2027 Cadillac Lyriq-V review: Quick drive

Cadillac's quickest-accelerating production model ever isn't one with a roaring supercharged V8 petrol engine – it's actually an electric SUV.

Say 'howdy y'all' to the 2027 Cadillac Lyriq-V , the premium American automaker's latest arrival in Australia, and the first of its V-Series models to make it Down Under.

It's also the first V-Series electric vehicle (EV), bearing the nameplate in a line of storied all-American high-performance vehicles like the CT4-V and CT5-V, and of course the Escalade-V.

Since none of those are coming to Australia, we're going to have to make do with the new electric V-Series SUVs, though only the Lyriq-V is confirmed for our market for the time being – there's no word on the smaller Optiq-V yet.

The numbers are still impressive: dual electric motors, outputs of 459kW of power and 880Nm of torque, a claimed 0-100km/h time of 3.6 seconds. And, you can get all that for under $100,000 plus on-road costs.

After launching the Lyriq with what can only be decribed as a lacklustre value offering relative to premium European rivals 12 months ago, the model year 2027 (MY27) range is far more competitive, with the V in particular shaping as a lot of e-performance SUV for the money at a smidgen under six figures.

Is it any good though? We had an early test drive in Melbourne ahead of its market launch to find out.

After the Lyriq was first launched in 2025 priced from a cool $122,000, the range now opens from $90,000 and the new Lyriq-V is priced at $99,000 – all prices exclude on-road costs.

The price adjustments have coincided with some specification changes, too. The outgoing Lyriq Luxury is gone for MY27, and all model grades get a smaller 92kWh nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) lithium-ion battery pack (down from 102kWh), resulting in less claimed WLTP driving range.

We'll get to the powertrain stuff further down, but the other changes include the removal of the two front knee airbags, bringing the inflator count to six, while active lane-centring and traffic sign recognition have been added across the range. Further, the AKG Studio premium sound system now has 23 speakers (up from 19 in the old Lyriq Sport) and Dolby Atmos capability.

At $99,000 plus ORCs, the go-fast Cadillac lines up well against traditional premium SUV rivals.

Audi has just slashed tens of thousands of dollars off the SQ6 e-tron for MY27, though it still comes in at $129,900 for the SUV and $134,900 for the Sportback (both before ORCs). What's more, the SQ6 e-tron has less grunt than the Caddy and is nearly a second slower to 100km/h, but offers more WLTP driving range (528km).

The BMW iX3 50 xDrive is currently the quickest version of the Neue Klasse SUV currently on sale in Australia, priced from $109,900 plus ORCs. It's less powerful and slower to 100km/h than the Cadillac, though offers nearly double the driving range from its larger 108kWh battery pack, at a claimed 805km on the WLTP cycle (versus 471km).

Volvo's new EX60 lines up nicely with the Cadillac on price in P10 AWD Ultra Trim, at $101,990 plus ORCs. However, like the Germans, the EX60 is less powerful and slower, but offers substantially more WLTP driving range (660km).