2026 Cadillac Lyric V Review
2026 Cadillac Lyriq V
Price: From $80,090 MSRP
Horsepower and Torque: 615 hp and 650 lb-ft
Motor and Battery Capacity: Dual-Motor AWD, 102 kWh Usable Battery Energy
Range: 285 miles (EPA Estimated)
—Guy who did stuff: Yousef Alvi
Well, I was wrong. Which is surprising because I'm normally so right that it physically causes the universe pain. What exactly was I wrong about?
I was wrong about what the 'best GM vehicle made' is. If you recall, I proudly proclaimed the Escalade IQ as ‘the best GM vehicle ever made,’ but then I immediately levied numerous issues against it. For all intents and purposes, I completely negated my own proclamation. So, what caused me to change my mind in a matter of weeks?
It's this Cadillac Lyriq V. This is now the best vehicle GM has ever made. What makes this Lyriq V so freakin' special is that I can barely find anything wrong with it. I'm a nitpicky, gorgeous-looking idiot, but damnit, there is barely anything to complain about. Everything that is 'good' is actually Great. Are there minor annoyances? Sure, nothing is truly perfect.
Let's go ahead and break down the features of the most impressive vehicle GM has ever made:
The Great:
1. The Performance Welcome to the fastest Cadillac ever made. Yes, this Lyriq V is faster than the CT5-V Blackwing. With a 0–60 time of 3.3 seconds, this leather-lined missile isn't just quick—it's fast. The torque nails you back in your seat and doesn’t relent until you lift off the throttle or have spike strips deployed.
2. The Looks It's the best-looking Cadillac of the modern era. Absolutely. The Lyriq V eschews the soap-bar design that plagues other EVs and sticks with what Cadillac knows best: audacious, crowd-stopping design. It is simply a work of art on wheels. The rakish profile and short overhangs give the Lyriq V a lifted-up wagon aesthetic rather than making it look like another measly crossover.
3. The Interior Drop-kicking the Escalade IQ out of the way, this 2026 Cadillac Lyriq V is blessed with the best-looking and best-feeling interior in a modern-day Cadillac (no, the Celestiq doesn't count). Everything feels premium and expensive. It just feels so incredibly special on the inside! The topper? The embroidered V logo on the front seats! Neat!
4. Oh Dear God... It HAS CarPlay! If widely reported recent comments by Mary Barra hold true, this is the last Cadillac to have native CarPlay and AA integration. So, while it's great that this Lyriq V has it, it's idiotic that GM is ditching it altogether.
5. Super Cruise Yep, this is still the best pseudo-self-driving system on the road today. Nothing else comes close to the precision it delivers, the logic it employs, and the sheer relaxation it provides.
6. No Torque Steer! Unlike all the other Ultium platform mates, this Lyriq V doesn’t torque-steer itself into oncoming traffic like an SRT4 Neon! It holds steady, true, and blindingly stable. Whatever GM did to the suspension geometry here needs to be implemented across the entire platform, because the torque steer in other models is horrendous.
7. The Color! Our test model came in a stunning, jaw-dropping, moan-inducingly beautiful shade of emerald green. It has deep blue and green hues that make it absolutely impossible to photograph correctly. But trust me, the second your eyes lay upon it, you will utter some kind of pleasurable noise from your mouth.
The Bad:
Screw you.
Got nothing.
It's pretty damn perfect.
The Overall:
The Lyriq V is the new benchmark for General Motors, flawlessly combining incredible performance (it’s the fastest Cadillac ever made) and stunning, audacious design with a luxurious, class-leading interior. Its blindingly stable handling, the sheer relaxation delivered by Super Cruise, and—crucially—the inclusion of native CarPlay make it, in this writer's expert opinion, practically perfect, with no notable flaws.
Yousef Alvi
