Topics
Latest
AI
Amazon
Image Credits:Emme Hall
Apps
Biotech & Health
clime
Image Credits:Emme Hall
Cloud Computing
Commerce
Crypto
Image Credits:Emme Hall
Enterprise
EVs
Fintech
Image Credits:Emme Hall
fund-raise
contrivance
Gaming
Image Credits:Emme Hall
Government & Policy
Hardware
Image Credits:Emme Hall
layoff
Media & Entertainment
Image Credits:Cadillac
Meta
Microsoft
seclusion
Robotics
Security
societal
Space
inauguration
TikTok
transportation system
Venture
More from TechCrunch
event
Startup Battlefield
StrictlyVC
Podcasts
telecasting
Partner Content
TechCrunch Brand Studio
Crunchboard
Contact Us
The mid-$300,000 EV with 303 miles of range isn’t just another pretty face.
Nearly three years after unveiling the concept version of the flagship Cadillac Celestiq EV , GM has finally free the tangible thing : a “ mid-$300,000 ” galvanizing fomite that oozes luxury and a come - gawk - at - me exterior designed to lure in passersby .
But is this made-to-order EV enough for Cadillac toregain its positionas the “ Standard of the World ” ? I spend a day navigating this behemoth around Los Angeles in a play to find out .
Sliding behind the steering steering wheel of the new flagship fastback is a dependable first .
I am surrounded by buttery leather — my rear end comforted by the cushy buttocks , which is adjustable in every way and then some . The fit and finish is accurate and advance like a Richard Mille watch and everything I touch has that trenchant honed - by - hand aesthetic . And yet in 115 cases , those contribution have been 3D printed , including the eye of the steering wheel , windowpane switch , part of the console table interior decoration , and even some geomorphological pieces .
Cadillac clearly require to build an EV with zero compromises . The battery pack layout , however , presented certain design challenges .
The module in the Cadillac Celestiq ’s battery pack are n’t uniform . Unlike the Lyriq , which has a flat assault and battery inner circle , the Celestiq has different configuration of mental faculty in the battery plurality that are different acme . The modules under the front seats are about nine inches grandiloquent , but the ones under the rear passenger footwell are only six inches in height . The rear rump are brought up with module that are 12 inches tall .
engine driver ask to place some module under the center console to get to a 111 kWh battery with 303 Roman mile of range . The result is a shallow storehouse compartment that ’s hardly crowing enough to fit my wallet and meth .
Join us at TechCrunch Sessions: AI
Exhibit at TechCrunch Sessions: AI
Cadillac Celestiq EV: The drive
The look I received while piloting the Celestiq made up for that teeny center console table storage . There is nothing on the route that looks this refined , with its dancing LED luminosity signature in the front , long nose , and sculpted rearward end . In a town full of manufactured beauty , the literal - lot Celestiq stands out .
I initiate off on the boisterous streets of Hollywood , where I deliberately calculate for broken sidewalk and manhole binding . My quizzer is shod with 22 - column inch wheels — although 23 - inch wheels are available — and Michelin Pilot Sport EV tyre with very small sidewall .
Having this niggling rubber between the car and the paving often results in a rough drive , but the Celestiq sports a compliant atmosphere suspension that keeps it all in check-out procedure . Bigger events like chuckhole certainly make their mien bang , but metropolis drive is quiet and smooth .
Make no misunderstanding , this car is a biggun . The Cadillac Celestiq has a heavy footprint than a two - room access Chevrolet Silverado , made more or less more quick with rear steering . Sure , it ’s a bit punishing to find street parking in this bad boy , but this car is more likely to find itself at the man .
leave behind Hollywood , I head to the hills to see just what 655 horsepower and 646 dog pound - feet of torque can do on a curvy route . Here the Magnetic Ride Control glow , respond quickly to the road as well as the automobile ’s free weight transfer to cater a convinced opinion of control . Aided by combat-ready roll control , the car experience vapid through the turns despite its zaftig proportions .
The direction here is a bit numb , but it ’s weighted nicely and the brake regen allow a new skill to conquer . I encounter that at max regen , if I can clock my accelerator pedal reverse powerful , I never have to murder the mechanical brake before heading into a corner . The weight still transfers to the front so I have the grip to turn , but I ’m also getting free negatron at the same meter .
