Cadillac launches its first electric car. The Stromer called Lyriq is supposed to herald no less than the turning point at General Motors, America’s largest car manufacturer. It should certainly be well received in Germany – if it comes here.
You have to come to that first. Cadillac is naming its first electric car Lyriq because the American luxury brand has been mentioned in more than 1,000 songs over the past few decades. Well then. The Lyriq should also be something like a “game changer”, as marketing strategists like to call those models that supposedly symbolize the dawn of a new era. And it should be electric.
However, the Americans are far from ready for electromobility. The highways are still filled with huge SUVs and pickups with thirsty eight-cylinder engines. The charging station infrastructure is also still in its infancy – at least when you look at the states outside of California. But at least the will is there. General Motors, parent company of the brands Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC and Buick, is planning big things, wants to set up a nationwide charging network in the USA and by the beginning of the next decade will no longer be able to roll off the production line cars with internal combustion engines.
The Lyriq marks the beginning of the Cadillac brand. The five-meter-long crossover model cavorts in the class of Mercedes EQS SUV, Audi e-tron and BMW iX, but looks significantly slimmer than them. And those who see the electric Cadillac for the first time should have little doubt that something completely new is coming around the corner.
This not only applies to the design with its elaborate lighting in the grill, but also to the technology. For years, General Motors (GM) has been developing an all-electric drive architecture. The modular and very flexible platform is called Ultium. It should be available to all GM brands in the future, similar to what VW does with the MEB kit or the Hyundai group with E-GMP.
In the Lyriq, the Ultium platform provides 104 kWh of capacity, which according to the American EPA consumption cycle should result in a range of around 500 kilometers. Cadillac has not yet announced the WLTP values ??that apply to us. After all, that would reveal whether the Lyriq is coming to Germany and Europe at all. You keep a low profile. But even the Americans know only too well that the European continent is currently considered to be the most dynamic when it comes to e-mobility. It would be stupid not to get involved here. It is also the best opportunity to reposition the Cadillac brand and move away from the image of a thirsty eight-cylinder and huge full-size SUV.
Our first test drive at the GM proving grounds in Milford, Michigan leaves no doubt that the Lyriq’s designers did a professional job. What is remarkable is the calm, the smoothness and the comfort that the Lyriq exhibits. A new drive could hardly fit a luxury brand better. 340 hp and 425 Newton meters of torque give the American crossover solid sovereignty.
There is hardly a more relaxed way to glide down the highway. Especially not if you have pressed the Super Cruise button. The electronic assistance system is something like a semi-autonomous autopilot. For the first time you can even take your hands off the steering wheel on many roads, the car drives itself, keeps its lane and distance, accelerates and brakes and stops
The sense of space in the Lyriq is extraordinary, due to the flat floor without a center tunnel, which is characteristic of electric cars, and the huge panoramic roof. The long wheelbase, also typical of electric vehicles, offers legroom in business class format, especially for passengers in the rear.
Material selection and workmanship are more in the direction of first class. In the cockpit, the wide and slightly curved display draws everyone’s attention. The displays behind the steering wheel can be displayed in four different configurations, the right part of the screen is responsible for infotainment and navigation. Everything can be controlled intuitively via touch or using the rotary control on the center console.
As modern as it is upstairs, it’s conventional downstairs. Because when operating the air conditioning, the Lyriq designers opted for a classic switch panel. confusion excluded.
You appreciate the simplicity of the switches as soon as you want to ride in the so-called one-pedal mode. In order to activate the strongest deceleration (recuperation), all you really need is a tap of your finger on a symbol on the display. You just have to find the right submenu beforehand, which makes things a bit cumbersome.
In addition: One-Pedal-Driving is not a real reward, the Lyriq brakes quite hard when the accelerator pedal is lifted, so that you soon switch back to normal mode for reasons of comfort. Automatic, adaptive recuperation based on camera and navigation data would be good. Mercedes, for example, offers this feature in the best form, but unfortunately it is denied to the Lyriq driver.
In the US, the first electric Cadillac is now on the market, starting at $62,990. Even though the dollar to euro exchange rate is currently around 1:1, don’t expect to get the Lyriq for the same amount here. But even if it were to start at 75,000 or 80,000 euros, it would still be cheaper than its German competitors – and unbeatable when it comes to individuality anyway.
