In For Testing: 2026 Cadillac Optiq AWD

One of our favorite small luxury EVs gets a 43-percent increase in power this year.

When a new model debuts, its second year on the market is usually pretty light on changes. Maybe some new colors here or an additional trim there, those sorts of tweaks. Cadillac took a very different approach with the Optiq. When we drove it last year, the brand's smallest EV had a dual-motor setup good for 300 horsepower and 303 miles (488 kilometers) of range. Now the base model is a single-motor, rear-drive setup with 315 hp and 317 miles (510 km), while the all-wheel drive model makes a jump to 440 hp and keeps the same range as before.

You've gotta love progress.

Another big change is the switch to a North American Charging Standard (NACS) Tesla-style port, giving the Optiq native support for the thousands of Superchargers in North America. Battery capacity is unchanged at 85.0 kilowatt-hours.

"One of the very best cabins you’ll find under six figures" is what yours truly wrote about the Optiq interior last summer. I stand by that, though this particular tester has a much safer, monochrome look. Gone is the blue leather and cool recycled newspaper wood grain trim; this '26 model has black faux leather ("Interluxe") and a clear lacquer panel atop the knit material making up the rest of the semi-floating center console. Even if it's the most boring color scheme available, the Optiq's cabin still looks and feels appropriately upmarket, with very few obvious GM parts bin ties.

With a serious bump in power (and a likely change in its handling balance due to that), the Optiq is quite a different car now than it was a year ago. So what do you want to know about it? Let us know in the comments and stay tuned to our social media channels for updates throughout the week.

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