General Motors unveiled the all-new 2026 Cadillac Vistiq last week, pulling the sheets on the luxury marque’s fifth all-electric vehicle. Slotting in above the Cadillac Lyriq and below the Cadillac Escalade IQ with regard to Caddy’s EV lineup, the Vistiq features a blend of EV styling cues and the latest GM electric powertrain technology. Now, we want to know – is the 2026 Cadillac Vistiq hot, or not?
At present, General Motors is keeping the majority of details regarding Caddy’s all-new, all-electric crossover close to the chest. Nevertheless, there are still a number of things to pick apart here, starting with the styling.
The front end, for example, looks to blend styling cues taken from both the Cadillac Lyriq and the Cadillac Escalade IQ, presenting a signature backlit fascia with a centrally placed monochromatic Caddy crest. The backlit fascia is flanked by large vertical lighting in the sides, and horizontally oriented lighting signatures up top, the latter of which is visually joined by a polished trim bit that runs the length of the hood line. Further polished trim is found on either side of the lower air intake.
Moving into the sides, we see a tall, upright design similar to that of the Cadillac Escalade IQ, with 22-inch wheels in the corners and a two-tier taillamp setup in the rear. The door handles are mounted flush with the body, similar to the Lyriq.
Beyond the styling details, we also know that the 2026 Cadillac Vistiq will offer GM Ultium battery tech and GM Ultium Drive motors for motivation, likely sporting a two-motor setup rated at 500 horsepower and 450 pound-feet of torque in AWD configuration, as indicated by the 600E4 badge on the trunk. Check out our previous coverage on Cadillac’s naming scheme for more information on that front. What’s more, Vistiq prototypes spotted earlier this year indicate the crossover will likely offer rear-wheel steering as well.
So, with all that covered, we still want to know – is the 2026 Cadillac Vistiq hot, or not? Tell us by voting in the poll below, and don’t forget to subscribe to GM Authority for more Cadillac Vistiq news, Cadillac news, GM electric vehicle news, GM technology news, and around-the-clock GM news coverage.
Comments
I can’t imagine wanting any vehicle less than an electric crossover.
The Chevrolet Blazer EV RS model is the Same vehicle More GM Badge Engineering But Mary Barra Gets Paid 10’s of Millions each year and the UAW Union asks for MORE & MORE Each and Every Contract?
What is this World coming too!
The Lyriq is a Blazer EV twin. Vistiq probably an Equinox sibling.
No, Vistiq is larger than Lyriq. Optiq is the Equinox equivalent.
My mistake, Thanks for fact checking me.
Nobody seems to care when Audi or Porsche badge engineer a VW (which lets be serious here. The base V6 Cayenne is a badge engineered Touareg whether German-car fanboys like it or not). But when GM does it, how dare they!
There you go… Nothing Things!
It’s true. VW, Audi and Porsche all badge engineer common platforms and share powertrains. Even the Lamborghini Urus/Bentley Bentayga/Audi Q8 are shared. The Japanese obviously do it with their luxury brands as well.
As far as Badge engineering goes, I thought GM gave up on that after making so many Oldsmobuicks?
I like the GM EVs the most of them all. I find them to be the best looking and I like that they keep their interiors familiar and traditional (with plenty of buttons and not dump everything on a screen). The problem is, at $56k for a Blazer just because it has a battery is just delusional on GMs part.
Just another crossover, right? And it has batteries like my grandkids’ Christmas toys!
It would be even more like toys if the vehicle had a tag that said: “batteries not included”. LOL
And the car in your garage has a gas engine just like your neighbor’s leaf blower. What’s your point?
Price? I’ve seen nothing on price. Its hot if it 75K, it’s not if it is 120. A decently equipped XT6 is around 60. This is about the same size as this. If it is twice an XT6, that is a dud.
If you read the story on this and the IQ, you would know that this vehicle slots below the IQ so the price will be around $70K.
The new slade IQ starts at 130. Starts. And that is before they made one. Me thinks sladeIQ will start at 140-150 at release. So the vistiq could easily be 120 with some options. Given a Lyriq 3 with leather is 75 today, 70 seems optimistic by the time they are actually producing the vistiq. Remind me again how much the silverado EV was supposed to be and how much it is. But who knows, maybe prices will start to go down for EV’s.
GM Prices Go DOWN, are you out-of-your-mind!
I guess its OK if you want a large station wagon.
I do want a large station wagon, but this ain’t it.
I think the XT6 is a beautifully styled crossover but the VISTIQ by the looks of it looks far better.
You are correct, I’ve ownwed numerous Cadillacs. However the XT6 is the Best one yet. I was waiting on GM to get all the bugs worked out. As well as infastructure support. When I buy it will be the Vistiq. 2025-26 will be about the right time. If you don’t own or haven’t driven a Cadillac XT6. Try it before you criticize it.
