This is gonna be stupid heavy. My Toyota Avalon is 3,638lbs and would just get pulverized in anything more than a parking lot fender bender. For reference, the current-generation Escalade can weigh up to 6,217lbs and the Hummer EV, which the Escalade IQ might be based off of, is 9,063lbs (as mentioned in the article). This thing is going to kill people.
A 200kWh battery pack to get 450 miles of quoted range. 2.25mi/kWh. I understand it's competing for the attention of people who would otherwise buy a gas Escalade, but that's still a little crazy.
Isn't it normal to have between 15-20km/KWh, that's 4-5 times less efficient. Our car obsession is showing how wasteful we are.
Not to mention that if this tank goes into an accident, the force experienced by the passengers in the other car would be a couple of times higher compared to the force experienced in the passengers of the IQ, practically making this a road kill machine.
Electric SUVs are no better than gas trucks. The weight and shape of the vehicle require an unsustainable amount of energy. Furthermore, they give rich people the moral validation that keeps them trashing the planet with a good conscience.
Called the Escalade IQ, Cadillac has gone all-out, fitting this one with a monster battery that stores enough energy to propel this behemoth 450 miles (724 km) before it needs plugging in.
It's a clean-sheet design that uses GM's new Ultium battery platform and, in this case, the company's architecture shared by the forthcoming Chevrolet Silverado EV, among others.
There's a definite family theme shared with the other Cadillac EVs, the $60,000 Lyriq and the $340,000 Celestiq; like those cars the Escalade IQ—which starts around $130,000—uses lights to create a grille-like appearance at the front without the aero drag, and features a blanked-off D pillar.
Any doubts we're talking about a very heavy car should be dispelled when you find out the battery pack has a capacity of 200 kWh—the same as the 9,063-lb (4,110 kg) GMC Hummer EV.
The pack uses a nickel cobalt manganese aluminum chemistry, and like the Hummer EV it has a party trick where it can fast-charge at 800 V despite running at 400 V.
For a more luxurious approach for fewer passengers, the Escalade IQ can be specced with a second row that features reclining seats and fold-out tray tables.