Head-turning style, top up or down. Heads-up display. Very smooth, comfortable ride -not bone-jarring, like say, a Vette. Nice Bose stereo system. The voice-operated features are pretty cool, once you become fluent int he commands. The cabin noise is above average, especially for riding a few inches above the pavement, thanks to innovative sound-dampening features like a balsa wood floor layer sandwiched between composite material.
Dent-free, weight-saving, plastic door panels. (I had these on a Fiero twenty years ago, why didn't GM promote them more!??
The instrumentation is easy to read and not overwhelming. GM finally dropped the pretentious Bulgari logo this year that adorns the speedo on earlier models.
Acceleration and braking power is more than adequate.

There is no way this car is worth $75k (the newer models are even more!) Cadillac placed form/style over function and value, then priced it unrealistically. Face it, it's a $55k car-especially when compared to a fully-loaded CTS, for almost the same price. My opinion is backed up by dismal sales and production runs that decrease every year. I'm confident the XLR will be dropped when the current C6 production ends in a couple of years. Too bad, GM could have done better. The "upgrades" (also known as mid-cycle refreshes) look more like they've been inspired from a J.C. Whitney catalog - chrome side vents and grill, to name a two. And oh yeah, they added leather to the dash. Woo hoo! This justified raising the MSRP by $8K?!! Give me a break GM. You're killing off a decent car by using morons as marketing execs.
Sure, it has a decent 9-speaker Bose system with DVD/Nav system. But a (flagship) car in this price range should also be bluetooth-capable, iPod-friendly, and have a hard drive storage capablity for lots of music. If the market survey targeted affluent blue-haired, octagenrian, techno-phobic Luddites who don't know the difference between a hard drive and a soft taco, then I understand. But in the real world, people who buy a car for its (premier) technology will expect features found in its competition.
The heated and cooled seats need a more powerful recirc fan. The heated (or chilled) air pools up on the upper thigh. A minimal amount of air makes it up the tube into the backs of the seats.

Weakness summary: Unjustifiable high MSRP; not enough engineering QC; Entertainment system is out of date;
Seats need more positive airflow.
Major blind spots on both sides due to the wide C pillar, so you have to use the mirrors AND turn your head if you want to avoid wasting a motorcyclist hovering back there. The wheels are pretty lame, with plastic inserts sticking out to access the lugs. The V model sports much nicer wheels.

Great-looking exterior that defines Cadillac's new Art & Science theme. Plenty of standard features that would be options on other vehicles. That said, this vehicle does not have a stellar reliability record. Two days off the lot, my top was inoperative. I had them raise/lower it five times to make sure it worked. (The warranty had expired the previous month and the dealer didn't make the effort to get it certified.) $1500 later, everything was fixed. --The price I paid was low enough that spending a couple of grand to get it back to peak operation was justifiable for me. The car had been sitting outside (Seattle area) for a year on the lot, with water slowly leaking into the trunk. My first order of business was to lift up the trunk carpeting and place a space heater in there to dry it out. After that, I drilled a hole in the rear/right side deep well storage compartment to allow for drainage. (Cadillac placed a drain in the opposite compartment that houses the folding top hydraulic pump, so I'm mystified why they didn't follow through on this with the other side.) Both of the heated/cooled seats didn't work when I bought it, and I'd hoped it would be a fuse. It was an easier fix than that. On the lower/rear of each seat is a fluted tube that expands and contracts as the seat is positioned. One was torn open, and the other was disconnected. --Apparently, this is a common occurance.
Speaking of seats, I was really looking forward to checking out the heated/cooled option. Dissapointing to say the least. My other Cadillac has better conventionally heated seats by far. (See Weaknesses for details.)

With the trunk dry, the seats operating and the roof fixed, my car has been trouble-free for the six months I've owned it. On those rare sunny days here in the Pacific NW, it's a joy to drop the top and go for a cruise, though don't expect to put more than two small duffel bags in the trunk with the top down. With the top up, the trunks is okay, but not enough to store more than two bodies inside. (Sopranos, take note.)

This is kind of weird: for some reason, the base XLR didn't come with a rear stabilizer bar, though the V-model did. The base model has the mounts for it, so for $115 I ordered one from gmpartsdirect.com and installed it myself. What a difference in handling! This is just a plain cheap (oversight?) on GM's part for not including such an inexpensive, ride-improving component on a high-priced vehicle. Bad GM,bad!

