So far, it seems like the conclusion most people have drawn up about the Cadillac ELR is that it’s good looking, refined and has a genuine premium feel to the interior, but the $75,000 asking price is pushing it for a car that is so closely related to the much less-expensive Chevrolet Volt. The two cars might share General Motors’ Voltec powertrain, but that doesn’t mean they deliver the same driving experience. Luckily, The Smoking Tire’s Matt Farah owns a Volt, so he decided to scoop up an ELR from Cadillac and compare the two side by side.
Farah says the Volt is a little dull looking, so one place where the ELR really does pull ahead is in its sleek and sharp styling. Inside, the Volt feels like any budget compact car, whereas the ELR has soft-touch materials and premium trim on par with any $75,000 vehicles you might find in a German brand’s showroom. The ELR has some unique features, like Regen On Demand and Hold Mode, but does that constitute Cadillac’s asking price? Check out the review below for Farah’s answer.
Comments
21 months of owning my 2012 Volt and less than 20 gallons of gas used. http://www.voltstats.net/Stats/Details/1791
And if I park it for several days and then drive it again after being in one of my other vehicles, I still get that “wow” feel because the technology is so amazing. I’m six foot tall, 206 pounds, have arthritis and once I’m seated in the car, complete comfort.
I’ve contacted a Cadillac dealer not too terribly far from me about a month ago. The ELR is a “looker” and I also believe the Volt is an attractive car too. But, I’m no longer toying with the idea of even test driving an ELR now until I see what GM (Godawful Marketing) might have in May for the 2015 Volt. At the price of a Volt, plus an additional $40,000 more to buy an ELR, the Chevy Volt is looking to be my ride for the next three years again.
I have to admit as I’ve been watching the hearings on Capitol Hill today and Mary Barra being grilled from both sides, Senator Ed Markey (D) Massachusetts stated “GM has a culture of secrecy” (in regard to the several years of the defective key switch) and I have to take that one step further and say their “secrecy” goes so far as to suggest they should have called the Volt their “Area 51 Car” and the same is and will be true of the ELR… Little or non-existent advertising, marketing and “story-telling” about this incredible platform…
I met a surgeon at a gas pump less than two months ago who was filling his Prius and mentioned to him that I rented one in San Francisco for a week and enjoyed it, but decided to buy the Volt instead. The next words out of his mouth, “I thought they quit making the Volt?” And when people say to me in public (I live in west-central Texas where people know more about horses than they do of what is going on elsewhere in the world) I get remarks, “Nice looking car, what is it?” I say “A Volt.” And the next words out of their mouth “What’s a Volt?”
Good luck ELR… it is going to be an uphill battle with no regen where you are headed, especially due to “Godawful Marketing.”
Add another review to the pile. ELR should have been priced around $60,000.
Hopefully Cadillac management can think of a somewhat face saving way to bring the next model year’s price down by at least $10k (e.g., “We found many efficiencies in our production planning, and that allows us to bring the 2015 ELR price down to $65,000”).
The most bias “comparison” I have ever seen…they show a full pan of the Volt interior in a controlled environment with nice lighting several times, but do not do the same for the beautifully crafted Cadillac interior with great center console. We only see basically one crappy shit from a bad angle by the steering wheel. Obvious they wanted you only to see certain things…
The ELR outshines the Volt by a huge margin. Very apparent in the video. I still like my Volt interior better though. I like the high tech look with all the buttons. Yes the ELR interior is awesome, but looks the same as every other Cadillac.
This video still has me looking at the 699 lease for the ELR. Wish it goes on sale for like 499, then I am in.
I agree the marketing started strong on the Volt and then it just vanished.
They should show how the real owners and how they are using their cars. I have seen case after case where many are still on the original tank of fuel a year later. Jay Leno was one and he drives his often.
The real world use of the Volt is the selling point and how you do not have to live by or wait for a Supercharger to be installed in your area or any of that rot.
The one thing the Tesla has done better is Musk has been the master of the internet. He has marketed his car better than anyone. The truth be told the Tesla holds not real technology advantage over any other electric other than a larger battery and it is in nice car that is not the usual upgraded golf cart.
I to am wondering what GM has in store for the 2nd gen as it is not far out. Also the new EV model they have hinted at that too will appear around the same time. There is a lot more going on than many realize as GM has kept security up on many models anymore. The Z/28 has shocked many as few even inside GM knew of it.
As for the ELR. It truly has the nicest interior of any Cadillac I have been in for years. But it is only a short term fix here as Cadillac is doing with it like Chevy is doing with the SS. These models are just filling in till they get the model they want out. Both are expensive low volume cars that are there to establish a place in the market and will be replaced soon. With the Delta2 dying soon the ELR can not be around more then 2 maybe 3 years at best.
I agree the ELR (as currently built) is likely a 2-3 year placeholder, but if Cadillac truly believes in the car and wants to use it as a car to help continue to establish itself as a forward-thinking/tech-savvy car company, why not get it into as many hands as reasonably possible?
By keeping this current pricing, in 3 years they *might” sell 5,000 cars. That’s a waste of time and doesn’t “establish” anything in the market because no one will know it exists.
The same can be said about all cars. They are just a placeholder for the next gen.
What should instead be said is these 2 cars are better than anything else available outside of a Tesla.
Not all cars are place holders.
The fact is cars can not always be introduced when the MFG wants them and at times have to bring them to market when they can and go from there. Case in point the SS. GM could have easily waited till the new Alpha replacement arrives in 3 years but they needed to get the car approved for NASCAR and they had to get the business case approved when they could. It may not have got the green light if they had waited. Also the work was already done as GM had the car just waiting for the VF.
The fact was the ELR did not just happen in the last year or two. Much of the work was done and they just had to finish what was not done due to delays of the bail out. Many models we have now have roots in pre bail out GM and were Shelved till they had the money and time to bring them back.
The styling on the ELR was pre bail out as was the Voltec system. With much of the work done it did not take them long to bring it to market once they gave it the green light. Lets face it this car went from business case approval to market in a very short time and even with the base being on a Chevy there was a lot of work put into this car that was done before the green light.
This car is an image car at best and they either could have just trashed it or bring it to market. The cost is more a indicator of how much this car is to build as I suspect they were given the go ahead to sell it but just do not lose money on it like the Volt.
They will sell enough to break even with the price and they will show case some technology and styling.
I expect with the next gen and the coming EV we will see a car much more inline with were they want to be. Like the Malibu this is a left over project that at least put some new product on the market. Just look at Chrysler and Fiat and how they really are just now getting their second new car out post chapter 11. Yes they did a few refresh models but other then Jeep they have had little new to offer. Even then the Dart and 200 are better than what they have but are disappointing compared to the rest of the market. They are mid pack models at best.
Fiat is living on old Fiat and Alfa platforms that are not all that world class. GM is living on decent older platforms as they develop a whole new line of new platforms we are now just started to get. It was only 5 years ago GM got the money and the Alpha is the first of the new lighter platforms. DXX2 and others will follow soon.
As for Tesla it caught everyone off guard and they all will catch up and the advantage Tesla had will vanish. The larger MFG all have much deeper pockets and resources than Tesla unless they partner with someone later.
GM, BMW, Audi/VW, Benz and others are all at work and we will see their results soon. It is easy to build a expensive luxury EV at a higher price. No one thought it could be sold and now that they know different. Also the key is good marketing. The only thing the Tesla does better technology wise is the internet marketing they have all else they offer can be easily reproduced or improved on.