The Cadillac Escalade IQ is already a very big electric car—it’s 224 inches long, more than a foot longer than the regular Escalade. But some customers still weren’t happy with that, so GM said an even bigger, all-electric “Slade” was on the way. We’ll just have to wait. Today was the first time we saw the 2026 Cadillac Escalade IQL. Yes, that name is better than “Escalade IQ ESV,” but it doesn’t make sense. Instead, it is a battery-powered Escalade that is 4.2 inches longer than the regular model. The extra space is mostly used to make the third-row seats more comfortable for people who are sitting there. There is now 36.7 inches of footwell space instead of 32.3 inches, and there is an extra inch of air for people in the very back. All of these numbers are about the same or a little higher than those for the Escalade ESV with an ICE engine. All of this hasn’t hurt Range in any way. Although Cadillac hasn’t said how much the Escalade IQL weighs (they haven’t said how much the regular Escalade IQ weighs either), the “normal” IQ is still thought to have a top range of 460 miles. Caddy’s specs sheet says that the IQL’s battery is 5 kWh bigger, giving it a total rating of 205 kWh. That’s a huge battery pack, but the company says that with just 10 minutes of DC fast charging, users should be able to get back up to 116 miles of Range, which is about 25% of the pack’s full capacity. In every other way, this is the same as the Escalade IQ. In pictures, the same 24-inch wheels on 35-inch tires make the whole car look smaller because there is no way to tell what size they are. Front-row riders can see the same 55-inch screen that goes from pillar to pillar. There is also a second touchscreen that looks more like an iPad right below it and faces the driver. When Velocity Max mode is turned on, the powertrain’s specs go up to 750 horsepower and 785 lb-ft of torque. Normally, they stay at 680 horsepower and 615 lb-ft of torque. Also, even though it’s big (39.86 inches), it can turn easily because it has four-wheel handling. Cadillac thinks that the Escalade IQL will start being made in the middle of this year. It will cost at least $134,985 to ship. The standard-length Escalade IQ costs about $5,000 less than this one. And if you think that’s too much for a Cadillac, think about how the $340,000 Celestiq is now the norm. Things have changed.
