Jay Leno gets his hands on an all-new, all-electric Cadilla LYRIQ in this episode of Jay Leno’s Garage. Spoiler: he loves it!
Former late-night talk show host and Doritos pitch man Jay Leno is an unabashed petrolhead. He has been collecting cars for decades, and his current collection contains about 180 cars and 160 motorcycles. This is the man who owns both a 1994 McLaren F1 and a 1931 Duesenberg Model J Town Car, after all, so it’s especially gratifying to see someone like him be invested in and praise EV technology.
On his series Jay Leno’s Garage, Leno took a deep look at the 2023 Cadillac Lyriq, the carmaker’s first all-electric vehicle. He came right out and admitted that he’s always loved Cadillac in general, admitting “I’ve been a huge fan of the Cadillac brand. I’ve got a 1918 Cadillac, a 1925, and 1957 that we’re doing right now. By 1949, I think Cadillac was the best car in the world.”
As he took the Lyriq for a spin, he shared how impressed he was with the level of luxury the Lyriq has, especially for being priced at around $60,000 — he had expected it to cost closer to $95,000 or even $110,000 (though, admittedly, not anything like $300,000).
“It’s really quiet, it’s really smooth,” he said while driving it around with Bryan Stewart, program engineering manager for Cadillac. “It’s what a Cadillac is supposed to be.”
The Lyriq offers drivers 300 hp with 312 miles of range on a 102 kWh battery pack. For the riding experience, Cadillac has included a 33-inch curved OLED display for gauges and infotainment options. There’s also the 19-speaker AKG sound system with headrest speakers that incorporates active noise cancellation.
It even has fun little nods to Cadillac’s history, including a subtle reference to the old logo with its “ducks,” the knightly symbol of merlette swans.
Reservations are already full for the 2023 model, but you can pre-order the 2024 model year already on the Cadillac website.
2023 Cadillac LYRIQ | Jay Leno’s Garage
SOURCE | IMAGES: JAY LENO’S GARAGE.