2016 Cadillac ELR Drops In Price, Gains In Power

The Cadillac ELR may be heading off into the sunset soon, but the premium PHEV still has a few tricks left up its sleeve.

After federal tax credits, the 2016 ELR will start with a price of $58,495, just nearly $18,000 less than the original price tag of $75,000 when it first hit showrooms in late 2013.

For that starting price, new ELR owners will also benefit from a few upgrades over the MY 2014 and 2015 editions, one of which is an improved Sport driving mode. The improved mode — part of the optional Performance Package — helps push the PHEV from 0-60 in 6.4 seconds, 1.5 seconds faster than the recent model; top speed comes to 106 mph, 130 mph with the aforementioned package.

The ELR’s hybrid system gets a makeover, as well, with a new lithium-ion pack capable of 17.1 kWh of capacity that’s good for 39 miles of electric-only travel; the Performance Package option knocks that range down to 35 miles. Overall power from the system, which pairs the pack with a 1.4-liter gasoline engine — comes to 233 horses and 373 lb-ft of torque, while total range falls 10 miles to 330 miles. Recharge time takes around five hours when plugged into a 240-volt charger.

Other features include the aforementioned Performance Package, which adds 20-inch wheels and summer-only tires mounted over Brembo brakes and vented rotors as well as the new Sport mode, and improvements to the ELR’s electric power steering and continuous damping control; OnStar with 4G LTE; three USB ports; 8-inch configurable driver instrument and information displays; magnetic inductive charging for passengers’ smartphones; standard Wi-Fi; and on-demand regenerative braking.

Per Cadillac CEO Johan de Nysschen via AutoGuide, the ELR won’t see a second generation, likely due to low sales; 1,310 left the lot in 2014, and 311 had been purchased or leased through the first three months of 2015.