{"id":538053,"date":"2026-07-12T18:08:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-12T18:08:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/538053\/"},"modified":"2026-07-12T18:08:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-12T18:08:14","slug":"tested-2026-cadillac-optiq-ev-not-too-pricey-autonomy-included","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/538053\/","title":{"rendered":"Tested: 2026 Cadillac Optiq EV: Not Too Pricey, Autonomy Included"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\" top-image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1783879694_18_0x0.jpg\" alt=\"2025 Chicago Auto Show\" data-height=\"1347\" data-width=\"2033\" fetchpriority=\"high\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Cadillac Optiq during the Chicago Auto Show. (Photo by Jacek Boczarski\/Anadolu via Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p>Anadolu via Getty Images<\/p>\n<p>The 2026 Cadillac Optiq is an aggressively priced, compact luxury EV. With a bonus: standard vehicle autonomy.  <\/p>\n<p>TL;DR: The 2026 Cadillac Optiq RWD Premium Sport that I tested is rated at 317 miles of range. Upside: It\u2019s battery-efficient, nimble, comfortable, compact and comes standard with General Motors Super Cruise advanced driver assist system. Downside: no frunk so cargo volume comes up a little short. Trim as tested is $59,600. It starts at $50,900. (Note: for ride comfort, road noise and other creature comforts <a class=\"color-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.caranddriver.com\/cadillac\/optiq\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-ga-track=\"ExternalLink:https:\/\/www.caranddriver.com\/cadillac\/optiq\" aria-label=\"see this review\">see this review<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<p>The Optiq I tested included a glass roof with power shade, Google navigation (including voice-based), an AKG 19-speaker system with Dolby Atmos, a <a class=\"color-link\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Automotive_head-up_display\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-ga-track=\"ExternalLink:https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Automotive_head-up_display\" aria-label=\"head-up display\">head-up display<\/a>, ambient interior lighting, an air quality indicator, and <a class=\"color-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.onstar.com\/services\/super-cruise-hands-free-driving\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-ga-track=\"ExternalLink:https:\/\/www.onstar.com\/services\/super-cruise-hands-free-driving\" aria-label=\"Super Cruise\">Super Cruise<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>2026 Cadillac Optiq in the Mojave Desert.<\/p>\n<p>Credit: Brooke CrothersA Smaller GM Electric<\/p>\n<p>General Motors has plenty of big electric SUVs and pickups, including the Hummer EV, Cadillac Escalade IQ, and the Chevy Silverado EV. (I\u2019ve tested all of them.) I would not call any of the above nimble. That\u2019s not necessarily a criticism. That\u2019s GM\u2019s approach to the market they\u2019re serving. <\/p>\n<p>My point: the Cadillac Optiq is not your typical GM electric. I would say it hits the sweet spot in size. At 190 inches, it\u2019s 3 inches longer than the Tesla Model Y. Why is that good? It\u2019s easy to maneuver in tight spaces and takes up less space in the garage but still big enough to be comfortable for a family of four. To put the trim I tested on competitive footing with Tesla, you would have to put it up against the new Tesla Model Y L (long-wheelbase). The Model Y L Launch Series is $61,990.  <\/p>\n<p>Tesla Charging Network  <\/p>\n<p>Another big upside is the Optiq\u2019s Tesla NACS charging port, which means you can use Tesla Superchargers. That\u2019s huge because Superchargers are far superior to the competition: faster charging, more uptime and usually plenty of available chargers. <\/p>\n<p>The Optiq has a Tesla NACS charging port.<\/p>\n<p>Credit: Brooke CrothersBattery Efficiency<\/p>\n<p>The Optiq strikes a good middle ground on battery pack size. It is rated at over 300 miles of range but doesn\u2019t have a massive battery pack to weigh it down and add cost. (Optiq battery pack is 85 kWh versus 102 kWh for the 2026 Cadillac Lyriq).<\/p>\n<p>I didn\u2019t have the vehicle long enough to do a thorough test of the battery efficiency (You need to test an EV for months to do that.) But the Optiq\u2019s relatively small size and smaller battery pack scream efficiency. Bigger battery packs don\u2019t always mean more range because batteries add weight, which is an anathema to range. I would say that if you travel at the lower end of highway speeds (70 mph or under), you can probably get in the neighborhood of the rated range of 317 miles \u2013 give or take 20 miles. With the stipulation that we\u2019re talking about summer range not winter range. (I do my testing in Los Angeles.) Faster driving can reduce the range pretty dramatically, however. That applies to any EV.<\/p>\n<p>Google-Based Navigation<\/p>\n<p>The included infotainment system is based on Google software running on a curved 33-inch, 9K-resolution display. Google is baked directly into the system, so you get Google Maps for native navigation, Google Assistant for voice control, and Google Play for downloading apps straight to the car. You can interact with it via touchscreen or voice.<\/p>\n<p>Conclusion<\/p>\n<p>I would highly recommend the Cadillac Optiq. But then I\u2019m partial to smaller, more efficient EVs. Electrics like the Cadillac Escalade IQ and Cadillac Vistiq are fine if you need a big car, but most buyers would be perfectly happy with the Optiq. I found it comfortable and quiet. It\u2019s not too small, not too big and delivers efficient battery range and luxury, to boot. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cadillac Optiq during the Chicago Auto Show. (Photo by Jacek Boczarski\/Anadolu via Getty Images) Anadolu via Getty Images&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":538054,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[245086,245089,11864,85,46,245087,125,245090,245088],"class_list":["post-538053","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-2026-cadillac-optiq","tag-advanced-driver-assistance-system","tag-general-motors","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-super-cruise","tag-technology","tag-tesla-model-y","tag-tesla-nacs-port"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/538053","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=538053"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/538053\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/538054"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=538053"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=538053"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=538053"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}