My eyesight is going bad. That, or EV SUVs are blurring together to the point it is becoming hard to tell one from the other. I know it’s the holidays. But does the unveiling of the 2025 Cadillac Optiq seem like that dog Scrooge abused to haul his sleigh? And Cadillac says it is an “entry point” EV, but is it really? 

We think not. Look, we love Cadillac and its place in the mantle of GM. But GM, as do many manufacturers, has a way of obscuring reality. It’s partially due to a Detroit filter. 

Cadillac Optiq or Bland-tiq?

This has been a criticism for decades that automakers in Detroit live in a bubble. So, while Cadillac probably exceeded all of the objectives set forth at the initiation of Cadillac Optiq, there are many, many ways that its development derailed. And that doesn’t take in what might have seemed a progressive vehicle back in 2021 was just more wallpaper in 2023. 

So, some of the other enthusiast sites ring praise on the Optiq. We look at it as more “Blandtiq.”  It slots below the Cadillac Lyriq, so Cadillac is considering this to be an “entry-level” SUV, whatever it thinks entry-level might be.

As the industry becomes hip to EV buyers thinking prices are too high, Cadillac believes the Optiq is a reasonable slide into an entry to the Cadillacverse. Cadillac is quick to announce its entry-level Optiq, but it offers little specifications or pricing to help EV buyers get past its rather bland looks, at least for now.

Is the Cadillac Optiq really worth it?

Now, if you can imagine an Optiq coming in at a $40,000 base price, that makes it much more appealing. Funny how price changes our perception of vehicles. While a lower price won’t entice the “Cadillac crowd” looking for exclusivity, they’re not looking for entry-level EVs. 

So, we question why any EV buyer with enough cha cha to consider a a Cadillac would even look at an Obtiq. Then consider the federal incentives being offered for EV buyers. That further lowers the money it takes to get into a Cadillac EV.

Who does Cadillac think will buy the Optiq?

Do you think that the general public thinks whatever range the Obtiq will fall into minus the $7,500 incentive is all that “Cadillac exclusive?” Now, we don’t question GM’s bean counters for what the corporation needs to make a sizeable profit on this Cadillac. But does their conclusion translate into the general public’s perception of the Optiq and that of EV buyers looking for an upscale and exclusive EV? 

In all, it is a convoluted tug-of-war between perception, brand identity, tradition, profit, and reality. That’s complex. But we’re anxious to see if the 2025 Cadillac Optiq finds buyers or becomes another vehicle in GM’s dustbin that includes the Pontiac Fiero and Aztek, Buick anything, and the brilliant but compromised Chevrolet Corvair.