“You’ve got to try these new electric Cadillacs,” a semi-reliable source told me on a recent car press trip. But I was skeptical. Typically, this is how it goes with electric cars: newer brands like Tesla, Polestar, Lucid and Rivian do all the work to change the automotive narrative, and then legacy manufacturers play catchup, trying to mold existing models and ideas around a powertrain that’s not their specialty, and that their customers don’t especially desire. So you end up getting cars that, while technically electric, feel more like a homework assignment than something inspirational. 

So I was surprised when Cadillac, GM’s luxury division that hasn’t made an interesting or relevant car in at least a decade, delivered the Optiq, their baseline new electric SUV, to my door—it was fresh, cool and even fun. Cadillac has done its homework again, but with the Optiq, they aspire to more than a passing grade. 

We can start with the first impression. A lot of SUVs, even electric ones, have a stuffy, family-hauler vibe to them. But Cadillac is gearing the Optiq toward younger buyers, so there’s a streamlined windshield and D-pillar, giving the front of the car an aerodynamic feel. It has a long stance, too, with a 116-inch wheelbase, making it look both smooth and roomy at the same time. The one I drove had a “Crystal White Tricoat,” a much nicer look than the usual test cars I see, which are often off-brand colors that no sane consumer would want. People will want this one. 

The interior design is quite nice, too, though mine was colored “Autumn Canyon,” which is maybe car manufacturer-speak for “Barf Pink,” and not what I would choose. But the cabin had a nice flow, and was full of soft-touch materials. Cadillac seems to like its full-dashboard 33-inch screen, which accommodates Apple CarPlay. That feels a long way off from the purported automotive trend of going back to knobs and buttons, a direction that’s so prominent that the newly-announced Slate electric truck will feature roll-up windows. This version of the Optiq is not that. Driving it feels as immersively digital as sitting in the captain’s chair of the USS Enterprise. 

But what a drive. With Cadillac, the Optiq has done far more than just slap an electric motor in a slightly prettified, pre-made chassis. It has synchronized front and rear electric motors that generate 300 horsepower, which isn’t a lot by contemporary car standards, and also gets you more than 300 miles of electric driving range, which is pretty good. But it makes the absolute most of every erg it generates. The Optiq accelerates to 60 m.p.h. in five seconds—not extraordinarily fast, but good for an SUV, and, most notably, it’s incredibly relaxing. Driving it was a roomy pleasure, and I drove it at times with two large, hungry Zoomers in the back. It was my son and his friend. I don’t know any other twentysomethings at this point. This car, they declared, is sick. 

That’s the main takeaway from driving a good modern electric car. They’re all sick in the right way, but also usually mellow to drive, unless they’re an electric sports car expressly tuned to rattle your bones. With most of them, there’s never a hitch or a wheeze, no uncertainty, just a smooth luxury cruise. And the Optiq provides the smoothest suspension in the segment. GM calls its internal hands-free driving system “SuperCruise,” and that’s exactly what driving the Optiq feels like: A flawless SuperCruise. 

I’ve been praying for electric vehicles to take over the highways for years now, but politics, infrastructure, and a general reticence on the part of legacy manufacturers have slowed that inevitability. I would rather drive almost any car than Cadillac’s previous base electric model, the XT4. It was lousy across the board. But the Optiq is a completely different story, and a huge turnaround for the brand. The version I drove had a base price of slightly more than $55,000, but topped out at $63,510, with an options package that included 21-inch black alloy wheels. The “Barf Pink” interior was an extra $1,100, though. If you’re looking to trim costs, that’s where I’d recommend cutting down.