Cadillac Lyriq could get conventional door handles by 2024
Most talk about the future feature set for the Cadillac Lyriq have dealt with added options coming to the battery-electric crossover. GM Authority reports that at least one current feature will disappear from future Lyriqs: The electronic door handles. According to the story, they will be replaced by traditional door handles perhaps as soon as the 2024 model year.
As it is now, the metal door handle graphics on the exterior sheetmetal are gateways to a bit of theater. When the driver or front passenger touches the shape, the door pops open a couple of inches. Then the driver or passenger pulls on a vertical fin placed at the base of the front window to open the door the rest of the way. Behind them, rear passengers press the handle outside, and after the door pops, the passengers pull on the actual door panel to open the door the rest of the way. To prevent passengers who have their hands wrapped around the door panel from accidentally slamming their fingers, a metal rod protrudes to keep the doors a few inches ajar. Touching the door handle graphic retracts those rods, and they retract on their own after the door has opened a certain number of degrees.
Lyriq reservation holders have been discussing the novelty since late last year after attending Lyriq previews. A post on Cadillac Forums from January praised the Lyriq highly, save for the issue with the door handles. The poster was told that the handles don’t retract on their own until the door is opened about 45 degrees, a requirement that, if true, would be untenable in tight garages and parking spaces. The post ended with “I can’t help but hope that some corporate minion is monitoring this forum and will take action to correct this very significant defect.”
Seems someone got the memo. It’s not clear when the change will be made, though. Pre-orders for the 2023 Lyriq are full, but the coming model year hasn’t gone into production yet. The 2024 Lyriq is open for pre-order now, with deliveries beginning in the spring of next year, and it will bring a range of new options with it. Conventional portal openers could be one of them.
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