I think the Chinese Optiq may have a smaller battery. Interesting.

 

Hey! Regarding the battery, I think you're right, mine has a slightly smaller battery than the US is going to get. (79,7kW vs 85 kW). I'm using a slower stage 2 charger at home (220v, 32A, 7kW/h, not made by Cadillac, but made by the Chinese company Goneo/BULL), so overnight my car easily gets to 80% as recommended in the manual (never went outside the 20% to 80% range).

BTW, when I just got it, there were no English manual anywhere, so I generally have used LYRIQ manual as my guide to the car.

80% battery displays as 240 miles, but with constant AC and other features I'd say it's less, depending on the driving habits. But when you've got a charger at home, you barely even notice the charging hassle.

 

Hi there!

My name is Dan, although I'm not originally from US, I've lived couple of years in Arizona and California and while now I'm living in proximity to China I've exported one of the first OPTIQs outside China...

Hey Dan,

Thanks for contributing and we (at least I) look forward to hearing more about your impressions and experiences with the vehicle. While there's practically no way to know all the differences in yours compared to US models, so far your version is all we've been able to see from online videos (and it looks great, and I'm really jealous of you having CarPlay). I'm hoping mine gets built next week.

 

Hey jg.,

I love the car, the dynamic is great, that's my first EV and it goes fast instantly. My friend has a Chinese Zeekr X that goes 0-60 in 3.7 seconds, but I don't see the point, it's too much for the city and you almost fain when he pushes the pedal. My Optiq is a bit slower (about 6 seconds), but it's more than enough power for a car weighting 2,4 tons. Just right!

Previously I had a Hyundai Tucson Limited 2022, and a Caddy is a quality upgrade, while being similar in size. It's silent (I love the celestial sound outside, and a soft Jetsons car acceleration sounds inside . All the materials are nice and it has a Cadillac feel to it.

In regarding the differences between a Chinese model to the US one, I've compared mostly to the Lyriq, and everything is pretty much the same (even the door handles, interior materials and design). So I would say Chinese specs are very similar (they don't offer so many interior material customization options though, no wood or anything super premium). So internally I would guess it's the same car made in different places.
The main difference I guess is the infotainment system, it runs a customized android system to support all the Chinese apps and features, but many of those such as navigation doesn't work outside of China.

As for Carplay, when I was waiting for my car, I've read the news that the US version will not have it I was so worried that my car wouldn't have one, but it does. It's wireless, and I guess it's just a real dealbreaker for many customers in China that's why they have it. I use it all time (especially that the built-in navigation doesn't work).

 

That’s awesome! I’d be curious if you’ve done any aftermarket customizations. And any pic you have. We typically only see the touched up or CGI images.

 

Hey Lscamp,

In terms of customizations, I haven't done much and wasn't really planning to, as nothing is pretty much available yet.

I've only quickly installed the security lugs on the wheels (non Cadillac ones as those weren't available yet), and a really small usb-c thumb drive under the front dash (Lexar E32C 128GB) to enable the Surround Vision Recorder feature (looks like it's working just fine).

Also my car didn't come with any of the following:

• rubber all-weather interior liners / mats (I only have textile ones)
• retractable trunk security shade / cover
• rubber all-weather trunk mat

Moreover the Chinese dealers where I got the car didn't have any of those I could buy, so now as the winter is coming, I desperately need those. Gladly the US accessories site has Optiq now, and I can see the first two things on the list with the part numbers (87830496, and 85734917, so maybe I could even order them through the local Cadillac dealership).

The only thing I couldn't find is the last mat on the list, so hopefully they are going to add that soon. (I've only be able to find a picture, but no number or any details yet):

 

I'll be posting a few photos soon

 

I've seen you guys asked for the photos, and I discovered that I didn't really have any.

So this morning I went out to get a few (the car wasn't totally ready for the shoot after the rain, but I thought you guys would still be eager to see something). I'll do a good one with a clean car eventually.

Here is the interior and the infotainment:

 

And here are some shots of the exterior:

 

How’s the 2nd row seat comfort? Is there enough head room for a 1.9m person?

 

Hey centrino,

I'm 6,3 tall (193 cm), and I can sit pretty well behind myself on the second row. Flat floor on the back also helps to get comfy. I bet it's even more space there in the Lyriq, but engineers did a really good job with interior for the size of Optiq.

 

Once any of you guys get your hands on the American Optiq, please share here so we can maybe compare and see the differences!

 

Is the ride/suspension any smoother than the Equinox EV?

 

I haven't driven Equinox EV as there aren't any available here, however I can compare only with my previous Tucson, and it's much smoother, especially on the minor road bumps.

 

Dan, what country did you ship your Optiq to? What plug style is used where you are at? Do you need to use an adapter? I don't know if the China style plug is used outside of China, so how is this working for you?