I have driven a new XT6 when my Escalade was in for service. I am surprised that they are the same brand, the XT6 drives and sounds like a FWD economy car. No comparison to the Escalade
I agree the XT6 is a nice 3 row vehicle: however, the Vistiq appears even nicer looking. My concerns for electric remain the price and travel distance. Also, recent stories in automotive publications about road tripping in their electric testers is a real eye opener. Charging logistics, slow and broken, and not meeting advertised mileage is a showstopper for me. My 2023 XT6 lease ends in early 2025, hopefully there will be better news and the Vistiq will be available.
Design wise, Cadillac been on a role lately since the release of the 2013 Xts
This cannot replace the awful XT6 in the Cadillac lineup soon enough.
I think the XT6 needs an update before it is sunset.
This won’t replace the XT6. At least not for another generation. Not all Cadillac dealers are in areas where EV adoption is incredibly high.
I think GM planned for this to replace the XT6 but will now need to rethink that strategy as demand softens for EV’s. I am seriously considering an XT6 come springtime and mid-sixties pricing for the top model seams reasonable, especially compared with the German competion. I’ll be doing far too many road trips to consider any EV at this point.
I am sure that the XT6 will get a nip and tuck but it still needs to be replaced by the Vistiq as soon as possible.
The XT6 was basically a Dud from the day it was shown to the World. The XT6 cannot be replaced soon enough. I know plenty of people looking for a Luxury Three Row SUV (ICE and BEV) and they laugh at the XT6.
Cadillac needs a good product for that segment and they need it ASP.
Hmmmm. Let me think on this for a moment……………..
No. It’s just one more box. Go ahead and line this up bumper to bumper with a Lincoln, Buick, Chevy, Toyota, BMW, MB, Kia, Hyundai, Honda and the zillions of other SUV/CUV’s. Put them in that line and then see how many people can tell one from another from 20 feet away. They all look the same and unless you see the front with the grille/emblem, you can’t tell one from another.
I realize you don’t like SUVs at all because you feel that people follow because they are the in thing and automakers don’t advertise sedans enough for the reason people buy tall wagons. People can’t tell the difference of the sedan also if you line them side by side from each automaker who still produces them.
I can understand your argument of SUVs/CUVs two decades ago but most SUVs/CUVs are more stylish and you can tell the differences at a distance even though you may not know what automaker it comes from as a consumer same as for the sedan as well.
more stylish? than what? still a box, driven by some middle aged fat woman on a cell phone with a bunch of kids in the back..not everyone wants or needs a box to drive, and we dont stuff the back of it like we do with our garages, and never clean it out…give me a decent sedan or coupe..everyone is being forced to buy this crap because theyre not making anything else, the margins on these are huge, not so much on sedan and coupes…and i cant tell one from the other and my father worked for GM, when they had different looks and Oldsmobile was still around..now they are available in any color as long as theyre black or white, with a black interior..no thanks ill keep my CTS coupe
Scott,
No automaker is forcing you to buy a SUV/CUV and that is your choice but to say they are not stylish because you don’t like them is lying to yourself. Most vehicles rather a sedan, coupe, truck, crossover/SUV are stylish.
I own a Regal and I can appreciate the fact that there are stylish looking crossovers out there just like sedans. I’m not in a market to look for a crossover at this moment but I do have a choice in a vehicle that deserves my wallet when the time comes.
The CUVs/SUVs look like a box to you and most people think that the sedan is slab-sided so your point is?
Going to preface this long post by saying that I don’t think the Lyriq and the other crossovers are a bad idea. They appear to be good products. I’m just questioning the focus on 4 EV crossovers when you know these won’t be volume sellers for a while.
Cadillac needs a Model S competitor IMO. Something in the $60,000-$130,000 range with a 350 mile range with the ability to option it up with a tri motor model with insane performance. Basically it needs to be sex on wheels – appealing to tech nerds, car guys, and high income men and women who don’t need an SUV (likely because they already have an Escalade or Land Rover parked in their driveway).
Crossovers aren’t the best game now for luxury EV’s like they are for mainstream brands. Crossovers appeal to practical buyers. But EV’s aren’t really a practical option for most people yet. So Cadillac needs a performance vehicle that isn’t really a crossover IMO. Something that appeals to people who aren’t looking for a practical option. Something in the vein of the CT5-5, but electric. Something that people will love forever – the kind of car that we’ll talk about having driven when we are puttering around in the nursing home decades from now. Cadillac is in a unique position to deliver that.
A sedan (Seville) and a coupe (Eldorado) with world beating performance and iconic styling would be really cool. They won’t be high volume either, but they will carve out a market position that Tesla struggles to touch with their questionable interior quality and aging styling language. It would help establish Cadillac as a performance luxury brand before Lexus can.
