2024 Cadillac Lyriq SUVOTY Review: Showroom Superstar

This review was conducted as part of our 2024 SUV of the Year (SUVOTY) testing, where each vehicle is evaluated on our six key criteria: efficiency, design, safety, engineering excellence, value, and performance of intended function. Eligible vehicles must be all-new or significantly revised.

This 2024 Cadillac Lyriq 600e4 is the luxury vehicle we've long hoped Cadillac would deliver. It features a daring, modern design inside and out that uses virtually no visible parts-bin hand-me-ups. And it's successful as a transitioning EV design in that it's much better than some at hiding (or leveraging) the long-whelbase/short-overhang proportions a big battery pack skateboard chassis demands while still delivering the dash-to-axle length that has long signaled luxury to older buyers of more traditional internal combustion vehicles.

Every judge was wowed by the Lyriq's bespoke switchgear, including a crystal-look rotary infotainment knob that can control the huge touchscreen, the bins lined with contrasting upholstery, the brushed-metal accents, the massaging seats, the seemingly vaneless AC vents, and the convenient hard buttons for HVAC control—all in a car costing just over $80,000.

But we started finding flaws when we started interacting with and driving our Lyriq 600e4. (That e4 all-wheel drive is a recent $3,500 upgrade that adds 160 hp and 125 lb-ft and earned the Lyriq a return invite to SUVOTY.)

Several judges struggled to find a comfortable seat and wheel positioning that afforded a clear view of the instruments in front, and in back, most found the panel covering the Isofix child seat latch points uncomfortable. That gorgeous rotary selector knob makes a dime-store clack when pressed. It's hard to aim the center vents high enough to cool the face, and even the lowly Chevy Trax devotes more screen real estate to CarPlay. A high beltline imparted a claustrophobic feel to those testing out the back seat, and the sound coming from the fancy AKG stereo was described as "somewhat hollow" and "not particularly clear or enveloping."

Many complimented the Lyriq's fun and sporty demeanor on a winding road, praising the basso, vaguely big-block-Cadillac fake powertrain sound in Sport mode and the superbly tunable one-pedal driving mode and brake pedal feel. And while the ride over certain imperfections can be cloudlike, others generate sharp impacts from the 22-inch rolling stock, exciting secondary vibrations that call into question the rigidity of GM's long BEV3 skateboard platform. (Most feel the Genesis Electrified GV70 rides better.) Those big tires also tramlined and followed road crowns, which the lane centering system couldn't correct and the steering's lack of on-center feel exacerbated. On roads where Super Cruise works, this wasn't an issue—though wind noise was.

Last year's RWD entrant was an early prototype, and as such we forgave myriad lapses in build quality. Cadillac has had more than a year of volume production, making the same malfunctioning charge port door (shown at left) impossible to excuse this time. (Perhaps motorizing it was a bad idea.) Ditto the widely varying side-to-side gaps from door to A-pillar and from door to dash.

We find the Cadillac Lyriq a hugely promising product that should soon come to be viewed as an attainable Celestiq. It was a bold decision to pull production ahead back in 2022 but perhaps one the company is still paying for. We hope Cadillac makes the necessary design tweaks and perfects the Lyriq's build process so it can once again legitimately claim its Standard of the World slogan.

More 2024 SUV of the Year
Introduction | Criteria Explained
Finalists | Contenders
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