To V or not to V, that is the question. Whether ’tis nobler in the EV to suffer lower horsepower for a shinier badge, or to drop $75,995 on 500 electrified stallions and pray the niche isn’t already a graveyard? Cadillac’s 2026 Optiq V chooses the latter—because nothing says “market research” like pricing a compact luxury crossover above most buyers’ second homes.
In a segment where Tesla Model Y Performance undercuts it by twenty grand and delivers similar shove, the Optiq V arrives like a velvet-gloved punch to an empty room. Sure, 500 hp, 3.5-second sprints, Brembo brakes, and Super Cruise sound ferocious on paper, but the addressable audience—Cadillac loyalists who crave track-tuned EVs yet balk at Lyriq money—fits in a single Uber Black. For 2026, even the base Optiq jumps to 300 hp for half the V’s tariff, poaching the very buyers Cadillac hopes to upsell. The V’s aero kit and 22s scream “look at me,” but in a market shrinking faster than its battery range on a cold track day, success rides on vibes, not volume. Slim loves company; none just left the building.