Maybe even a roadster if Cadillac is allowed to have one.
Buick and Chevy could also use a Model 3 competitor. Buick pretty much needs any new product they can get.
member12: Agreed 100%. And Caddy needs EV’s going against the Model 3, Model S as well as a larger yet sedan as a top end, but not crazy top end like the Celestiq.
Buick would be the perfect candidate for a smaller and mid-sized EV sedan. And now.
Go to a Vehicle Salvage Yard and all the Cars and SUV & Trucks look exactly the same once they are stripped.
The back looks very weird. The rest is a knockout from a styling perspective.
The name is horrific. I can’t overstate that. The IQ nonsense needs to stop.
It’s probably a very good electric vehicle just like the Lyriq. But it’s doomed to being a low volume vehicle because it’s an expensive first gen electric crossover in a stagnant economy. And if you are doing a low volume vehicle to reinvent the brand – wouldn’t you rather do a more performance oriented vehicle?
IDK. 4 new electric crossovers is very risky right now. I don’t think GM can remain focused long enough to see this payout.
@member12
Totally agree that the IQ naming structure is just awful
Cadillac should have kept CT4, CT5, CT6, XT4, XT5, XT6 and added IQ next to it until the ICE Models disappeared.
But of course they have to overthink everything
I’m not saying that they should keep the alpha-numeric stuff for the EVs. I understand trying to differentiate them from their ICE counterparts. They want to be clear that these new EVs are entirely unrelated to existing Cadillacs.
But the IQ nonsense is just terrible.
Just call it Lyric. That’s a cool name. Spell it correctly.
What binds the models together as a family is the Cadillac brand. They don’t need IQ in the name. Just give them good names or borrow from Cadillac’s past (or from their concept cars) like Ciel, Escala, Eldorado, Starlight, etc.
Vistiq is a terrible name. Even if they spell it correctly it’s bad. And Optiq sounds like a eyeglasses store in a declining shopping mall. It’s terrible and holds back what likely is a good product.
@member12
Why differentiate them?
ICE Cadillacs will be done by 2030-2035 so why totaly confuse your customers?
Mercedes is using EQ and then dropping it once All BEV
BMW is using i and then dropping it once All BEV
The IQ stuff is a bit, well… pathet-IQ, but it sure beats this nonsense of copying the unimaginative letter-number nonsense of some German makes, or Lincoln’s now-abandoned MK this and MK that.
Me? I’m an old codger and would love to see car makers return to the days of names based on:
Chevrolet: Resort cities Bel Air, Biscayne, Del Ray
Plymouth’s famous hotels: Belevere, Savoy, Plaza, Cranbrook
Ford had a rural theme for their station wagons: Ranch Wagon, Country Sedan, Country Squire
I think Hyundai missed a good thing. They had or have the Sonata. Why not rank the cars by size? Trio, Quartet, Sonatina, Sonata, Concerto, Symphony?
Perhaps, the designers allowed for swapping in the upcoming Gen VI SB V8…. cuz, then they could sell it. 😉
After having a Lyriq for 6 months, My opinion is it would be good if GM/Cadillac hired designers with an IQ above their car numbers, like 4, 5, 6. the ergonomics in the Lyriq is the worst in any car, new or used, i have bought over the last 40 years.
so it doesn’t matter what the new Cads look like, or their names, or if they have sedans or coupes, if they don’t have quality (my Lyriq also has poor fit and finish along with many other problems), along with poor Dealer support to remedy, GM/Cadillac will not fair well in the NA Market
Great Comment!
Another boring SUV. It looks like it took styling ques from the Range Rover.
The pop-up ads are extremely frustrating. X one out then a few seconds later another pops up. Got to be a better way to present the advertisement. It’s the same on the Ford Authority. I have been a reader for years and only this year has the pop ups been so annoying. Please try a different method.
Not as hot looking as my LYRIQ. Looks more like an XT6 which is not nearly as styled. For all the naysayers on electric cars I was once one also. I have really enjoyed this LYRIQ and could someday see myself replacing it with another electric. One pedal driving is great, paying 20% of what I used to spend on gas is great, other things not related to electric are great also like super cruise, styling, comfort, interior styling, performance, etc. I also own a 6.2 Silverado which I will always have or replace with an ICE truck and a2020 ICE Impala. I’m not a tree hugging liberal and I don’t think in the big picture I’ve done one thing to help the environment based on what it takes to get the lithium out of the ground and my car uses coal for energy instead of oil! The LYRIQ is just beautiful and fun period.
Nothing less “hot” than a three row crossover. Too tall and boxy. This is the least attractive of the Optiq, Lyriq, Vistiq, Escalade IQ set.
