Cadillac Escalade IQ Cargo Test: How Big Are the Frunk and Cargo Area?

Here's how much luggage you can fit inside Cadillac's monstrous electric Escalade

written by James Riswick
edited by Steven Ewing
9/13/2025
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The Cadillac Escalade IQ has 23.7 cubic feet of cargo space behind its third row of seats.
The "eTrunk," or frunk, has 12.2 cubic feet.
Our real-world test shows how much stuff you can fit in both spaces.

The Cadillac Escalade IQ you see here, resplendent in $5,925 Midnight Frost Steel matte paint, is a range-topping Sport 2 trim level with the $9,495 Executive Second Row Seating package. Among many other luxuries, this package adds 14-way power-adjustable second-row captain's chairs controlled by a central touchscreen. Sounds fancy, and it is. Unfortunately, it's also a usability disaster. I'll get into that in a moment.

Most important to this test, however, is that the Escalade IQ has 23.7 cubic feet of space behind its third row of seats. That's just a little less than the gas-powered Escalade (25.5 cubes), which, whaddaya know, is the same as the Chevy Tahoe that I previously cargo tested. The extended-length Escalade IQL only goes up to 24.2 cubic feet; its extra inches go to third-row legroom. By contrast, the Suburban-based Escalade ESV uses its girth to expand the cargo area. Both electric Escalades share the same-size frunk, or "eTrunk," that measures 12.2 cubic feet (sometimes, more on that later). Put the two areas together, and it should theoretically hold an incredible amount of stuff with all seats in place.

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First, though, does it even matter if you can fit enough luggage for seven people if three of those passengers can't actually get into the vehicle?

The Executive Second Row's seats are powered forward using a little button located low on the side pillar. Once you find that button, you must then wait an interminably long time for the seat to snail its way forward. The resulting opening is a comically small sliver made worse by the seat belt that gets in the way. My tiny wife's entry and exit was the opposite of graceful. (As an aside, the seats' rear LATCH anchors are also so impossibly low that they're the first seats I've ever tested in four years that couldn't connect to my Britax Boulevard car seat.)

Needless to say, I think this option is a huge waste of money if you actually want to use the third row of this three-row vehicle. It gets worse, though, in a way that pertains to cargo capacity. The 60/40-split third row is power-operated using buttons in the cargo area. They quickly fold forward but will almost certainly not go down because they'll smack into the second row. You will then need to walk around the car and either use that hard-to-find button to slooooooowly slide and quasi-fold the second row or climb into the car and tap-tap-tap your way through touchscreen menus to slide the seat forward without also folding the backrest forward. Note, however, the touchscreen only works if the car is on ... and the car automatically shuts itself off when the driver leaves the vehicle. Frustrating!

So yeah, best to leave the third row up then. And if you do, how much can fit back there?

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Cadillac Escalade IQ cargo area behind third row

Although the Escalade IQ's cargo volume is similar to the Tahoe/Escalade's, its shape is different. Specifically, its tailgate is more angled and less upright, resulting in a less boxy space. At the same time, it's a longer space.

This is what you'll find when you pop open the floor panel: just enough space for the charge cord case and tire repair kit. Not help here for luggage.

Speaking of which, here's some nice boilerplate information about the bags I use and their dimensions. There are two bags you'd definitely have to check at the airport: Big Gray (26 inches long x 16.5 inches wide x 12 inches deep) and Big Blue (26 x 16.5 x 10). There are three roll-aboards that usually fit as carry-ons: Medium Tall (24 x 14 x 9), Medium Wide (23 x 15 x 9) and the smaller Green Bag (21 x 14 x 9.5). Finally, there's everyone's favorite Fancy Bag (21 x 12 x 11), a medium-size duffle.

Cadillac Escalade IQ Cargo Test all bags behind third row

OK! All of the bags fit behind the third row, making the Escalade IQ one of the few three-row SUVs capable of doing this. The Tahoe is another, but the Fancy Bag was touching its roof, and the resulting visibility did not meet cargo test safety requirements unless the optional digital rearview camera was aboard.

