I drove the 2026 Cadillac Vistiq for a week — and it’s just the right mix of luxury and value

I’ve already driven two all-electric Cadillacs this year, the Optiq and Escalade IQ, with both on the complete opposite sides of the spectrum in the company’s EV lineup. In between them sits the Cadillac Vistiq, a 3-row seater that takes the Escalade IQ’s utility, but costs way less — but still considerable — starting price of $79,090.

The biggest thing I’ve seen testing the best electric vehicles is that premium cars often sacrifice efficiency for comfort and performance. Yet, the 2026 Cadillac Vistiq Platinum I drove for a week proves otherwise by straddling that line between luxury, utility, and surprising efficiency.

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2026 Cadillac Vistiq: Specifications

2026 Cadillac Vistiq: Testing summary

For its herculean size, the 2026 Cadillac Vistiq Platinum surprised me with its efficiency. I drove 367.3 miles in my week’s worth of testing, achieving an average efficiency of 2.9 mi/kWh in the process. This is way better than the dreadful 2.2 mi/kWh average I got from the Cadillac Escalade IQ, and still better than the 2.46 mi/kWh average from the comparable Rivian R1S.

EVs typically don’t handle highway driving well, but the Vistiq is one of those anomalies because I consistently got it to average 2.9 mi/kWh during my long distance driving tests. Obviously, it gets better efficiency with local driving at lower speeds — which got even better 3.3 mi/kWh.

When I tried charging at home with a standard 120V outlet, its Level 1 charging speed with the included adapter averaged a yield of about 3.24 mi/hr. In 14.1 hours of charging it overnight, it added back 46 miles of range to its massive 102 kWh battery. Despite having relatively fast Level 1 charging, it would still take days to get a full charge — so installing a Level 2 charger is what I’d recommend if you drive a lot daily.

2026 Cadillac Vistiq: What I Like

Surprisingly good efficiency for size

I know I’ve already explained its impressive 2.9 mi/kWh efficiency, but it’s one of the most impressive aspects of the Vistiq, especially compared to other 3-row all-electric vehicles. I thought the Hyundai Ioniq 9’s average of 3 mi/kWh was class-leading, but it’s actually a smaller sized 3-row SUV.

There’s also the Volkswagen ID.Buzz, which is technically an all-electric van with 3-row seating. That one also achieved 3 mi/kWh efficiency in my testing, but again the Vistiq is the bigger and heavier vehicle between the two. What I’m getting here is that heavy EVs like the Vistiq are now increasingly becoming more efficient.

Smart lighting everywhere

Cadillac never disappoints with the lights it has in all of its vehicles. Just like the Cadillac Lyriq and Escalade IQ before it, there's an elaborate choreographed lighting sequence whenever I unlock and lock the Vistiq. The whole sequence screams attention, which starts with the Cadillac emblem on the hood glowing and proceeds to cascade around the front.

But it doesn’t just end there, as the interior ambient lights get the same level of treatment that has LED light bars all around the dashboard — including accents on the sunroof. I also like how the Vistiq uses its front headlights to illuminate the sides whenever I’m turning left or right, which adds just the right amount of light to see my turns.

Night vision camera

Although it’s a feature I first saw with the Escalade IQ, the Vistiq gets the same night vision camera that shows a preview of what’s in front of the vehicle through the driver’s display. It’s shown in black and white, but it’s really helpful at spotting the distinct heat signatures of people and animals that I wouldn’t normally see on my own.

When an object is detected, it's outlined by a rectangle, helping to ensure I see them over other heat signatures that the infrared camera detects — like the heat from a car’s engine. While it manages to inform me of people and larger animals on the road, it doesn’t do as well with smaller critters. (No squirrels were injured). Also, this feature is only available on higher trims like Premium Luxury and Platinum.

Brilliant ultrawide display

On the inside, its sprawling curved 33-inch diagonal advanced LED display is the first thing that captures my attention because it’s a truly one single panel — as opposed to how other EVs break them up into two. Not only is it extremely sharp and detailed, but I really like how Cadillac makes use of every inch of the panel to make it look seamless. The only other display to rival this is the one in the Genesis GV80.

