2027 Cadillac Lyriq-V Priced for Australia: $99,000, 459kW and 3.6 Seconds, but on the Wrong Side of the Tax Line

Image credit: Cadillac Australia. Preproduction model shown.

Cadillac's Australian specification sheet calls the Lyriq-V the first electric SUV to earn the V-Series badge, and it is now listed in Cadillac Australia's online configurator alongside the Lyriq Sport. The number most coverage has led with is $99,000, and that is the figure Cadillac shows as the variant price. For it you get a dual-motor, all-wheel drive large SUV making 459kW and 880Nm, with a claimed 0 to 100km/h time of 3.6 seconds. Cadillac's own Australian page calls it "the quickest Cadillac ever".

The more useful number for a buyer is what happens after the $99,000. Cadillac's configurator shows its working: a preparation fee, then luxury car tax, then the state charges, and that tax line splits the two Lyriqs in a way that matters a great deal to anyone leasing. Here is what the $99,000 actually turns into, what it buys over the cheaper Lyriq, and who should look at it.

Pricing

There is one powertrain in the Lyriq range, so the table is split by variant. Both figures are from Cadillac Australia's configurator on 1 October 2026, before stamp duty, registration, CTP and plates.

So the real gap between the two Lyriqs is not $9,000. Once Cadillac's own tax calculation runs, it is $11,651.70 before you get to stamp duty, which is itself charged on the higher price. The configurator also produces an estimated drive-away figure for each state, based on a private buyer in a metropolitan area. For the Lyriq-V in the no-cost Argent Silver paint, it quoted:

Cadillac says these are estimates, that your own figure depends on your circumstances and registration type, and that the final drive-away price is confirmed at checkout. One oddity: Cadillac says its drive-away figures include CTP, but its New South Wales breakdown for the Lyriq-V shows no CTP line, where the Sport's does ($563.99), so check the Sydney figure with Cadillac before relying on it. Three premium paints, Polar White Tricoat, Emerald Lake Metallic and Radiant Red Tintcoat, are $1,500 each, and on the Lyriq-V that option also attracts more luxury car tax: in Sydney, the red car comes out at $110,427.70.

The Tax Line Is the Real Story

For the 2026-27 financial year, the luxury car tax threshold for fuel-efficient vehicles, which includes electric cars, is $91,661. The Lyriq Sport lands at $91,500 including its preparation fee, which is $161 under, and Cadillac's configurator charges no luxury car tax on it. The Lyriq-V, at $100,500 with the same fee, is $8,839 over, and 33% of the amount over the threshold, excluding GST, is exactly the $2,651.70 the configurator adds.

The bigger consequence is not the tax itself. The fringe benefits tax exemption that makes a novated lease on an electric car so cheap only applies to cars under that same threshold. So a Lyriq Sport on a novated lease can be FBT exempt, and a Lyriq-V cannot. For someone salary packaging a car, the exemption can be worth more than the $11,651.70 price gap itself, depending on income and lease term, and it is the biggest reason a lease buyer should think twice before stepping up to the V. Our novated lease calculator will show you the difference on your own income, and our FBT-exempt cars guide explains the rules.

One trap on the Sport, too: pick one of the $1,500 paints and it goes over. Cadillac's configurator charges $401.70 of luxury car tax on a Sport in Radiant Red, which means that car has also crossed the FBT line. If you want the Sport on a novated lease, choose the silver or the black. Two dates to check before you order: the threshold is re-indexed every 1 July, and under changes announced for 1 April 2027 the full FBT exemption would only cover electric cars at or under $75,000, with a 25 per cent FBT discount above that and below the luxury car tax threshold. At $91,500 the Sport is above $75,000, so on a lease that starts after that date it would get the discount rather than the full exemption. This is general information, not tax advice.

What the Extra Money Buys

Cadillac Australia's MY27 specification sheet lists the two Lyriqs side by side, which makes the difference easy to read. Everything below is from that sheet unless noted.

The core of it is 75kW, 160Nm and 1.3 seconds to 100km/h. The performance figures are Cadillac estimates, and the sheet notes they come from GM testing in the United States. The 3.6-second time needs Velocity Max and launch control, which sit inside V-Mode, reached from the steering wheel, along with a Competitive Mode. V-Mode also lets you set up the accelerator, brakes, suspension, steering and the synthetic sound separately. The Sport keeps Tour, Sport, Snow/Ice and My Mode, but has no V-Mode.

The chassis change that matters day to day is the dampers. The V gets Continuous Damping Control, an adaptive system, where the Sport runs passive dampers, and Cadillac's page describes the V's suspension as lowered. The sheet prints a single height of 1,623mm for both cars, so how much lower is not published. The V also runs shorter final drive ratios, 11.59 front and 11.63 rear against the Sport's 9.87 and 10.49, and both are listed at the same 210km/h top speed.

