Eye-catching design, forgiving ride quality, hardtop convenience, nearly every feature is standard.
Cons
Interior doesn't always reflect the price, not as sporty as its Corvette underpinnings might suggest, minimal cargo space, can be cramped for taller drivers.
What’s new
Buyers now have the choice of two interior wood trim finishes: Dark Eucalyptus, along with last year's Light Eucalyptus.
Edmunds says
Its design makes it stand out from the crowd, but its performance and craftsmanship aren't quite as extraordinary.
I truly expected to have some problems with this car being limited production and a new design with complicated electronics and top but to my amazement it has been totally trouble free for 16,000 miles now with hundreds of top down cycles. I was considering a Vette when I found this, much better choice for comfort while not giving up much in handling or performance.
Bought It Used, Saved Depreciation
4.75 out of 5 stars
qgsm33, 01/09/2007
2005 Cadillac XLR 2dr Roadster (4.6L 8cyl 5A)
I looked hard at the Mercedes SLK55 and the SL500. I couldn't afford the SL500 (ouch). The regular SLKs (350, 280, etc) didn't have enough horsepower to really compare. The SLK55 was almost impossible to find used with fairly low miles. Although the SLK55 is a great car, it just seemed too small for me. My daughter said "you look like an elephant riding a peanut" (referring to the … short wheel base and short overall car length). Mercedes made a big deal out of their hard top retracting in 19 seconds vs. 30 seconds for the Caddy. My only trouble on the Caddy has been the computer thinking the top isn't fully locked when you hit a hard bump. That has been fixed now via some reprogramming.
From a Cadillac Technican's Point of Veiw
3.25 out of 5 stars
DRB, 06/14/2005
2005 Cadillac XLR 2dr Roadster (4.6L 8cyl 5A)
The 2005 Cadillac XLR has great perforance, with only a slight under steer at 130 mph. With the ground effects the chassis does a nice job sticking you to the road. The slap stick / shifter is pretty cool with the HUD system and the cruise control great. With this system, the XLR matches the speed of the slower car ahead of it until either you switch lanes or the slower car ahead of you … speeds up, then your set speed on the cruise control returns to your set speed. How cool is that! The downfall is with the top down ther is very little room in the trunk, no place for those golf clubs to go with the roof down. I have seen a lot of folding top repairs already and miss aligned rear quarter glass misfits. Aftermarket wheels seem to mess up the ride.
Awesome
5 out of 5 stars
Sharon, 01/05/2009
2005 Cadillac XLR 2dr Roadster (4.6L 8cyl 5A)
I traded a 1993 red Corvette for my 2005 Xenon Blue XLR and I have no regrets. I get whistles, thumbs up, nice color, nice car comments from people ages 16 to 75. Truly a fun car to drive and own.
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