Cadillac's first electric car, the Lyriq SUV, is prepping for launch, but on Sept. 18 reservation books officially open. Parent automaker General Motors announced the date Wednesday with its second-quarter earnings report, and the brand's website now includes reservation details. If you're really itching for a Cadillac Lyriq and want to put it in your calendar, reservations specifically open at 1 p.m. PT (4 p.m. ET) on that date.
GM's banking on the Lyriq in a big way, and thinks it has a winner on its hands. The automaker previously announced it would pull forward the car's launch date from late 2022 to the first half of next year -- no small jump in the worlds of automaker engineering and product planning. It will be the second car to use GM's Ultium battery technology and brand-spankin' new EV underpinnings. The first vehicle, and the honor to introduce the engineering, goes to the GMC Hummer EV. The hulking electric pickup launches this fall.
This Ultium tech provides the Lyriq with a 100 kilowatt-hour battery pack that Cadillac estimates will provide over 300 miles of range. The Environmental Protection Agency will need to give us the final verdict, however. Said battery provides go-fast juice to a single electric motor to drive the rear axle, meaning the first SUVs will be rear-wheel drive only. You'll have to wait for an all-wheel drive model. Still, this luxury SUV should scoot with 340 horsepower and 325 pound-feet of instantaneous torque ready and willing. When it's time to plug it in, the Lyriq accepts up to 190 kW of power for about 76 miles of range added every 10 minutes. That assumes you're at a DC fast charger. If you're at home, a Level 2, 240-volt AC charger will add 52 miles each hour it's plugged in, with a flow of 19.2 kW per hour.
Its price might surprise you, though: The 2023 Lyriq will start at $58,795 before destination. Expect it to come in just under $60,000 before adding options. For a luxury SUV meant to challenge the Tesla Model X size-wise, it's a far more budget-friendly option. Will it be able to steal some of the Model X's swagger? That'll be for potential buyers to decide.
