Overview

What's New for 2026

Cadillac hasn’t released much detail about the Vistiq but has said there will be four trim levels: Luxury, Sport, Premium Luxury, and Platinum. All will use the same dual-motor, all-wheel-drive powertrain. The first three will be available at launch; the Platinum is slated to follow in mid-2025.

The base Luxury trim will start at $78,790 (including a $1,395 destination fee). Because the base Vistiq slides in under the $80,000 cutoff for federal tax credit for trucks — and fits the definition of a truck — its real cost is likely to be just over $71,000 plus taxes and fees.

Standard features will include 21-inch alloy wheels on the lower trims and 22-inch wheels on the two upper trims, trim-specific grilles, heated front seats with massage function, faux-leather upholstery, a 33-inch digital driver's information and infotainment screen paired in a curved glass mounting, a digital camera rearview mirror, and a 23-speaker AKG Studio audio system. Third-row seating gets its own climate system (controlled from the second-row for some reason) plus cupholders, USB charger ports, and smartphone storage.

The Luxury and Sport trims get second-row bench seats, while the Premium Luxury and Platinum trims have captain’s chairs.

The Cadillac Vistiq will be built on GM's Ultium battery BEV3 platform for EVs, shared with the Lyriq and Celestiq, and the Chevrolet Blazer EV. Cadillac has said the Vistiq battery pack will have 102 kilowatt-hours capacity, which is slightly larger than the Lyriq’s and about half that of the GMC Hummer EV SUV.

Output from the dual-motor, electronic all-wheel-drive powertrain that’s standard on all trims is 615 horsepower and 650 pound-feet of torque. The Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV, Rivian R1S, and Tesla Model X all have performance trims that have more power, but at hefty price premiums.

Cadillac says the Vistiq can sprint to 60 mph from a standing start in 3.7 seconds in Velocity Max mode and 4.7 seconds in the other driver-selectable driving modes: Tour, for everyday driving, Sport, for faster accelerator and steering response, Ice/Snow for modified torque to avoid slipping, and My Mode, which allows the driver to customize several functions including accelerator and steering response. There’s also multiple levels of regenerative braking that the driver can select using a paddle on the steering wheel, and a one-pedal driving mode that can bring the Vistiq to a full stop without use of the brake pedal.

Semi-active roll control with coil suspension on the lower trims and air suspension on the two upper trims should provide for a pretty smooth ride. We expect the Vistiq will also have multi-level regenerative braking with one-pedal mode, and electric variable-ratio power steering. Four-wheel steering, which should make for easy parking, is available on the upper trims.

Cadillac estimates the Vistiq will deliver 300 miles of range on a full charge, which will be great, but not chart-topping. The Lucid Gravity, for instance, is rated at 440 miles, and the Tesla Model X claims 335 miles per charge.

The Vistiq will be capable of DC fast charging at up to 200 kW per hour, which Cadillac says translates to adding enough juice in 10 minutes to restore 79 miles of range, or about 30 minutes to bring a 90% depleted battery back to 80% of capacity.

That’s par for the course for other EVs with similar-sized batteries. The Gravity and the Kia EV9, however, can charge at up to 350 kW an hour, cutting their 10% to 80% charging times to under 20 minutes.

General Motors has said that starting in 2026 it will equip its EVs with a charging port that will work with Tesla’s Supercharger network. That means an adapter will be needed to use Tesla DC fast charging stations for the first Vistiq models.

For home charging, the Vistiq’s standard Level 2 system can handle up to 11 kWh, easily enough to bring a depleted battery back to full charge overnight and, again, par for the course in the luxury category. A 19.2 kW system is optional but requires a dedicated 100-amp circuit, which could mean an expensive electric service upgrade for the home.

Most competitors also use 11 kW Level 2 charging.