 

Hey CosmiqCrisp,

I've moved it to Kazakhstan (it's just over the border really). As for the plug, although on the official level European Type2/CCS should be used here, most of the charging stations have Chinese GB/T plugs, as majority of EVs here are imported by users directly from China without any official dealership involvement (EV import is basically tax free here to promote decarboniazation). And as the market in China is very competitive, the cars are sold at a really low price comparing to the rest of the world. So even those who buy EV officially (only few models such as Hyundai Ioniq 5 or Kia EV6 are sold here), most of the time carry an adapter CCS to GB/T to be able to charge everywhere.

As I charge mostly with my personal charger on my parking, I've got the proper GB/T plug installed there that my car has (as it's cheaper and more convenient).

 

Surround vision recorder feature sounds cool. I am guessing that is a feature that won't be available in the US.

Thanks for sharing all the info. Hopefully we get one here soon. Thanks

 

It is very cool, although sometimes it doesn't feel like its recording, but hopefully the recordings will be there when needed. I've heard they are planning to implement it in US with the software update, I guess it's more of a legal issue now.

 

oh, the surround vision recording works on the chinese version? lol. so GM hasn't released in the US only for some stupid reason (on the Lyriq).

 

The infotainment system is independently developed and localized for Chinese mainland market. Unlike the hardware where both sides needs to mirror and align closely, the software should be completely independent to the US version.

 

It’s essentially the same as the Equinox EV (and the answers in that forum will probably get you better sample numbers).

Same EPA numbers as shown on the Equinox EV window sticker.

 

Thanks for sharing! I am currently in a quandry. Im in canada and the cadillac optiq and ioniq 5 are coming out this month. They are pretty much the same price. In addition the model Y is also the same price (although who knows when the new model comes out). On paper the cadillac performance is far inferior to the Y and ioniq. but it is definitely luxurious. I can't decide. the Y is super boring inside and i hate how theres no buttons and stuff. Someone help me please!

 

Do a feature comparison for things like Super Cruise, infotainment, safety features, cargo space, other tech, comfort, etc. I think you'll find the Optiq feature set is superior in almost every aspect, especially when price is considered. And many options are not even available on the Optiq competition.

 

Do a feature comparison for things like Super Cruise, infotainment, safety features, cargo space, other tech, comfort, etc. I think you'll find the Optiq feature set is superior in almost every aspect, especially when price is considered. And many options are not even available on the Optiq competition.

Super cruise? Is that like teslas self driving? And is it standard for Cadillac or do u have to pay a subscription or something? Cargo I thought nothing beats Tesla . I have to go test drive the Optiq when it’s arrives but I thought Tesla is superior on infotainment and tech as well. I don’t get why the caddy is so inferior on the engine performance . So sad.

 

Your Optiq Super Cruise questions are fully described on the first page of Optiq area of the Cadillac web site and there are extensive videos on YouTube that show it in action.

Don't forget that the Tesla "full self driving mode" is actually "Full Self-Driving (Supervised)" and you have to keep you hands on the wheel at all times. It also has a significant option cost ($8,000), much higher than Super Cruise (standard Optiq equipment) and the subscription cost of $300 per year AFTER the three-year trial is over. That's a 29 2/3 years break even point. I saw something about a monthly charge of $99 for FSD supervised.

I'm not even going to discuss the relative safety records of the two systems. You should research that on your own.

My comment on infotainment stands. As for tech, the Cadillac tech in my mind is a combination of features and how they interact with humans. As you mention, Tesla has has no "buttons." And personally I like a more traditional "dash" and infotainment/car settings/navigation display (which are continuous on the Optiq) rather than a portrait orientation "tablet" display in the center of the car with no dash display. I could never get past that user interface, when I first looked at the 2015 Tesla models and when rode in my neighbor's Tesla.

You are correct on the cargo space.

 

I still think Teslas should be categorized into Consumer eletronics products. They have top notch software that satisfy tech savvy person. As for car itself, not so much.

I don't want to own another tech gadget that moves me on the road. I want to buy a automotive that provides excellent ridning quality, and that's why I chose Cadillac.

 

You will be able to get into the Opitiq so much more easily than the 5

 

One thing my wife and I experienced on our extended test drive (about 30 minutes), was no heat in the footwells. It was around 35-40 degrees and both of us had completely frozen feet. When we got in and messed with the car for about 10 minutes before heading out, I put the heating in auto with 68 set as the temp. After we were driving around my wife started trying to get any warm air from the heater vents and finally had to manually put the airflow to feet and set the fan on 8. It made air flowing sounds, but still just barely had any air coming out from any vents we could feel.

 

What did they say when you asked them about this?