2026 Cadillac Vistiq Review: Here comes your chance to be an American Soccer Mom on speed

July 20, 2025July 20, 2025 Stephen Corby 3566 Views cadillac, Vistiq

American Soccer Moms sound like a frightening breed – big-haired Kamikaze Karens who favour either giant bus trucks like the Cadillac Escalade or the slightly smaller but inestimably and insanely fast Cadillac Vistiq EV, which is set to launch in one high-spec and no doubt highly-priced variant in Australia soon.

After threatening us with a good time for many years, Cadillac’s Australian launch, as an EV-only brand, is finally under way locally, with the Cadillac Lyriq already on sale (don’t worry if you’ve never seen one the road, I haven’t either, aside from the press car I drove, but it’s genuinely happening) and the smaller Optiq and bigger Vistiq on the way.

EV Central flew to Detroit to drive the latest versions of all three, but we can’t tell you about most of that yet. The embargo on our impressions of the Vistiq – a three-row large SUV with more road presence than a black bear and the seemingly unnecessary ability to send you and all of your family to 96km/h (60mph) in just 3.7 seconds – has now lifted, however. So read on.

2025 Cadillac Vistiq price and equipment

Cadillac has not given us any information yet on what it plans to charge for this big beast, but if the pricing of the Lyriq (starting at $117,000) is anything to go by, you can expect it to be a number that will make you gasp. Don’t be surprised if it’s north of $150,000.

Obviously, Cadillac believes this is the premium end of the market it is playing in, taking on the big three Germans, and Lexus, which is actually the brand it feels most analogous to, in terms of styling, interior fit and feel and general aura (it feels like it’s for older, conservative buyers who don’t feel entirely comfortable shelling out top whack for an Audi/BMW/Benz).

It’s unclear if this is how Australians see the brand, however, if they have any idea of what it represents at all. Play the word association game and a lot of locals would say “Cadillac” equals “Big Yank Tank” and quite possibly “big fat engines and cars with lots of fins and chrome”, if they’re older, or have spent much time in the US outside of Disneyland.

While the toe in the market that was Lyriq is a challenging thing to look at, the Vistiq makes a better initial impression, with a bold kind of presence, and touches of modernity, particularly around the nose. It looks and feels like an EV, let’s put it that way.

Inside, again, the fit, finish and materials are more Lexus-like than Audi levels of quality, which sounds like it’s damning with faint praise, but genuinely it’s quite nice in there, I’m just not sure I’d call it $150,000 worth of nice.

It certainly is spacious, however, both front and rear, as well as comfortable and quiet.

But speaking of space, Cadillac in Australia has confirmed that it will only bring the top-spec variant, which has six seats rather than seven, which seems a shame, and a bit limiting in terms of buyers.

2025 Cadillac Vistiq: What we think

Without doubt, what will stick in my mind about driving this beast in America is the Super Cruise function, which allowed me to go hands and feet free along highways. Just set a speed and the Cadillac — using a combination of LiDAR mapping, cameras and radar — does all the steering, changes lanes if traffic slows in front of you, overtakes trucks and idiots and basically turns you into a dumbed-down occupant.

This strikingly effective system (it only tried to kill me once, and I’m glad I was paying attention rather than “scrolling my Instagram” as one colleague claimed to be, or I’d not be writing this) is being used by more than 450,000 Americans every month, and is racking up more than 45 million hands-free kilometres a month as well.

Users report that it makes driving far more relaxing, I’d disagree and call it a mix of boring and frightening, but that’s just me. It’s no way to review a car, that’s for sure.

For the first couple of hours I found the Vistiq adequate, unsurprising, smooth – with good ride quality and a nicely quieted cabin keeping out the sounds of America (and the scent of an empire burning to the ground). Then, at a rest stop, a colleague asked me if I’d tried the V button on the steering wheel.

Gosh darn, what a weapon. The V mode in the Vistiq turns this machine into a twin-motored terrifier, capable of launching you from almost any speed to any other, while I fully believe it’s capable of going well under four seconds for the 100km/h dash.

Why is the big question. Who wants their family hauler to haul ass like that? Anyone whose neighbours keep ranting about how dang fast their Tesla is, I guess.

The Vistiq copes well enough with the mad acceleration, and I guess you don’t have to use it, or press that button, if you don’t want to. But it surely does make overtaking a breeze.

In terms of cornering, it’s no sports car, but it doesn’t plough understeer or body roll too much and you have to properly act the fool to get the tyres to squeal and complain.

The good news is that the base model with the inferior steel suspension will not be an option in Australia, so we’ll only get the Air Ride Adaptive Suspension variant, which rides much better.

For a long, cross-country drive with a bunch of folks on board, it would make a fine companion. Except that 483km – the claimed range – isn’t really going to be enough for that. Not in a world where other people are offering more than 600km.

2025 Cadillac Vistiq: Verdict

If you’re looking to tell people how much you love America and American things, and who isn’t, then the Cadillac Vistiq could be just the large SUV EV you’re looking for. I just hope you’re cashed up.

2025 Cadillac Vistiq specifications

SCORE: 3.5/5 (pending price details)

Price: TBA
Basics: EV, six seats, five doors, SUV, AWD
Range: 483km
Battery capacity: 102kWh
Battery warranty: 8 years/160,000km
Energy consumption: 21.5kWh/100km
Motors: Two permanent magnet synchronous motors, 459kW/880Nm
AC charging: 11.5kW/19.2KW
DC charging: 290kW
0-96km/h: 3.7 secs

Stephen Corby

Stephen is a former editor of both Wheels and Top Gear Australia magazines and has been writing about cars since Henry Ford was a boy. Initially an EV sceptic, he has performed a 180-degree handbrake turn and is now a keen advocate for electrification and may even buy a Porsche Taycan one day, if he wins the lottery. Twice.