Cadillac Celestiq: US Attack on EQS

Cadillac was once the brand of unnecessarily large sedans with equally unnecessarily large engines. The epitome of success in the United States. Especially with the wings on the back, the Cadillacs of yesteryear were unmissable battleships, where the owners usually didn’t care how much fuel they used. Whether you like it or not; that time is far behind us. The Cadillac Celestiq proves that once again. That is, after all, a fully electric top limousine. Still, an important aspect of Cadillac’s appeal remains, as it’s anything but an understated appearance.

Extravagant inside and out

If you were enthusiastic about the concept version of the Cadillac Celestiq, unveiled earlier this year, you can breathe a sigh of relief. In (literally) broad outlines, the design is maintained for the production model. Unlike the Mercedes-Benz EQS and certainly the BMW i7, for example, the Celestiq has no sedan-like shapes, but is a colossal liftback with GT-like lines. How colossal exactly is not yet known, but it will almost certainly exceed 5.20 m. At the front, the Celestiq is perhaps best recognized as a Cadillac, at the rear it pretty much draws its own plan. The boomerang-shaped taillights are a clear reference to previous models. Of course there are also quite a few similarities with the previously presented electric Cadillac Lyriq, the ‘smaller’ brother of the Celestiq.

However, the interior of the Celestiq is a lot more extravagant than in the Lyriq. In fact, it can hardly be compared with any other Cadillac at all. The Cadillac Celestiq is therefore the showcase of what General Motors can do in the field of infotainment in 2022. Mercedes’ Hyperscreen can almost pack: the Cadillac Celestiq has a 55-inch screen that essentially consists of two screens and extends over the entire width above an otherwise very minimalist dashboard. Isn’t that enough? Do not fear; as you can see, there is also an 11-inch screen that Cadillac calls the ‘Command Center’ from the center tunnel. For example, you can find the climate control on it, but you can also use it in addition to the rotary knob to navigate through the functions that appear on the large screen. And the people in the back? They also have their own ‘Rear Command Center’ in the middle on an 8-inch screen, accompanied by two 12.6-inch copies that hang on the back of the front seats.

483 km

Like the Cadillac Lyriq, among others, the Cadillac Celestiq is enthroned on General Motors’ Ultium base, but is more robust and therefore gets a larger battery pack. This is an example with 111 kWh capacity, good for an estimated driving range of 483 km. That is not exactly groundbreaking and, moreover, identical to that of the Lyriq. We are curious to see how the final values ​​will turn out and whether there will be a variant that will go further. Please note: the American driving range estimates according to the EPA standard are usually a bit lower than those of our WLTP. However, this is an estimate by General Motors itself, so it remains to be seen how much more positive it might turn out to be. The Cadillac Celestiq can in any case be recharged with a maximum of 200 kW from a DC charger. Enough to provide it with 125 km of range in about 10 minutes.

When it comes to other performance, the new Cadillac does impress. The hefty EV puts 600 American horsepower in the shell and 868 Nm. That should be enough to shoot from 0 to 100 km/h in just under four seconds. To make sure it’s done in peace and control, the Cadillac Celestiq features Magnetic Ride Control, an active suspension that filters out any bumps as best as possible, four-wheel drive with rear wheels steering up to 3.5 degrees, air suspension and Active Roll control. How it all feels in practice remains a mystery for a while. In the Netherlands we do not have to rely on the Cadillac Celestiq for the time being, although that can still change thanks to that electric powertrain.