Some complain of a long (30 sec) top deploy/retract time, but hell, I can hold my breath that long. It isn't that big a deal. Create a folding top that complex transform in fifteen or twenty seconds, and you're asking for trouble!

Overall, I'm happy with my purchase. Buying new would have been a very poor value. The car is nice, just not THAT nice! Remeber, this car has a lot of features (ie: potentially expensive things that can break.) Here's a tip for buying an XLR and not getting boned: Find a vehicle that tickles your fancy. Download a pdf owner's manual and use it to make a feature checklist. Operate each feature to ensure all of the systems work. Get a carfax report. My car had two radiators replaced. (I keep an eyeball on it.)

There's isn't much to do to customize this car, though I plan to add a Corsa exhaust system and replace the (cheap!) wheels in the near future. Seriously, my CTS-V has much nicer-looking wheels. If you want a stand-out car in a world full of similar-looking vehicles, the XLR is for you. It has style, comfort and the dual personality of a hardtop convertible. Be aware it has lots of things that can -no, will wrong so get an extended warranty or risk paying out of pocket. The car is a joy to drive, (especially on sunny days) handles and accellerates well, but I wouldn't recommend it as a daily driver. Like a Vette, this car is reserved for nice days when you want to enjoy the cruise. Caveat emptor!

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Cadillac CTS-V

Great looks, acceleration, when you choose to use the manual shift feature it feels like you are really in a manual car.

a little thing called Cadillac reliability!

I am 17 years old, When it came to buy my first car my uncle offered to sell me his XLR for $5000 because he wanted to make room for his new Mercedes SL. I loved that car since he bought it in 2006 and he barely ever drove it so it only had 3000 miles on it. I have had it for two months now and I LOVE IT! All my friends want to be the one who comes with me when we go places and it drives great. The way the top folds into the trunk is a beautiful sight.

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My family has driven all Cadillacs and only cadillacs as long as I can remember and this is the best one i have ever benn in! Some of their recent cars have been the CTS, STS, Deville, Escalade, Escalade EXT, Eldorado,

car looks good and sounds good. The roof feature is nice.

This car should be longer and slightly wider. The interior is a little tight (I am 6 feet 180 lbs) The car needs a small back seat area for your briefcase or overnight bag. The trunk isn't too bad except when the roof is in it as would be expected.

This car is very attractive with many nice features. The XLR is an electrical nightmare. 20% of the 5000 miles are from driving back and forth to the dealer to fix it. I have found out from attorneys that electrical and braking problems are common with this car. If you have one on order I would HIGHLY suggest you cancel the order. With that said, I actually like this car but General Motors needs to perfect it more because it is very touchy and, I believe, dangerous. My wife and I both had the Stabili-trac take over control of the vehicle ... mine while I was doing 70 MPH it "locked up" the brakes on the left side of the car. I was very fortunate not to crash the car. Other electrical glitches were: turning off the climate control on it's own, power window problems, key fob errors, cool seat malfunctions (actually they never fixed this yet), Navigation problems with function, car lockouts, trunk limiter switch (allows the top to come into the trunk) failures, and many sensors replaced.

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We tested the Lexus and thought it might be built better but it's ugly like a turtle. Reminds me of an old Porsche.

· Eye catching design * Well balanced between muscle car/cruiser/luxury car/sports car * computer controlled suspension keeps car from loosing control under extreme conditions. I've only seen it once traveling 95MPH. around a 55MPH curve. I didn't feel anything just a notice on the dash informing me "tight curve" * Sound system well balanced. * Lots of techno geek frills too numerous to mention yet anyone can get in and drive without complication.

* Squeaky brakes * wife complains the seat is uncomfortable after 4 hour drive * hard to keep 18" aluminum wheels clean * would probably look better with wider tires

What a neat ride. The car is everything I could ask for. From its unique styling (a definite head turner) to the impeccable ride to the ample power, I am satisfied completely. One item that's not talked about much is the climate control. If you live in a hot location (Phoenix for me) you'll appreciate the 104F to 70F in about 5 minutes. I have only activated the AC in the seats once to experience the shear novelty. When on it feels like you spilled a soda in the lap. I have been in environments that went from 40 degrees to over 100 and never realized it as the cabin stayed at a consistent 76F the whole time. The ride is sporty with a nice firm consistent steering wheel. I simply cannot express in words the sensation of the driving experience going from a snowy hiway 95 to a clear interstate 40. Other than the purposely engineered-in road noise the car is like driving a simulator with 3D graphics passing by. If one were to buy one of these limited edition Caddy's make sure to drive it and not make it a trailer queen!