Compare the2024 Cadillac LyriqVS 2023 Tesla Model Y

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 Model Y doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Lyriq’s standard pretensioning seatbelts also sense rear collisions and remove slack from the front seatbelts to help protect the occupants from whiplash and other injuries. The Model Y doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

The Lyriq offers an optional HD Surround Vision to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Model Y only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Lyriq’s standard Rear Cross Traffic Alert uses sensors in the rear to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side and Rear Cross Traffic Braking automatically engages the brakes to help avoid a collision. The Model Y doesn’t offer a rear cross-path warning system.

The Lyriq has standard OnStar®, which uses a global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver and a cellular system to get turn-by-turn driving directions, remotely unlock your doors if you lock your keys in, help track down your vehicle if it’s stolen or send emergency personnel to the scene if any airbags deploy. The Model Y doesn’t offer a GPS response system, only a navigation computer with no live response for emergencies, so if you’re involved in an accident and you’re incapacitated help may not come as quickly.

Both the Lyriq and the Model Y have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee 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 and rearview cameras.

The Cadillac Lyriq weighs 1159 to 1447 pounds more than the Tesla Model Y. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

There are almost 4 times as many Cadillac dealers as there are Tesla dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Lyriq’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2023 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Cadillac vehicles are better in initial quality than Tesla vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Cadillac above average in initial quality. With 87 more problems per 100 vehicles, Tesla is rated below average.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that Cadillac vehicles are more reliable than Tesla vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Cadillac 2 places higher in reliability than Tesla.

The Lyriq’s standard electric motor produces 15 more horsepower (340 vs. 325) than the Model Y Long Range’s standard electric motors. The Lyriq’s optional electric motors produces 45 more horsepower (500 vs. 455) than the Model Y Performance’s standard electric motors.

The Lyriq can travel longer on a full charge than the Model Y on a full charge:

For better traction, the Lyriq has larger standard tires than the Model Y (265/50R20 vs. 255/45R19). The Lyriq Luxury/Sport’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Model Y (275/40R22 vs. 255/35R21).

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Lyriq has standard 20-inch wheels. Smaller 19-inch wheels are standard on the Model Y. The Lyriq Luxury/Sport’s optional 22-inch wheels are larger than the 21-inch wheels on the Model Y Performance.

The Cadillac Lyriq’s wheels have 6 lugs for longer wheel bearing life, less chance of rotor warping and greater strength. The Tesla Model Y 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 Model Y doesn’t offer self-sealing tires.

The Lyriq has standard front and rear stabilizer bars, which help keep the Lyriq flat and controlled during cornering. The Model Y’s suspension doesn’t offer a rear stabilizer bar.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Lyriq’s wheelbase is 8 inches longer than on the Model Y (121.8 inches vs. 113.8 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Lyriq is 1.3 inches wider in the front and 1.6 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Model Y.

For greater off-road capability the Lyriq has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Model Y (7 vs. 6.6 inches), allowing the Lyriq to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The Lyriq Luxury/Sport offers available computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The Model Y doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

The Lyriq has 2.5 inches more front legroom, 2.7 inches more front hip room, 2.5 inches more front shoulder room, 3.4 inches more rear hip room and 4.6 inches more rear shoulder room than the Model Y.

The Lyriq has a much larger cargo volume than the Model Y with its rear seat up (28 vs. 16.9 cubic feet).

To make loading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the Lyriq Luxury/Sport’s available liftgate can be opened and closed just by kicking your foot under the back bumper, leaving your hands completely free. The Model Y doesn’t offer a hands-free gesture to open its liftgate, forcing you to put cargo down if your hands are full.

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 Model Y doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

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

The Lyriq’s standard side window demisters help clear frost or condensation from the side windows in the winter. The Model Y doesn’t even offer side window demisters, so the driver may have to wipe the windows from the outside to gain side vision.

To shield the driver and front passenger’s vision over a larger portion of the windshield and side windows, the Lyriq has standard extendable sun visors. The Model Y doesn’t offer extendable visors.

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 Model Y doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats.

The Lyriq Luxury/Sport offers optional massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the Model Y.

The Lyriq offers an optional 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 Model Y doesn’t offer a house-current electrical outlet.

The Lyriq is available in both rear-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The Model Y doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.