The new 2026 Cadillac Vistiq is a scaled-down Escalade IQ without the epic range

The debut of the 2026 Cadillac Vistiq has many people wondering how it differs from the Escalade IQ, since they're both large three-row electric SUVs. Let's get price out of the way up front: the Vistiq starts at $77,395, while the Escalade IQ's base MSRP is $127,405.

The first answer, then, is that the Vistiq differs in being about fifty grand cheaper. That's a lot, and for plenty of shoppers, it will be enough to rule out the Escalade IQ altogether.

But Cadillac is definitely playing up the "baby Escalade IQ" angle with the new Vistiq, which, for the record, is still a decidedly large SUV at 205.6 inches long, although it's 18.7 inches shorter than the Suburban-sized IQ. As such, you might reasonably expect these two Cadillacs to have similar capabilities. And if you're thinking about acceleration, the Vistiq is actually significantly quicker off the line, so score one for the (relatively) little guy there.

Most folks, however, are thinking more about range when they're considering EVs. Unfortunately, that's where the Vistiq doesn't share nearly enough of the Escalade IQ's DNA.

How much faster is the Vistiq than the Escalade IQ?

Again, this question isn't top-of-mind for every EV shopper, but it's worth noting that the Vistiq is crazy fast for a three-row family hauler. There's only one available powertrain, and it's a doozy, pumping out a total of 615 horsepower through dual motors. The Escalade IQ makes an even sillier 750 hp, but it also weighs something like 9,000 pounds, which means this race is over before it gets started.

Notably, Cadillac upgraded its acceleration estimate for the Escalade IQ to 4.7 seconds with the release of the extended-length 2026 Escalade IQL (it was quoted as 4.9 seconds for 2025), but there's only so much you can do with all that mass and only two motors. The GMC Hummer EV Pickup, for example, can be equipped with the same battery pack as the Escalade IQ plus a third electric motor that takes the output to an even 1,000 hp. But that third motor isn't offered on the IQ, at least not yet, so the high-4-second range is the IQ's ceiling for now.

As for the Vistiq, which weighs a mere 6,326 pounds, it gives you the acceleration of yesteryear's supercars whenever the mood strikes. Slamming your passengers into their seatbacks is as easy as taking off in a golf cart. Does a three-row family SUV need to run neck-and-neck to 60 mph with a Porsche 959? Arguably not, but it's a nice parlor trick that puts the Vistiq in the company of pricier variants of the Rivian R1S and Lucid Gravity.

How bad is the Vistiq's range?

It's not bad, honestly. In fact, the Vistiq is right there with the similarly priced Volvo EX90 in the range column, and it dominates the Volvo from zero to 60. If Cadillac was trying to give the EX90 a direct competitor, I'd say mission accomplished and then some.

Trouble is, the EX90 is one of the least impressive three-row luxury SUVs when it comes to range, and the Vistiq can't do any better.

Now, I'm much more inclined to forgive the Hyundai Ioniq 9 and Kia EV9 for topping out in the vicinity of 300 miles, since those models have far lower base prices and aren't trying to be The Standard of the World. They'll always be in the three-row EV conversation, but they're obviously making more of a value play, impressive as they are on their own merits.

But the stakes are higher for Cadillac, particularly given the Escalade IQ's stratospheric pricing. The Cadillac SUV that's going to compete directly with Lucid and Rivian is the Vistiq, not the IQ, and here's what that picture looks like in terms of range and pricing.

I threw in the Escalade IQ to underscore the range gap between the Cadillacs, and yes, I cherry-picked the longest-range versions of the Gravity (well, it's also still the only version as of this writing) and the R1S. In the Rivian's case, you can pay as little as $75,900 for the Dual Standard variant, but you have to be cool with 270 miles of range.

So one way of looking at this table is, the Vistiq delivers competitive range at its sub-$80k base price — and we know from the previous table that it gives you insane acceleration, too. If we were strictly comparing base models here, the Caddy might have the edge.

But what you see is what you get with the Vistiq, no matter how many options or trim packages you pile on. It comes in a single mechanical configuration, whereas the R1S offers many different variants that can take the range as high as 410 miles and the 0-60 as low as 2.5 seconds.

If you're a Cadillac dealer, then, you've got a strong argument for the sub-$80k shopper, and you also have the stupendous Escalade IQ in your back pocket if they want to go nuclear.

But from about $85k to $105k, which is the sweet spot for the most capable three-row EVs, the Vistiq gets hammered on range, while the Escalade IQ is still far too expensive to compete.

MotorDonkey says

I think the root of the problem here is that GM just doesn't have an in-between battery size that can plug and play in the Vistiq's architecture. The only available battery has literally half the capacity — 102 kWh — of the Escalade IQ's 205-kWh unit, and since the Vistiq is only about 30 percent lighter, that's not a formula for fantastic range.

If there were a 150-kWh battery, say, then GM would have a direct rival for the Rivian R1S's top 141.5-kWh pack. Thusly equipped, the Vistiq would cost more, of course, but it might also be pushing 400 miles of range and giving the R1S a real run for its money. Could Cadillac bring a 150-kWh Vistiq to market for around $90,000 to start? That could be a game-changer right there.

As things stand, the Vistiq competes admirably well in most categories, but it simply has no answer for the longer-range competition. Until Cadillac figures out a way to fill that hole, the Vistiq's midpack ranking would seem to be locked in. ⛐ md