We Drove the New 519-HP Cadillac Optiq-V to See If It’s a *Real* V

The question is almost too absurd to type into existence: Is 519 horsepower enough to justify the V badge on the 2026 Cadillac Optiq-V? Go ahead and scoff, because Cadillac claims it’s good enough for zero to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds—quicker than any gas-fueled V. Yet last week, while driving the Optiq-V around Metro Detroit, that question kept popping into my head. My brain knew all the numbers, but my inner ear remained stubbornly unimpressed.

Turns out there’s a big fat asterisk that Cadillac doesn’t put on the Optiq-V’s horsepower figure. Full power is only available in Velocity Max mode. That’s why from a 30-mph roll in Tour mode the V only feels quick in the same way that every all-wheel-drive EV feels quick. Even doing its thing in launch control, with all 650 lb-ft of torque marshaled, the Optiq-V leaves the line like an airport tram trying to keep everyone upright. It ramps up to max attack smoothly—no shock to the driveline, no wiggle in the steering wheel, not so much as a peep from the Continental SportContact 6 summer tires. For all the power it offers, the Optiq-V left me expecting a more exhilarating driving experience.

All the Right Upgrades

At MotorTrend, we’re big fans of what Cadillac has been doing with EVs. In just three short years, the American luxury brand has delivered a range of electric SUVs—five models, size small to XXL—to mirror its gas SUV lineup. And thanks in large part to their opulent interiors, the EVs finally capture the panache and prestige that eluded Cadillac for nearly 60 years. Now, as competitors lift off the accelerator on their EV ambitions, Cadillac is keeping its foot down and rolling out V performance versions. Following the 615-hp Lyriq-V, the Optiq-V adopts the old hot-rodder’s trick of finding the largest motor that fits—in this case the permanent-magnet machines out of the Lyriq—into a small vehicle.

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The V isn’t just a power play. Engineers stiffened practically every suspension bushing, mount, and component for tighter body control and quicker reactions. The electronically controlled dampers firm up at a tap of the center touchscreen. To mitigate understeer, the rear anti-roll bar is 185 percent stiffer than the plebe-spec Optiq AWD’s bar, and the torque-distribution algorithms have been reprogrammed to steer thrust to the outside rear wheel in corners. Brembo six-piston brake calipers bite down on larger 15.4-inch discs and those optional 21-inch Continental summer tires provide strong grip.

Flogged around an autocross, the Optiq-V proved competent but not particularly compelling. It corners with buttoned-down body motions, and the brake action instills confidence. The handling biases to understeer, although you can get the rear to rotate around if you’re aggressive with both pedals. The steering, which is heavy, stiff, and slow (the last trait seems to be universal among GM EVs), is where things unravel. It makes the Optiq-V feel reluctant to change directions. A short street loop in the also-new-for-2026 rear-drive Optiq taunted us with what could have been. The single-motor Caddy makes 204 fewer horsepower than the V and yet manages to be more fun to drive thanks to steering that feels light and alive in stark contrast with the big-power car.

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The Optiq-V is most at home on a road—any road—where its strengths are the same as non-V Optiqs. It’s chock full of features, including a 19-speaker audio system with Dolby Atmos and the Super Cruise hands-free system. On broken roads, a faint patter travels through the suspension and into the cabin without ruining comfort. It is quiet and quick and as long as you don’t mind the pops of bright blue trim, the cabin is rich.

An Electric Car, Digitally Developed

Some of this is by design, of course. Remember that V models aren’t supposed to be the razor-sharp racers they once were. That responsibility has been passed on to the V Blackwing cars. Today’s V models target Audi’s S and BMW’s M Sport vehicles—vehicles that prioritize performance upgrades with broad appeal over the driving dynamics nuances that only resonate with enthusiasts. In that context, it’s easy to see how Cadillac arrived at the Optiq-V.

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But I also wonder if the Optiq-V’s personality (or lack thereof) is at least partly a product of a digital-intensive development process. GM skipped the prototypes and only built the first cars in the preproduction stage. Instead of early sign-off drives with butts in seats, the team piled into conferences rooms to pore over data from simulations and lab tests of individual components and subsystems. The result, according to chief engineer John Cockburn, was a more rigorous process and stricter adherence to technical facts. Engineers could no longer blame substandard results on prototype build quality.

This faster (and almost certainly cheaper) process didn’t stop the team from making last-minute changes, though. Preproduction cars were already being built when Cockburn made the call to switch from adaptive dampers with external electronically controlled valves to units with internal adjustable valves. The more expensive internal-valve dampers respond faster and with more authority over damping rates. Their value only became clear during a development drive of a preproduction car on Angeles Crest Highway. That begs the question, what else might have changed if the team had been driving cars earlier in the development process. Would the steering be lighter? Would 519 horsepower feel like 519 horsepower? Would the Optiq-V be more uniquely special?

The Power of Personality

The Optiq-V treats more horsepower as a feature rather than a philosophical shift. Even with all the chassis upgrades, it still drives largely like the Optiq AWD at a $13,000 premium. That model becomes a lot more interesting for 2026 as Cadillac has replaced the weak air-cooled induction motor at the rear axle with a powerful, water-cooled permanent-magnet unit. As a result, total system output climbs from 300 to 440 horsepower and the zero-to-60-mph time drops to 4.5 seconds. The AWD model also offers 303 miles of EPA range versus the V’s 278 miles using the same 85-kWh battery.

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If these electric V models are going to make us swoon the way Cadillac’s foundational EVs have, they’re going to have break from the mold cast by Audi and BMW. We’re confident that the company that builds the world’s best sport sedans has the expertise to inject more personality and fun into an EV.