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GM didn’t just fall off the truck and land in the EV game. This is the company that built the EV1 in the Clinton era, a slippery little wedge that got strangled in its sleep by lawyers, lease agreements, and Chevron.
2026 Cadillac Vistiq Review… GM’s Three-Row EV Haymaker
But fast forward to 2025, and the General is still standing. They’re doing more than standing, they’re swinging. And the 2026 Cadillac Vistiq? It’s a haymaker. It might not rewrite the rules of electric propulsion, but it absolutely shows that GM knows how to play the game. No gimmicks. No empty futurism. Just a three-row luxury EV that works, and works well. One Tesla Plaid owner test drove it and wrote a review about the new Vistiq.
“We are considering replacing a BMW X5 with an EV and have been investigating the various options. The X5 is my wife’s daily driver, and she drives 5-6K miles annually. My daily driver is a Tesla Model S Plaid, and we have 3 other ICE cars.
Drove a black on black Vistiq Sport today, and quite frankly, it is probably our favorite option among the various 3 rows – R1S, Model X, Model Y, Kia EV9, and Volvo EX90, which we haven’t driven yet.
What we liked:
What a great size, much more reasonable than the enormous 3-row Escalade IQ, but roomier than Model X. Similar length to the R1S, but the second row legroom was better than R1S. 3rd row is passable for smaller kids, and larger ones with a cooperative second row occupant.
A pano sunroof that opens in an EV – wow! Also, an extra small glass roof over the 3rd row is a nice touch.
Great second row captain’s chairs! I wish others did this as well!
The interior is very quiet, and the ride is very smooth, which is preferable for my wife’s casual driving style. It’s definitely towards the isolated luxury side of the spectrum. The sport mode makes an obvious difference on the dampers, but we won’t be driving a heavy 3-row EV as a sports car anyway. Body motions were well controlled for daily stuff.
The “hip point” for the front seats seemed pretty high, though the step in height is reasonably low. It’s an upright seating position with a commanding view.
Power is generous at 615HP. Press V mode on the wheel and you get it all. Very fast for a machine of this size.
The beautiful interior design and material choices seemed high quality. Very pretty.
The 80K base price, while a bit high, includes everything we’d want, including a banger of an AKG sound system.
Dislikes:
I don’t like the position of the charge port on the front fender. Wish it were at the rear.
A 2026 should have a native NACS port at this point. C’mon GM.
The very thin lines of the user interface screens are not very readable. Finding the various settings is not as intuitive as Tesla. I hunted for the brake regen setting for a while.
The fake acceleration noise is stupid. I turned it down to “Tour” setting, but hopefully, there is a way to shut it off completely.
No CarPlay, though native Google Maps seemed good.
EDITED TO ADD: No frunk! There appears to be significant lost space there, and no covers over the various mechanical bits at all. It’s both a waste of space and an ugly mess to look at. Really cheaped out here.
Overall, way more good than bad here. I like the trade-offs that GM has made. We won’t make a decision until closer to the end of the year, but my wife thought this is the leading candidate.”
This is a Tesla Model S Plaid owner. A driver familiar with near-teleportation levels of acceleration and software smoother than a jazz sax solo. And even he is saying the Vistiq might be the best option for his family. Cadillac hasn’t heard that kind of compliment since the second-gen CTS-V.
Cadillac Vistiq Specs: Powertrain, Range & Cutting-Edge Features
- The Vistiq features a dual-motor all-wheel-drive system delivering 615 horsepower and 650 lb-ft of torque. This setup enables acceleration from 0 to 60 mph in approximately 3.7 seconds when in Velocity Max mode. A 102 kWh Ultium battery provides an estimated range of 300 miles on a full charge.
- Inside, the Vistiq offers a 33-inch curved LED display with Google built-in, a 23-speaker AKG audio system with Dolby Atmos, and a five-zone climate control system. The SUV also includes Super Cruise, Cadillac’s hands-free driver assistance technology, standard with a three-year OnStar plan.
- Designed to seat up to seven passengers across three rows, the Vistiq provides ample space and comfort. Features include heated, ventilated, and massaging front seats, heated second-row outboard seats, and a panoramic sunroof. The SUV’s exterior showcases Cadillac’s signature vertical lighting and a distinctive grille design.
The Vistiq slots into GM’s lineup with deliberate precision. Unlike the Escalade IQ, which looks and drives like a 7,000-pound flex, the Vistiq aims for balance, better second-row comfort than a Rivian R1S, more functional than a Model X, and more stylishly executed than a Kia EV9.
