Compare the2023 Cadillac LyriqVS 2023 Audi Q4 e-tron

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Lyriq are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Q4 e-tron doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Cadillac Lyriq has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Q4 e-tron doesn’t offer knee airbags.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Lyriq has standard Reverse Automatic Braking that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The Q4 e-tron doesn’t offer automatic braking for stationary objects directly to the rear.

Both the Lyriq and the Q4 e-tron have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras and rear cross-path warning.

The Cadillac Lyriq weighs 749 to 1164 pounds more than the Audi Q4 e-tron. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

Cadillac’s powertrain warranty covers the Lyriq 2 years and 20,000 miles longer than Audi covers the Q4 e-tron. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 6 years or 70,000 miles. Coverage on the Q4 e-tron ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

There are over 84 percent more Cadillac dealers than there are Audi dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Lyriq’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Cadillac vehicles are better in initial quality than Audi vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Cadillac above average in initial quality. With 76 more problems per 100 vehicles, Audi is rated below average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Cadillac vehicles are more reliable than Audi vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Cadillac above average in long-term dependability. With 24 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, Audi is rated below average.

The Lyriq’s standard electric motor produces 139 more horsepower (340 vs. 201) and 96 lbs.-ft. more torque (325 vs. 229) than the Q4 40 e-tron’s standard electric motor. The Lyriq’s electric motor produces 45 more horsepower (340 vs. 295) than the Q4 50 e-tron’s standard electric motors. The Lyriq’s optional electric motors produces 205 more horsepower (500 vs. 295) and 111 lbs.-ft. more torque (450 vs. 339) than the Q4 50 e-tron’s standard electric motors.

As tested in Car and Driver the Cadillac Lyriq electric motors is faster than the Q4 50 e-tron electric motors:

The Lyriq can travel longer on a full charge than the Q4 e-tron on a full charge:

The Cadillac Lyriq has standard four-wheel disc brakes for better stopping power and improved directional control in poor weather. Only rear drums come on the Q4 e-tron. Drums can heat up and make stops longer, especially with antilock brakes that work much harder than conventional brakes.

For better traction, the Lyriq has larger standard tires than the Q4 e-tron (265/50R20 vs. 235/55R19). The Lyriq’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Q4 e-tron (275/40R22 vs. 235/55R19).

The Lyriq’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 50 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Q4 e-tron’s standard 55 series front tires. The Lyriq’s optional tires have a lower 40 series profile than the Q4 e-tron Quattro’s optional 50 series front and 45 series rear tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Lyriq has standard 20-inch wheels. Smaller 19-inch wheels are standard on the Q4 e-tron. The Lyriq’s optional 22-inch wheels are larger than the 20-inch wheels optional on the Q4 e-tron Quattro.

The Cadillac Lyriq’s wheels have 6 lugs for longer wheel bearing life, less chance of rotor warping and greater strength. The Audi Q4 e-tron only has 5 wheel lugs per wheel.

Having a flat tire is dangerous, inconvenient and expensive. The self-sealing tires standard on the Lyriq can automatically seal most punctures up to 3/16 of an inch, effectively preventing most flat tires. The Q4 e-tron doesn’t offer self-sealing tires.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Lyriq’s wheelbase is 13.1 inches longer than on the Q4 e-tron (121.8 inches vs. 108.7 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Lyriq is 3.6 inches wider in the front and 4.4 inches wider in the rear than on the Q4 e-tron.

The Lyriq uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The Q4 e-tron doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

The Lyriq has .1 inches more front headroom, 3.1 inches more front legroom, 2.2 inches more front shoulder room, 2.4 inches more rear legroom and 3.5 inches more rear shoulder room than the Q4 e-tron.

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the Lyriq’s rear seats recline. The Q4 e-tron’s rear seats don’t recline.

The Lyriq has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Q4 e-tron with its rear seat up (28 vs. 24.8 cubic feet). The Lyriq has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Q4 e-tron with its rear seat folded (60.8 vs. 53.1 cubic feet).

Maximum trailer towing in the Audi Q4 e-tron is limited to 2646 pounds. The Lyriq offers up to a 3500 lbs. towing capacity.

Standard Trailer Sway Control on the Lyriq uses the StabiliTrak® sensors to detect trailer sway, then uses individual brakes to counteract any swaying and help keep the tow vehicle and trailer steady. The Q4 e-tron doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

The Lyriq uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Q4 e-tron uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

J.D. Power and Associates surveys of service recipients show that Cadillac service is better than Audi. J.D. Power ranks Cadillac second in service department satisfaction. With a 15% lower rating, Audi is ranked 8th.

The Lyriq’s power window, power lock, power mirror and cruise control switches are lit from behind, making them plainly visible and easier to operate at night. The Q4 e-tron’s cruise control switches are unlit, making them difficult to find at night and operate safely.

To help drivers avoid possible obstacles, the Lyriq has standard cornering lights to illuminate around corners when the turn signals are activated. The Q4 e-tron doesn’t offer cornering lights. The Lyriq also has standard adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle.

Standard air-conditioned seats in the Lyriq keep the driver and front passenger comfortable and take the sting out of hot seats in Summer. The Q4 e-tron doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats.

The Lyriq has a standard heated steering wheel to take the chill out of steering on extremely cold winter days before the vehicle heater warms up. A heated steering wheel is only available on the Q4 e-tron Premium Plus/Prestige.

The Lyriq has standard massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the Q4 e-tron.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Cadillac Lyriq has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. Wireless charging costs extra on the Q4 e-tron.

The Lyriq has a 115-volt a/c outlet on the center console, allowing you to recharge a laptop or run small household appliances without special adapters that can break or get misplaced. The Q4 e-tron doesn’t offer a house-current electrical outlet.

The Lyriq’s Enhanced Automatic Park Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. Remote Auto Parking will park and retrieve your car remotely: press a button and watch it park itself. This is ideal for tight locations. The Q4 e-tron Premium Plus/Prestige’s automatic parking system requires operating the brakes and transmission to safely park and it doesn’t offer remote control parking.