling the news from the hills, sidelining its internal-combustion SUVs, opening an EV showcase in the heart of Paris, even branding an open-wheel race car in the world’s most popular, electrified motorsport, Formula One.

Lyriq aims to redefine Caddy to take on Tesla. But it also must convince customers it is superior to its elegant, athletic, internal-combustion-engine CT5 sedans — ICEs made even more elegant because they have gained for 2025 the same digital screens and Super Cruise tech pioneered by the EV.

I first drove Lyriq in June 2022, and production has taken a winding road to get the vehicles into America’s showrooms. My friend Dicran, a past customer of the Cadillac STS and XT4, has been waiting — and waiting and waiting — for the Lyriq to arrive.

It was worth the wait.

“I like the design. It has real presence,” he said, circling the car. Leaning into Cadillac’s mid-20 th century, bling-tastic design heritage, Lyriq is a lushly styled counterpart to the iPhone simplicity of Tesla’s Model Y, which dominates the EV SUV space.

My Opulent Blue Metallic tester sported an etched front grille that lit up as we approached with key in pocket, a dance of northern lights across its face. Past Caddies, of course, have had huge chromed and shield-like grilles to feed air to their ICE engines. With no engine behind it, Lyriq’s mug is pure decoration. The vertical headlights frame the fascia like a theater marquee.

But it’s the hindquarters that really defined Cadillacs of yore — think sweeping tail fins on the 1959 Coupe De Ville and dramatic, vertical lamps on the 2011 CTS-V Sport Wagon.

Lyric adds to this portfolio with a striking combination of vertical bumper lights and hockey-stick lights that frame the rear window. It’s not easy to distinguish the hind quarters of SUVs these days, but the Caddy is unmistakable.

Slip inside and the jewelry store continues with piano-key climate controls, encrusted silver cupholders/rotary controller, and a console that pierces the cabin like a ship’s bow. Below the bow, an open tray extends across the floor (dressed in Opulent Blue, natch) to store purses and other cargo.

The high style is a throwback to ‘50s Caddy. Lyriq is a magic carpet ride, not a tight, corner-carver like its ICE sibling.

At 4,200 pounds, the comparably-priced, gas-powered twin-turbo V-6 CT5-V is a joy to drive fast — tempting you to take the long way home with its tuned chassis. I took a detour to Hell’s twisties myself once and had a ball.

Never once on my week with the three-ton Lyriq did I get the urge to carve corners. I’d nail the throttle out of stoplights for the rush of instant torque from its 102 kWh battery — then turn things over to the liquid-smooth drivetrain on cruise control (secondary roads) and Super Cruise (divided highways).

Caddy says a high-performance Lyriq V-series model is coming, but the standard $60K model is just fine, thank you very much. It costs about the same as the CT5-V, and with its low center of gravity, Lyriq feels more like a big sedan — especially now that CT5 has been upgraded with the same 33-inch curved screen. The gas-powered $45K Caddy XT5, by contrast, has not received interior updates and will likely be kicked out the door after the XT4, which ended production last year.

Equipping CT5 with the same high tech as Lyriq is where the EV equation gets tricky.

For all its bling-tastic styling, Lyriq’s defining trait was it was first to market with Cadillac’s mega-tron screen and superb Google Built-in operating system. Now that gas models are getting the same, EV must compete with ICE on driving convenience — and, ahem, range anxiety is the bane of an EV’s existence.

Google Built-in attempts to calm the anxiety. It requires a one-time, bar code-initiated setup that linked the car to my phone’s Google account. Thereafter, the crossover operated like a rolling extension of my smartphone.

I moved avatars around on the screen just like my Android — choosing apps I used the most for my home screen: 360-degree camera (so I didn’t bump parking curbs with that majestic front end), charging (set to 80% every night on my home charger) and navigation. Navi is key.

As much as he enjoyed Lyriq, Dicran hesitated at the EV charging experience as he regularly road trips to, say, Chicago.

Google Built-in integrates charging infrastructure with trip directions. We set a mock destination to Chicago and Lyriq planned two lengthy charge stops on the way — predicting arrival with 30% of charge, which would be enough to find local charging.

Needless to say, ICE vehicles have no such delays/fueling concerns, so efficient is energy-dense gasoline. If the CT5-V has a better power-to-weight ratio, Super Cruise, and 33-inch screen, why buy the EV?

That’s why the Lyriq’s unique styling, ride experience, and “new, new thing” vibe is so critical — and why some of its choices are head-scratching.

Unlike Tesla competitors, Lyriq does not provide a front trunk. The “frunk” is a defining EV cargo advantage (see huge Silverado EV and Mustang Mach-E frunks). Yet, open the Lyriq’s hood, and you stare into a sea of electrical wiring. Caddy has also removed the $1,500 home charger installation subsidy it once offered.

While a Caddy EV is still a tough sell against a Caddy ICE, the back-to-the-future, bling-tastic Lyriq makes a strong case as a Tesla alternative.

2025 Cadillac Lyriq

Vehicle type: Battery-powered, rear-wheel and all-wheel-drive, five-passenger SUV

Price:$60,615, including $1,395 destination fee ($80,485 Sport 3 AWD as tested)

Powerplant: 102 kWh lithium-ion battery with single rear or dual electric-motor drive

Power: 365 horsepower, 325 pound-feet torque (RWD); 515 horsepower, 450 pound-feet torque (AWD)

Transmission: Single-speed direct drive

Performance: 0-60 mph, 4.6 seconds (est.); top speed, 132 mph; towing, 3,500 pounds

Weight: 5,789 pounds (AWD as tested)

Fuel economy: EPA MPGe 89; range, 303 miles (AWD); 326 miles (RWD)

Report card

Highs: Striking design; Google Built-in navigation

Lows: No frunk; ICE peers have same tech, better range

Overall: 3 stars

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