Compare the2024 Cadillac LyriqVS 2023 Volkswagen ID.4

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 ID.4 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 ID.4 doesn’t offer knee airbags.

Both the Lyriq and the ID.4 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, rear cross-path warning and available around view monitors.

The Cadillac Lyriq weighs 680 to 1493 pounds more than the Volkswagen ID.4. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

The Lyriq’s corrosion warranty is unlimited miles longer than the ID.4’s (unlimited vs. 100,000 miles).

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 Volkswagen vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Cadillac above average in initial quality. With 79 more problems per 100 vehicles, Volkswagen 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 Volkswagen 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, Volkswagen is rated below average.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that Cadillac vehicles are more reliable than Volkswagen vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Cadillac 6 places higher in reliability than Volkswagen.

The Lyriq’s standard electric motor produces 139 more horsepower (340 vs. 201) and 96 lbs.-ft. more torque (325 vs. 229) than the ID.4’s standard electric motor. The Lyriq’s electric motor produces 45 more horsepower (340 vs. 295) than the ID.4’s optional 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 ID.4’s optional electric motors.

As tested in Car and Driver the Cadillac Lyriq electric motor is faster than the Volkswagen ID.4 electric motor:

The Lyriq can travel longer on a full charge than the ID.4 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 ID.4. 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 ID.4 (265/50R20 vs. 235/55R19). The Lyriq Luxury/Sport’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the ID.4 (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 ID.4’s standard 55 series front tires. The Lyriq Luxury/Sport’s optional tires have a lower 40 series profile than the ID.4 S’ 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 ID.4. The Lyriq Luxury/Sport’s optional 22-inch wheels are larger than the 20-inch wheels on the ID.4 S.

The Cadillac Lyriq’s wheels have 6 lugs for longer wheel bearing life, less chance of rotor warping and greater strength. The Volkswagen ID.4 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 ID.4 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 ID.4 (121.8 inches vs. 108.7 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Lyriq is 3.5 inches wider in the front and 4.4 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the ID.4.

The Lyriq’s front to rear weight distribution is more even (48.7% to 51.3%) than the ID.4’s (47% to 53%). This gives the Lyriq more stable handling and braking.

For greater off-road capability the Lyriq has a greater minimum ground clearance than the ID.4 (7 vs. 6.8 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 ID.4 doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

The Lyriq has 5.2 cubic feet more passenger volume than the ID.4 (105.1 vs. 99.9).

The Lyriq has 3.2 inches more front legroom, 2.1 inches more front hip room, 1.4 inches more front shoulder room, 2 inches more rear legroom, 7.3 inches more rear hip room and 2.7 inches more rear shoulder room than the ID.4.

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the Lyriq’s rear seats recline. The ID.4’s rear seats don’t recline.

Maximum trailer towing in the Volkswagen ID.4 is limited to 2700 pounds. The Lyriq offers up to a 3500 lbs. towing capacity.

The Lyriq uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The ID.4 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 Volkswagen. J.D. Power ranks Cadillac second in service department satisfaction. With a 47% lower rating, Volkswagen is ranked 28th.

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 ID.4 doesn’t offer extendable visors.

The Lyriq’s optional rear and side view mirrors have an automatic dimming feature. These mirrors can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The ID.4 has an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

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 ID.4 doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats.

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 ID.4 doesn’t offer a house-current electrical outlet.

The Lyriq’s optional 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 ID.4’s automatic parking system requires operating the brakes and transmission to safely park and it doesn’t offer remote control parking.