I get laid it .
I crank up up the Dolby Atmos sound system stream out of 38 interior AKG loudspeaker system — there are four outside the car that grow nerveless EV sounds for those unlucky enough to be walking — and head out to the highway . Of course , GM ’s Super Cruise advance driver - help system is here , so I take my hands off the roulette wheel and let the car take over for a while in dealings .
The Cadillac Celestiq EV has a problem
And therein lies the biggest problem with the Celestiq . I ’m not inevitably mad that all GM galvanic vehicles pass Google Built - In over Apple CarPlay and Android Auto . Google Maps is great in this vehicle , accurately foreshadow my scope when I arrive at a fix , offering up charging station and precondition the batteries if needed . It ’s just that I ca n’t faithfully get the organisation to accost up with my phone for hands - free texts and phone calls .
And it ’s not just in the Celestiq . In both the Optiq and the Escalade IQ , the process was uppish . There are multiple options on my iPhone that have to be correct , sometimes I have to reconnect if I turn off the car , and a few times it just reject to tell me I have an incoming school text .
High - end customer demand simplicity and ease of habit . This smartphone integrating system is neither .
The Cadillac Celestiq EV interior
But at least the screen look great .
Stretching across the width of the elan , there are 55 inches of in high spirits - resolution good . The rider gets their own concealment for pour media and internet browsing and all mood controls are on a low screen below the flair .
I would give my kingdom for some physical HVAC button , but on a car like this I ’ll settle for a freestanding screen where at least I do n’t have to scroll through a bunch of menus just to turn on the air - conditioning .
rub down fundament are here , of course , and they seem to stay on a bit longer than in other opulence vehicles I ’ve drive . There is no heated and chill cup holder , an omission I think is equivalent to blank out to do crème fraîche with your caviar , but Cadillac told me it could add the feature of speech if someone really wanted it .
I get the picture the glass ceiling that can dim up to 20 % opacity in any of the four zone . Each someone in the car can customize how much light they want to let into their part of the vehicle .
I ’m not 100 % sold on the power door , as my thinker just goes to the spoiled - compositor’s case scenario of being stuck inside the cable car in the Whole Foods parking lot or something . Still , it ’s kind of cool to just crusade the bracken treadle and have my doorway near automatically . There is also an image on the lower screen that will end the door , so rider can get in on the in high spirits - technical school , downhearted - try bandwagon .
Bespoke Cadillac EV experience
Each Celestiq will be made by handwriting at General Motors ’ Global Technical Center in Michigan .
I got a minuscule taste of what customer will experience as I worked with a designer to choose my favorite colors and materials . prefer from what might have been 50 shades of everything was a number overwhelming , but I walked out with my aspiration Celestiq in Kingfisher Tricoat , a glorious blue that I retrieve exit well with the long wheelbase and fastback visibility , and an inside of Sheer Gray and Bahia Orange with Phantom Blue Accents . What can I say ? I cut into blue and orange .
As the day progressed , I was treated to the Cadillac concierge service that client will experience as they go through the buying process . Someone made sure I always had a cold Diet Dr Pepper in my hand and lunch options were tailored to my unripe culinary tastes . In other parole , I had tater tot for dejeuner and I ’m not even embarrassed about it .
While Celestiq customers will probably habituate their concierge to field logistics request and not quest plentiful amount of carbs and caffeine , the point is that they will have someone to cater to their every car - purchase impulse .
There is n’t too much out there in the uber - luxury EV market place . The Cadillac Celestiq ’s primary contest might be the Rolls - Royce Spectre EV with its cool starry - night headliner . Still , the Celestiq mostly sit alone in the ultra - luxury , battery - electric sector .
Bentley does n’t have a full battery - electrical offering yet , just hybrids , and even Mercedes has n’t fully wire the Maybach S - Class sedan chair , although you may get a Maybach EQS SUV .
If you want one in your garage , well , good luck . Cadillac will bring about a limited run of 25 vehicle for 2025 and closely all are verbalise for . The company wo n’t give specific number for 2026 , only say that production will be capped atless than two Celestiqs a Clarence Day .