Cadillac Escalade IQ Cargo Test mirror comparison

The Escalade IQ has a digital rearview camera, and even without it, the view back wasn't much worse than the Escalade IQ's inherently terrible rear visibility.

So, the Escalade IQ just beats the Tahoe/Yukon/Escalade and joins the Toyota Grand Highlander, Lexus TX, Jeep Wagoneer, Chevy Traverse/Buick Enclave and various Suburban-size extended-length models as the only three-row SUVs that have been able to swallow all of my bags behind their third rows. The Rivian R1S managed all of them between its cargo area and frunk.

Ah, but like Michael Jordan flying through the air over some hapless defender, the Escalade IQ can stick its tongue out and dunk over the competition.

That's right, I haven't even gotten to the frunk yet. At 12.2 cubic feet, this is a lot more trunk-like in size than the glorified cubbies found in other EVs. It bests the 11.1-cubic-foot frunk of the Rivian R1S.

Now, I can guarantee you that this particular Escalade IQ frunk ... err, eTrunk, did not have 12.2 cubic feet worth of luggage-swallowing space. That would be because of its tongue, or rather, the $995 dealer-installed eTrunk Organizer package that includes a slide-out luggage tray.

Two medium-size suitcases on Escalade IQ slide out eTrunk luggage tray

The slide-out tongue certainly makes it easier to load bags inside and avoid looking like you're being eaten by a 9,000-pound Cadillac. It can also handle my two biggest bags.

However, the tray is very large thing that takes up a lot of vertical space. The tracks it rests upon take up even more. Theoretically, something 12.2 cubic feet should be able to accommodate even more than just those two bags (even if the volumes of various cargo-carrying areas should be treated as comparing apples to oranges).

By sliding the tray forward and placing bags behind, I could create this best guestimate as to the bag-carrying ability without the tray: one of my big bags plus two of the roll aboards. That does equal more luggage volume than fitting the two medium bags.

Nevertheless! Even with the tongue, I'm happy to proclaim a new leader in the clubhouse. The Escalade IQ can carry way more luggage than any other three-row SUV apart from extended-length Suburban-sized models. How much does it better everything else? Well, pretty much by everything that fits in the frunk. That's a lot!

So the Escalade IQ can fit a ton of luggage with all the seats in place. It's getting people into all those seats that can be the problem.

Oh, and so can getting them under the liftgate ...

Car reviewer hits head on corner of Escalade IQ liftgate

Did the Escalade's atypically low-drooping and sharply pointed liftgate make my head bleed during the making of this test? Why, yes, it did. The things I do for vehicle testing ...

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by James Riswick

James Riswick has been testing cars and writing about them for more than 20 years. He was the senior reviews editor for Autoblog and previously served multiple editor roles here at Edmunds. He has also contributed to Autotrader, Car and Driver, Hagerty, AutoGuide, JD Power, Capital One Auto Navigator and Carguide Magazine. He has been interested in cars forever; his mom took him to the Toronto Auto Show when he was 18 months old and has attended at least one every year since (OK, except in 2020). He owns a babied 1998 BMW Z3 in James Bond blue, a 2013 Mercedes-Benz E 350 wagon for family adventures, and a 2025 Cadillac Optiq because his wife would prefer to drive something from this decade.

edited by Steven Ewing

Steven Ewing is Edmunds' director of editorial content. An automotive journalist for more than half of his life, Ewing's been on staff at Winding Road magazine, Autoblog, Motor1.com, CNET, and he was the U.S. correspondent for Top Gear magazine. He's also contributed to publications like Automobile magazine, Car and Driver, The Drive, Jalopnik, Porsche Panorama, and more. Ewing has worked in the automotive industry since 2003. From testing prototype cars in the Arctic Circle to spilling a beer on a Formula 1 driver at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (oops), he's always got an interesting story to tell.

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