The Cadillac Optiq exceeds initial expectations with more than 500 km of range

Cadillac, the luxury brand of General Motors, is making a major effort to establish itself as a serious competitor in the electric vehicle market. With models such as the electric SUVs Optiq and Vistiq, the company is seeking to carve out a place in the market by standing out not only for its design, but also for its technical specifications and, especially, for its range.

As proof of this, the new Cadillac Optiq, the most affordable model in the electric vehicle range of the North American manufacturer, is shining in its own right in range tests carried out by some specialist motoring media.

One of these recent tests revealed that the 2025 Optiq equipped with the Sport 2 package far exceeded the EPA estimated range of 302 miles (486 km). And it did not do so by a narrow margin either. With an 85 kWh battery, this electric SUV managed to cover 339 miles (546 km) in this test under real-world conditions. This represents 12.2 percent more than advertised. The result also meant an improvement in the vehicle’s efficiency, which went from 2.98 miles travelled per kWh consumed to 3.3 miles per kWh, placing it on a par in this respect with models such as the Kia EV9, the BMW iX or the Porsche Macan.

On the motorway it will not drop below 400 km

Not all the tests have been so favourable to the Optiq, however, because, as with any electric vehicle, range depends on many factors, including the terrain, the outside temperature and the speed at which one drives. Another range test carried out last spring on the motorway at a sustained speed of 70 miles per hour considerably reduced the range to 252 miles (406 km). A perfectly normal result if we consider that the range estimate by the EPA combines 45 percent urban driving and 55 percent motorway driving, whereas the test we are referring to was carried out exclusively on the motorway.

As if this were not enough, the temperature during this test was very low, with only about 4 degrees Celsius throughout the entire route. The vehicle also used 21-inch wheels instead of 20-inch ones, which also penalises range. In the first test we mentioned, in which 546 km were covered on a single charge, 60 percent of the route was urban and the other 40 percent was on the motorway, with the most efficient driving mode the vehicle offers also being used.

Analysing the results obtained in all these tests, it can therefore be concluded that the Optiq particularly excels in urban environments with stop-start traffic, exceeding initial expectations, but achieves a range somewhat lower than promised if driven mainly on the motorway. This should not surprise us either, as it is typical of any electric vehicle.