Beyond that, the equipment lists are almost identical. Both get the 33-inch curved display, a 23-speaker AKG Studio system with Dolby Atmos capability, heated, ventilated and massaging front seats, heated rear seats, a heated steering wheel, tri-zone climate control, Google built-in and six airbags. The V's extras are mostly appearance: its own front and rear lower bodywork, V badging, the dark 22-inch wheels and black Nappa leather with Sky Cool Grey accents, which is the only interior on offer. You do not get a lot of extra kit for the money, which is normal for a performance variant. You are paying for the drivetrain and dampers.

The range and charging cost

The Lyriq-V gives away 32km of WLTP range, 471km against 503km, from the same 92kWh battery, because it uses more energy: 21.6kWh per 100km against 20.2. Charging hardware is the same on both, at up to 130kW on DC and 22kW on three-phase AC. Cadillac says the V adds up to 107km in about 10 minutes on a DC charger and up to 32km per hour on a 7.4kW home wallbox. At 130kW peak, the Lyriq is behind every rival in the comparison below on listed DC charging speed, which matters more on a long drive than on the school run. The range estimator will turn a WLTP figure into something closer to highway reality.

What It Is Up Against

The Lyriq-V is not in the comparison below because we still hold it as coming soon, and the widget only shows cars on sale. What is in it are six quick electric cars you can buy today. Tap any two.

The awkward comparison is the Tesla Model Y Performance, which we list at $89,400 before on-road costs: 343kW, a claimed 3.5 seconds to 100km/h, 580km WLTP and 250kW DC charging. That is quicker on paper, further on a charge and faster to charge, for about $9,600 less than the Lyriq-V's variant price, and it sits under the tax line. The Cadillac's answer is size and trim: a five-metre SUV with Nappa leather, massaging front seats and a 23-speaker sound system.

The Kia EV6 GT lines up almost exactly on price, at $99,660 before on-road costs in our listing, with 478kW, a claimed 3.5 seconds and 450km WLTP. It is a smaller car with a much more overtly sporty brief. The Polestar 4 Long Range Dual Motor at $86,350 gives you 400kW, 3.8 seconds and 590km WLTP. On specification only, we also list the Ford Mustang Mach-E GT with 434kW, 955Nm and 3.7 seconds, and the Hyundai IONIQ 5 N with 448kW and 3.5 seconds. Those figures are the ones we list, not ones we have rechecked for this story.

Read the specifications side by side and the Lyriq-V's case is not the stopwatch. Three of the six list a quicker 0 to 100km/h time than its claimed 3.6 seconds, and all six list a higher peak DC charging rate than its 130kW. Its case is size and comfort with the performance on top: at 5,005mm long on a 3,094mm wheelbase, with 793 litres of cargo space behind the rear seat and 1,722 litres with it folded (Cadillac's volume figures), it is a genuinely large five-seat SUV that happens to be very quick.

What Cadillac Has Not Told Us Yet

• A towing capacity. Cadillac's specification sheet does not list one for either Lyriq, and neither do we. If you tow, do not assume.
• A tare weight for each variant. The sheet prints one tare figure, 2,687kg, and a gross vehicle mass of 3,200kg, without splitting either by variant.
• A spare wheel. The sheet lists self-sealing tyres and makes no mention of a spare.
• An ANCAP rating. We hold no ANCAP rating for the Lyriq-V or any other Lyriq variant.
• Delivery timing. The car is in the configurator with drive-away pricing and has been reported as on sale now, but Cadillac's own pages do not give a delivery date that we could find, and the configurator says the final drive-away price is confirmed when you check out.

Ownership terms are published. Cadillac Australia lists a five-year, unlimited-kilometre vehicle warranty, an eight-year or 160,000km battery warranty, five years of premium roadside assistance, and service intervals of 24 months or 24,000km, whichever comes first.

Who It Suits, and Who It Does Not

If you are paying cash or financing privately, the Lyriq-V makes a clear enough case: a large, well-equipped luxury SUV with adaptive dampers and a claimed 3.6 seconds to 100km/h, for $103,151.70 before state charges. That is a lot of performance for the money in this size of car, and the price of admission over the Sport is mostly the drivetrain, the dampers and the wheels.

If you are leasing through your employer, the maths changes completely. The Lyriq Sport sits $161 inside the FBT exemption, with the same battery, the same charging, the same cabin and 32km more range, and it is still a quick car on Cadillac's own figures. Unless you specifically want the V's speed and suspension, the Sport in silver or black is the smarter buy on a novated lease that starts before 1 April 2027, and the V has to be very much wanted to justify losing the exemption.

And if you tow, or you drive long distances where charging speed matters, wait for a towing figure or look at the rivals above first. You can see our current Lyriq-V listing, and we will fill in its specifications and price as we verify them.