Neat augmented reality HUD

Another feature you’ll only find in luxury vehicles is augmented reality head-up displays. Similar to the Mercedes-Benz EQS 450 EV and Audi Q6 e-tron, the Vistiq incorporates AR to its massive sized head-up display.

Whenever I’m coming up to a turn, it will overlay arrows corresponding to where I need to turn, which progressively gets larger as I approach the turn. It’s neat and really gives the Vistiq that futuristic appeal.

Massaging and captain’s chairs

When you drive as much as I do on a weekly basis, especially when I’m comparing Apple Maps vs. Google Maps, it becomes really tiring to drive long distances. With the 2026 Cadillac Vistiq Platinum, though, there’s the option to get a massage to reduce my fatigue. It works on both the driver and front passenger seats, which I find makes the drive even more comfortable.

For the passengers in the back, there’s also the second-row captain’s chairs that lets them relax in style. Complete with armrests, I really like how they can recline back even further to really make those long distance drives much more bearable.

Velocity modes adds power

There’s a red touch-sensitive button on the steering wheel with the letter V on it, which stands for velocity. Pressing on it enables high-performance driving mode that uses its 615 hp performance to amplify acceleration.

This added power allows the Vistiq to go from 0 to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds, but I like using it to overtake slower vehicles with merges from the on-ramp. For a vehicle this big, I don't usually expect zippy accelerations, but it proves me wrong with this mode.

You get all the premium features

When you’re spending this much, you expect to get a ton of premium features. That’s certainly true with the Vistiq, as Cadillac gives it all of the trimmings you’d expect from any other luxury EV.

This includes a panoramic sunroof, auto lane change assist, Super Cruise Control that will essentially drive the vehicle for me, dual wireless chargers, auto park assist, and customizable ambient lights. Considering that this trim comes out to just about $100,000, I expect nothing less from Cadillac.

2026 Cadillac Vistiq: What I Don't Like

Tight trunk space

Due to its 3-row seating, there’s a compromise made to the trunk — it’s tight and not enough to really handle the stuff I’d get with a Costco run. Although I’m able to stow my electric scooter with no issue, larger sized items require the third row seats to come down. I’m not really opposed to doing this, but I can see how it can be a hassle to those who go on big grocery runs.

Top HUD can be distracting at night

Despite having one of the largest head-up displays I’ve come across, the augmented reality piece of the HUD causes it to be distracting at night. This is because the HUD is illuminated, including the top panel even when the AR component is activated — resulting in a visible outline of the screen, making it more of a distraction.

The obvious fix to this would be to lower the brightness of the HUD, but then I’d have to increase it again during the daytime. If only there were a way to control the brightness of the top and bottom sections of the HUD independently, then that would solve this problem.

It’s insanely expensive

I really like a lot of things about the Vistiq, but the price isn’t one of them. That’s hardly surprising given that the average EV cost according to Kelly Blue Book is $57,245, with the Vistiq coming in at nearly double.

The only other EV in Cadillac’s lineup that costs more is the Escalade IQ at $150,640 tested. That’s insane, so is the $100,000 cost of the Vistiq I drove. It makes the $64,195 cost of the base 2026 Cadillac Lyriq look way more obtainable, which I am inclined to say would be the better value.

2026 Cadillac Vistiq: Bottom Line

If money is not an issue, there are plenty of EVs I’ve tested that make them act more as a status symbol than anything else — like the Mercedes-Benz G 580 EV, GMC Hummer EV, and Cadillac’s own Escalade IQ. They’re also some of the most inefficient models around.

What makes the Vistiq better than all of them is how it still retains that status symbol, but how it’s also more efficient and doesn’t compromise on its utility. Very few 3-row seaters get the kind of efficiency I got out of the Vistiq, which undoubtedly makes it more of a road warrior that’ll go farther distances with fewer charges in between.

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