The Vistiq has presence, not bloat. It’s ride leans hard into Cadillac’s historical comfort bias, with just enough sport mode damping to keep things from wallowing. One Redditor with seat time noted that the Vistiq felt fast when pushed in “V mode”, its full-fat 615 horsepower unleashed from the electric ether, yet calm and composed when you want to drift silently through traffic like a ghost in loafers.
Inside the Vistiq: Premium Cabin Design & Cadillac Super Cruise
Inside, GM didn’t skimp on materials or design. A panoramic roof that actually opens? In an EV? Heresy. Beautiful seats, yes, with a controversial vertical stripe, and a crystal-clear AKG audio system round out the cabin’s best hits. Rear captain’s chairs are standard, and in a three-row segment where luxury often means sacrificing family practicality, the Vistiq nails it. It feels like someone at GM actually used this thing to pick up kids from soccer, not just pitch it in PowerPoint.
Now, let’s talk Super Cruise. Cadillac’s hands-free highway system doesn’t try to be the second coming of HAL 9000, and thank God for that. Redditors familiar with Tesla’s “Full Self-Driving” praised Super Cruise’s reliability, subtlety, and ability to simply do what it says on the tin.
“Arguably the best highway driver assist on the market,”
One commenter said, and no one jumped in to argue. Silence, in this case, is as good as a standing ovation.
Build Quality Critiques: Frunk Absence, Port Placement & UI Frustrations
Of course, this being GM, there are a few moments where you say,
“How did this get past quality control?”
The lack of a frunk is baffling. What’s under the hood looks like someone opened an HVAC closet at an abandoned Sears. Exposed mechanical bits, wires, and wasted space, “an ugly mess,” the original reviewer said, and they weren’t wrong. It’s an unfortunate letdown for a vehicle that otherwise feels so polished. Then there’s the placement of the charge port (up front, annoyingly), and no native NACS support. In 2026, that’s not just an oversight, it’s a mistake.
And then there’s the interface. It’s no secret that Tesla still sets the bar for UX in this segment, and while GM’s screens look elegant at first glance, users noted that the fine lines and convoluted menus made finding settings, like brake regen, needlessly frustrating. “Not as intuitive as Tesla,” OP noted. It won’t ruin your day, but in a car this expensive, that excuse doesn’t fly anymore. Especially when we’re talking about something you interact with every time you drive.
Still, in the grand ledger of automotive design, GM comes out well ahead here. The Vistiq offers refinement, comfort, and performance in a form that doesn’t feel like it’s chasing trends. Redditors like u/Kentuckty97 and u/AccidentalPickle sang its praises for ride quality, packaging, and yes, value. At $80K, it’s not cheap, but it’s shockingly well-equipped for the money. You can call it the anti-Tesla, less flash, more substance, and that’s high praise in a world full of EV vaporware and tech gimmicks.
Cadillac Heritage & EV Transformation: From Dewar Trophy to Ultium
- Founded in Detroit, Michigan, Cadillac quickly established itself as a leader in automotive innovation. Notably, it was the first U.S. automaker to win the prestigious Dewar Trophy in 1908 for demonstrating the interchangeability of its precision parts, earning the brand’s slogan, “The Standard of the World”.
- While Cadillac once dominated the U.S. luxury car market, holding nearly a third of it about 40 years ago, its share has declined to less than 7% in recent years due to increased competition from other manufacturers. Despite this, the brand has seen a resurgence, with U.S. sales increasing by 18% in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same period the previous year.
- Cadillac is actively transitioning to electric vehicles (EVs), introducing models like the Lyriq, Escalade IQ, and the upcoming Vistiq SUV, which offers a 300-mile range. This shift includes significant investments, such as the $390 million retooling of its Fairfax, Kansas assembly plant to produce next-generation EVs.
The Vistiq doesn’t exist to steal attention. It exists to win trust. And for Cadillac, a brand that once stood for precision, grace, and American innovation, that’s exactly what it needed to do.
As the EV arms race continues, GM finally seems to understand that not every buyer is chasing zero-to-sixty heroics or a software update that changes how your blinker sounds. Sometimes, they just want a car that does everything well. The Vistiq is that car. Ugly under the hood, sure. But once you’re behind the wheel, you won’t care.
Noah Washington is an automotive journalist based in Atlanta, Georgia. He enjoys covering the latest news in the automotive industry and conducting reviews on the latest cars. He has been in the automotive industry since 15 years old and has been featured in prominent automotive news sites. You can reach him on X and LinkedIn for tips and to follow his automotive coverage.
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Source: torquenews.com
