2026 Cadillac Vistiq: Five Things to Know When Winter Driving

Last May, we had the opportunity to drive the Cadillac Vistiq for the first time, one of the latest additions to General Motors’ electric SUV family. The model impressed us, but it had hidden some things from us that we discovered during our winter test, conducted during the coldest week of December.

• The Vistiq slots between the Lyriq and the Escalade IQ in the Cadillac lineup.

• Maximum range is 491 kilometres

• 0-100 km/h in just 3.9 seconds with the Velocity Max mode

And what are these secrets in question?

Let’s take the time to examine all of this through the following five points.

1 — Heating, Please?

What’s the first thing you do when you get into your vehicle in winter? If you answered “adjust the temperature,” you’ll quickly understand the level of frustration experienced during our test.

To summarize, the Vistiq’s climate control system proved temperamental. In fact, access to it, via touch controls, proved very problematic. The issue is that to adjust the temperature, direction, and strength of ventilation, you have to use your fingers to activate the icons on the touchscreen located between the two seats, near the dashboard. However, during five days of driving where the temperature ranged from -8 to -12 degrees Celsius, the screen refused to cooperate.

Every. Single. Time.

When placing a finger on the icon to raise the temperature, it would change colour to indicate finger recognition, but the temperature itself wouldn’t budge.

And every time, we had to wait 20 to 25 minutes before the system started working.

Behind the wheel, I thought about owners, surely disappointed to be driving a $100,000 vehicle without a functional heating system.

Was there a problem with physical buttons for temperature and ventilation control? Obviously not, but manufacturers always seek to innovate, and often, it’s not really necessary.

Of course, Cadillac will eventually fix this problem that we were happy to report to them. The truth is, all of this is avoidable with simple, reliable controls.

The previous week, we experienced a series of similar glitches aboard the Infiniti QX80, sometimes with temperature, sometimes with seat memory, sometimes with phone connection.

Is this the look of progress?

Your humble servant jumped into a Honda Civic the following week, a car that offers dials for climate controls. Problem solved. Our concern with this story is for the owners.

In fact, be warned if this vehicle is on your shopping list, as well as any other configured the same way.

And what about voice commands, you ask? They responded positively but without affecting the system.

2026 Cadillac Vistiq Review: Style, Power, and a Few Head-Scratchers

2 — Recognizes the Key, Doesn’t Recognize the Key, Recognizes the Key…

Our second glitch is more amusing than anything, but it also demonstrates the kind of situation we experience with today’s vehicles.

Like the vast majority of models on the market, the Vistiq features a smart key that recognizes you when you approach the vehicle and unlocks it to facilitate access.

Magnificent. And it worked this time.

However, we experienced a situation that could have resulted in the destruction of door handles during vehicle clearing. What happened was that while walking around the Vistiq to free it from accumulated snow, the vehicle would sometimes lock (as if we were kilometres away) and sometimes unlock, as if it suddenly realized we were there.

Five times during clearing.

The problem is that due to the door design, twice while giving a good sweep with the broom to clear the door, the handles deployed just as the broom reached their height. Seriously, we thought we had torn one off at one point; the impact was so violent. All because the model keeps wondering whether we’re present or not, and it keeps locking, unlocking, etc.

The solution? Leave the key inside.

You’ll understand that we refused to take this route, fearing the vehicle might lock us out.

If you’re the new owner of a Vistiq, pay attention to this detail; otherwise, it could cost you a door handle.

Oh, one last thing. With a price point like the Vistiq’s, a self-cleaning rear camera is not a requirement, but something we expect.

3 — Winter Range

Let’s set aside electronic glitches to talk about THE question on everyone’s lips with electric vehicles in winter: range—or rather, the loss of range in cold weather.

With the Vistiq, electric freedom is 491 kilometers, and that’s precisely what we got with each charge. The catch is that Cadillac announces, at best, city driving consumption of 22.5 kWh. The battery size is 102 kWh, which translates to a total range of 453 km. To achieve 491 km, consumption would need to drop to 20.8 kWh.

We’d need to see if this is possible with a summer test, but you’ll understand that in winter, it’s completely impossible. And, of course, we expect this capacity to decrease with colder weather.

By what magnitude?

It varies, of course, depending on the temperature, the route taken, and how you drive the vehicle. Let’s say that with an average temperature of -10°C and a mix of urban and highway routes, we maintained an average of 26.8 kWh. If we had driven nonstop, we could have covered 380 km.

That gives you an idea, but as we mentioned, there are so many elements to consider that it’s challenging to predict the range accurately. We’re not far from reality, however.

And, quite frankly, nearly 400 km is more than sufficient for the vast majority of situations.

4 — Driving in a Snow Storm

As luck would have it, during our test, Mother Nature decided to send good amounts of white powder our way. The perfect opportunity to see what this Vistiq was capable of under such conditions.

On this front, the model passed its exam with flying colours, and the SUV’s stability proved frankly impressive. This was the case in urban settings, but it proved most convincing on the highway. Despite the kind of snow accumulation that forces us to slow down, the Vistiq refused to flinch during lane changes, as if it ignored the accumulations on the road.

The model’s weight of 2,869 kg (6,325 pounds) is a factor for this stability. Nevertheless, the driving proved reassuring in the worst conditions encountered.

5 — What about the Future

The fifth thing to know about this Cadillac Vistiq is to consider its future. In fact, whether it will be long or very short. If we forget the glitches mentioned at the outset, problems the company will be able to fix over time (hopefully), we can’t help but wonder if this model will sell in sufficient numbers in the coming years, with its price tag ranging between $92,000 and $117,000 in Canada.

• Luxury and Sport – $92,999
• Premium Luxury – $110,799
• Platinum – $117,499

That’s a lot, especially when you consider that for many potential buyers, the Lyriq, positioned just below the Vistiq in the lineup, offers an equally satisfying experience for $25,000 less.

And consider the current context, where electric vehicle sales are declining, and that, in the United States, the current administration is doing nothing to support the electric transition.

In short, the battle has only just begun for this model.