Cadillac lives on, but will do so in electric format. The Cadillac LYRIQ is first out and I've test driven it on the French Riviera. 

My first meeting with the Cadillac LYRIQ took place at the eCarExpo car show in Stockholm, which was held at the beginning of February 2024. There, Cadillac exhibited the car and I took the opportunity to introduce myself and CarsCollection.se. I got in good contact with Cadillac, which I didn't have properly before, apart from the Swedish representative, which has changed several times. However, my familiarity and contact with the brand is not at all new. The second article I actually wrote was just a Cadillac and the model CTS and that was in 2008. You can read the article here. Then a Cadillac ATS was arranged for a trip to Dubai I made about ten years ago. You can read that article here. So when the invitation to the international test drive of the Cadillac LYRIQ came, I was pleasantly surprised. 

The test drive was on the French Riviera and flights went down to Nice, where we started from. Actually, a route had been prepared, but as I hadn't had lunch before and it wasn't actually planned, I chose to take a different route. Christoffer Östlund from Plaza Magazine hadn't eaten anything either, so we went to a nice restaurant for lunch. After lunch we go down to Monaco where I knew a place to take the pictures. But Monaco neither looked nor was as Monaco usually is and this is because of the preparations for the F1 race held on May 26. Although the test drive was at the end of April and more than a month before the F1 race, preparations to lay the track were in full swing. A lot has to be done for the track to work in terms of safety and technology. With hindsight, we can probably thank the organizers for their work when we saw how Sergio Perez fared in his Red Bull car and when he crashed on the first lap of the race. 

The first thing that strikes me, which is admittedly exactly what I expect when I get into a Cadillac, is how big it is. LYRIQ is no exception and above all very long. The first part of the journey is on the highway, and there the LYRIQ naturally thrives like a fish in water. As usual with electric cars, there is an incredible amount of power. In LYRIQ there are 528 horses. A sprint from standstill to 100 knots takes just 5.3 seconds. So the journey along the motorway will be calm and harmonious but certainly not boring. But of course very comfortable as driving a Cadillac should be. 

Once in Monaco, I still manage to take my photos, but far from as smoothly as it was before. When I have to guide Christopher and me out of this exclusive village on the French Riviera, the navigation system does not show me the road I myself am used to driving. Obviously a result of the disorder thanks to the approaching F1 race. We are ushered into cul-de-sacs that at first feel extremely difficult to drive in and out of due to the size of the car. But after actually managing to get us out of Monaco and with two whole cars without scratches, I am struck by how smooth this relatively large but above all long car actually is. I never get any major panic despite dead ends and more that the car's navigation is kind enough to lead us into. 

The journey after Monaco goes to Cannes, where we will spend the night. But on the way there, we actually have to take a break because of a hailstorm that paralyzes the traffic and our journey. The images are not equipped with winter tires. But soon the journey can continue. Day two we choose to drive on our own and I drive back to Monaco to supplement with photos I didn't have time to take the day before. Now, however, I am more aware of not taking any strange roads into Monaco and relying too much on the navigation system, but take the easiest route out and back to the airport in Nice where I return the car before the flight home. 

But to wrap up this trip and the experience, I must say that it was incredibly good throughout and that the Cadillac LYRIQ carries the Cadillac name forward in an innovative way with the right attitude and feeling!

Cadillac LYRIQ AWD

Basic price: From SEK 906,700

Motor: Dual electric motors

Power: 528 hp, 610 Nm

Acceleration: 0-100 km/h in 5.3 seconds

Top speed: 190 km/h

Range: 530 km

Weight: 2,774 kg

Dimensions (Length/Width/Height): 5005mm/1977mm/1623mm