Compare the2025 Cadillac Escalade IQVS 2025 Volkswagen ID.BUZZ

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 Escalade IQ are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The ID.BUZZ doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Cadillac Escalade IQ has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags help 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.BUZZ doesn’t offer knee airbags.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, Full-Time Four-Wheel Drive is standard on the Escalade IQ. But it costs extra on the ID.BUZZ.

A passive infrared night vision system optional on the Escalade IQ helps the driver to more easily detect people, animals or other objects in front of the vehicle at night. Using an infrared camera to detect heat, the system then displays the image on a monitor in the dashboard. The ID.BUZZ doesn’t offer a night vision system.

The Cadillac Escalade IQ’s rear backup camera has a standard washer for maintaining a clear view under various conditions. In contrast, the Volkswagen ID.BUZZ does not offer a rear camera washer, meaning its effectiveness relies on manual cleaning by the user when necessary.

Both the Escalade IQ and the ID.BUZZ have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, front seat center airbag, 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.

Cadillac’s powertrain warranty covers the Escalade IQ 2 years and 20,000 miles longer than Volkswagen covers the ID.BUZZ. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 6 years or 70,000 miles. Coverage on the ID.BUZZ ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

The Escalade IQ’s corrosion warranty is unlimited miles longer than the ID.BUZZ’s (unlimited vs. 100,000 miles).

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Cadillac vehicles are better in initial quality than Volkswagen vehicles. With 27 fewer problems per 100 vehicles, JD Power ranks Cadillac higher than Volkswagen.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 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 With 71 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Cadillac higher than Volkswagen.

The Escalade IQ’s electric motors produces 468 more horsepower (750 vs. 282) and 372 lbs.-ft. more torque (785 vs. 413) than the ID.BUZZ’s standard electric motor. The Escalade IQ’s electric motors produces 415 more horsepower (750 vs. 335) and 273 lbs.-ft. more torque (785 vs. 512) than the ID.BUZZ’s optional electric motors.

As tested in Motor Trend the Cadillac Escalade IQ is faster than the Volkswagen ID.BUZZ electric motor:

The Escalade IQ can travel longer on a full charge than the ID.BUZZ on a full charge:

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

For better traction, the Escalade IQ has larger tires than the ID.BUZZ (275/50R24 vs. 235/50R20).

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Escalade IQ has standard 24-inch wheels. Only 20-inch wheels are available on the ID.BUZZ.

The Cadillac Escalade IQ’s wheels have 6 lugs for longer wheel bearing life, less chance of rotor warping and greater strength. The Volkswagen ID.BUZZ only has 5 wheel lugs per wheel.

The Escalade IQ has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The ID.BUZZ doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

The front and rear suspension of the Escalade IQ uses air springs for a smoother, controlled ride than the ID.BUZZ, which uses coil springs. Air springs maintain proper ride height and ride more smoothly.

The Escalade IQ has a standard driver-adjustable suspension system. It allows the driver to choose between an extra-supple ride, reducing fatigue on long trips, or a sport setting, which allows maximum control for tricky roads or off-road. The ID.BUZZ’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.

The Escalade IQ has a standard automatic front and rear load leveling suspension to keep ride height level with a heavy load or when towing. The Escalade IQ’s height leveling suspension allows the driver to raise ride height for better off-road clearance and then lower it again for easier entering and exiting and better on-road handling. The ID.BUZZ doesn’t offer a load leveling suspension.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Escalade IQ’s wheelbase is 8.7 inches longer than on the ID.BUZZ (136.2 inches vs. 127.5 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Escalade IQ is 2.9 inches wider in the front and 3 inches wider in the rear than on the ID.BUZZ.

For greater off-road capability the Escalade IQ has a greater minimum ground clearance than the ID.BUZZ (6.9 vs. 6.3 inches), allowing the Escalade IQ to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The front grille of the Escalade IQ uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The ID.BUZZ doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The Escalade IQ uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The ID.BUZZ doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

The Escalade IQ has 2.9 inches more front headroom, 7.7 inches more front legroom, 3 inches more front hip room, 6.3 inches more front shoulder room, 1.4 inches more rear legroom, 1.9 inches more rear shoulder room, 1.2 inches more third row hip room and 4.3 inches more third row shoulder room than the ID.BUZZ.

The Escalade IQ’s cargo area provides more volume than the ID.BUZZ.

Pressing a switch automatically lowers the Escalade IQ’s second row seats and pressing a switch automatically lowers or raises the third row seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The ID.BUZZ doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

The Escalade IQ’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the ID.BUZZ’s (8000 vs. 2600 pounds).

The Escalade IQ’s standard 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.BUZZ has an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

The Escalade IQ has standard front air conditioned seats and offers them optionally in the second row. This keeps the passengers comfortable and takes the sting out of hot seats in summer. The ID.BUZZ doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats for the second row.

Both the Escalade IQ and the ID.BUZZ offer available massaging front seats. The Escalade IQ also offers optional massaging second row seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging second row seats aren’t available in the ID.BUZZ.

Compared to the Volkswagen ID.BUZZ, the Cadillac Escalade IQ eliminates the need for separate garage door openers and associated risks of losing, breaking, or having dead batteries with its standard integrated Homelink® universal remote controlled from the infotainment system.

The Cadillac Escalade outsold the Volkswagen ID.BUZZ by almost 21 to one during 2024.