The new Cadillac Vistiq boasts a quiet, luxurious interior. Seats are nicely padded and bolstered and even the third row looks inviting. There’s no leather, but Cadillac offers a high-quality faux leather material as well as fabrics made from recycled plastics. Depending on trim level, the second row has either captain’s chairs or a bench with bucket-like cushioning. The Sport trim gets carbon-fiber trim pieces interwoven with copper wire; other trims get an engineered wood. Control knobs and cup holder rims are in polished machined metal.

There’s a five-zone climate system, so each seat in the front and second rows gets its own vents and temperature settings while the third row has a separate control.

Measuring 17.1 feet, the Vistiq is longer than its rivals, and its 121.8-inch wheelbase — bested only by the Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV and [VW ID.

Buzz](/overview/volkswagen/id-buzz/) — helps open up the interior. Cadillac used the extra room to maximize cargo capacity and legroom for the front- and second-row seating areas. The Vistiq leads the class in front legroom, and only the EQS offers more second-row legroom. Conversely, only the EQS has less front headroom than the Vistiq, but every vehicle in the category is within an inch of one another, so the difference isn’t a minus. In second-row headroom, the Vistiq is bested only by the EQS.

The third-row seating area is fine for short trips or smaller passengers but offers the least legroom among likely competitors. The Buzz beats it by nearly foot (and everything else by 10 inches or so), while the Rivian R1S has 2 inches more than the Vistiq. Headroom for those way-back seats helps make up for the shorter foot well, though, as the Vistiq leads the pack, beating even the Buzz.

Cargo space behind the third-row seats is a moderate 15.2 cubic feet, jumping to 43 cubes with the seat backs folded down and to a fairly spacious 80.2 cubic feet with both third- and second-row seats folded away. There’s also a 3.5 cubic foot covered storage area below the rear cargo floor in lieu of the front trunk (frunk) that many other EV makers offer. We like the idea of keeping all of the cargo storage in the same area rather than having some under the hood at the front of the car.

Among likely competitors, only the R1S and ID. Buzz offer more cargo capacity behind the third row and with third-row seats folded away. The Buzz, Rivian, and Tesla Model X all have more cargo space with the second- and third-row seats folded down.

The Vistiq is rated to tow a maximum of 5,000 pounds. Only the R1S, at 7,700 pounds maximum, can tow more. The Model X ties the Caddy at 2.5 tons of towing capacity.

The 2026 Cadillac Vistiq hasn’t been crash tested by either the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) or the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

Standard safety and driver assistance tech hasn’t yet been fully disclosed but will include blind-spot steering assist, forward collision alert and mitigation, an alert for bicyclists approaching from the side, and OnStar automatic collision response.

Other standard safety and assistance features should include GM’s Super Cruise hands-free highway driving system that works on some 200,000 miles of mapped highways, a head-up display, surround-view monitor, rear cross traffic alert with pedestrian detection, lane-keeping assist and lane-departure warning, parking assist, and several years of complimentary OnStar service.

We’ll withhold a comprehensive comparison of the 2026 Cadillac Vistiq and its competitors until we get behind the wheel. We can say that the Vistiq, like the previously unveiled Cadillac Optiq compact SUV, boasts sporty and modern good looks, a spacious, well-appointed interior, and a host of advanced safety and driver-assist technologies. It is quite roomy, and while most potential rivals are slightly larger, they are also more expensive.

Starting price for the Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV, for instance, is almost $30,000 higher than the base Vistiq. Exceptions are the Rivian R1S and, for those willing to drop below the luxury class, the Kia EV9, which is slightly larger inside and VW ID. Buzz, which has a larger cargo area. Both cost less than comparably equipped versions of the Vistiq.

The Cadillac offers loads of power, but several competitors, including the R1S and Tesla Model X, have performance versions that offer more. Overall, the Vistiq should compete quite well in the three-row luxury electric SUV segment.

Cadillac Vistiq vs. Cadillac OPTIQ

Cadillac Vistiq vs. Kia EV9

Cadillac Vistiq vs. Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV

Cadillac Vistiq vs. Rivian R1S

Cadillac Vistiq vs. Tesla Model X

Cadillac Vistiq vs. Volkswagen ID.Buzz