The problem I have with “non-boxy” designs is my large (and tall) dog will not fit in the back of those that slant down as they take up a good 12 to 16” of cargo area leaving little room to maneuver. The XT6 and only a few other competitive models are the only option without going to the full size Tahoe/Escalade world and that’s not going to happen.
Cadillac is driving beyond its headlights in both EV introductions and high end pricing. The EV market is softening and inflation is forcing pricing down, both a prescription for a low volume outcome. Cadillac should focus on building high quality luxury vehicles (which they are struggling to do) at an attainable price. Some EVs are ok but let’s not over do it.
I have seen no indication that Cadillac can build high quality luxury vehicles, EV or ICE. Spend money on quality improvement not buying back stock.
just got rid of a Mercedes cls400 with only 15000 miles, and not fast enough..the car was poorly made and had a crap engine and transmission….sunvisor kept falling off….there are almost no high quality luxury vehicles anymore..is all on the game of how much money they can make…
Based on current sales trends, I think GM (and other manufacturers) need to take a more balanced approach to new vehicle development. In my opinion, ICE vehicles are still in much more demand than electric vehicles. You can’t force the market to change if that is what the customer prefers. No doubt electrics will eventually dominate, but much work in engineering, design, cost reduction and infrastructure remains. At this point ICE vehicles still offer many advantages.
The Lyriq is by far the best looking of the group. Somehow it avoids the ‘box it came in’ look, despite being an SUV/CUV. GM used to advertise that they ‘sweat the details’. I think that is true with their ‘firsts’. The Volt in its original form had the best quality rating among sedans for awhile. I am hopeful that the Lyriq ends up with the same reputation. I guess in a year or so, we will have a good idea. While Lyriqs started being built in mid 2022, remember that they had negligible volume until a couple of months ago. I don’t thing Optiq, Vistiq, XT6 and XT4 are particularly good or bad looking, but they are pretty generic. The Lyriq seems to be the sweet spot, so far.
The last thing in the world we need to see, is another Cadillac Truck/SUV. Why doesn’t Cadillac make a full-size sedan again? Oh wait they do, they just don’t sell it in the US. Ridiculous!
I like it, cant afford it, but I like it. Its looks better than that meh mobile XT6 (which for some reason sells well) but I don’t like it’s name. How does Vistiq conjures anything? A nice addition to Cadillac’s EV fleet nonetheless.
GM needs these to be hybrids. I don’t know many people that I talk to that are interested in EVs – yet.
I am sad to see life long GM buyers leaving GM for other manufacturers because they want a Hybrid. I hope GM considers updating current ICE vehicle designs and adds Hybrids to the mix before going full throttle to EVs.
y’all know that ICE includes alternative fuel buggies, don’t ‘cha? Flex Fuel is still the greatest step towards helping the energy sitch since we can improve engine outputs and their ability to “burn” anything; seems like the Big 3+ and Cronies could improve their research/options thang and still reach world goals of reaching clean green air+. Any genius out there with a 1,000 mpg of McDonald’s cooking oil waste fuel injected car already designed annd mothballed?
Too many snarky and cynical comments. Wow. Y’all know it’s HOT 🔥🔥🔥. That’s 4/4 for Cadillac EVs!
I Love It and I’m buying one I’m hoping GM price it right because it’s gonna Be Awesome And Killing It Foresure, Yeah We’re Building It Here at My Springhill Tennessee Plant And It’s Gonna Be Spanked ✊🏾👊🏾✊🏾
I am totally dismayed on how GM is letting Cadillac commit suicide. These new cars are so ugly, non-asperational and embarrassing to the legacy. I just cant believe that this is happening to this division.
I partially agree…the Escalade is a beautiful machine though. Those others, plain ugly!
This is just plain old blah. I say, back to the drawing board with this one. It looks very bland. Nothin stands out and makes me go …”I want one of those!”… I own a 23 Escalade, and truly think it’s a beautiful looking car. I wouldn’t touch this Vistiq unless it was a loaner or a rental for travel. I suggest dropping the slope line to make it look more sporty.
Most of the design looks ok except the rear feels overwrought to me. Styling is subjective so it’s just personal taste.
I think it looks better than the Liriq but the back end needs work. Far superior to XT6. Though of course these renders are riding in 22’s (I assume) premium wheels, when most versions will get smaller, uglier rims with the larger fender gap that goes along with it, lessening the look of the car.
No one mentions cargo space. Does the Lyric have as much space behind the front seats as the Traverse or new Acadia (97 cu.ft.) ? I put a deposit down for the new Lexus 550h(+) but am waiting to see what improvements will be in the ’24 GM duo arriving soon. Downsizing from 7 Suburbans is tough, and the new one’s have hoods only comfortable if you’re over 6′ tall…..!?!?!?!?