2007 Cadillac XLR Review & Road Test at Automotive.com

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2007 Cadillac XLR-V

Below is a review of the 2007 Cadillac XLR written by the automotive experts at Automobile Magazine. A full evaluation of the driving experience, price, equipment, and specs are here in a structured, easy-to-navigate format from journalists with a wealth of experience.

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Value Rating

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LEARN WHY

IntelliChoice Value Rating

The chart above shows the purchase price versus ownership cost for each car from a specific vehicle class. The cars with better than average ownership cost/purchase price correlations are the best values, and these best value cars are represented by the dots below the curve. (i.e. the cars that have a lower ownership cost compared to its purchase price.) Those cars, which are worse than average or poor values, appear above the curve.

One way to view the graph is to draw a vertical line through any purchase price. You may see several dots that fall on this line - each of which is a car with a similar purchase price. However, notice the difference in ownership costs of each car represented by the vertical position of the dot. Two cars with the same purchase price can have thousands of dollars difference in ownership costs. This is what separates "good value" cars from "poor value" cars.

What is a good car value?

A "good car value" is one whose cost to own and operate is less than expected. The lower the cost to own and operate a car compared to what is expected, the better the value of that car.

But how do we know a car's "expected cost"?

For each car in the class, IntelliChoice plots the car's purchase price against the total five-year cost to own and operate it as determined by IntelliChoice research. Each dot on the above chart represents a specific car. Generally, we find that as the purchase price of the car increases, the cost to own and operate that car increases. This is why the dots on the graph tend to rise upward and to the right. This phenomenon also makes intuitive sense - as the purchase price rises, financing costs tend to rise, as do insurance, depreciation, taxes, and most other car ownership costs.

This is an important concept. It's normal for car ownership costs to rise as purchase price rises. Therefore, we can't just establish one "average" ownership cost number for each class, since cars in the class have different purchase prices. (This is why the "Relative" shown on each chart is different for cars in the same car class.)

Using statistical techniques, IntelliChoice "connects the dots" to form a curve that defines, for this car class, the relationship between the car's purchase price and car's ownership costs. This curve is our "expected cost" curve. The curve defines, for any car in the class, the five-year ownership cost that we would expect to see at each possible purchase price. If every car in the class were an average value, then all the dots would fall exactly on the curve. However, it's rare that any dot is exactly on the curve. Some dots are a little higher or lower, and some are a lot higher or lower. The dots that are a little lower are better than average car values, while the dots that are a lot lower are excellent car values (A dot that is a lot lower than the curve has ownership costs much lower than expected for a car of its purchase price). Conversely, a dot a little higher than the curve is a poorer than average car value, while a dot that is much higher than the curve is a poor car value.

Value is a relative term, not an absolute term. It is performing better than the logical expectation.

So is a Mercedes-Benz E320 expensive to own and operate? Certainly in an absolute sense. Most other cars cost less. But, when its cost to own and operate is plotted against cars with comparable invoice prices, the E320 costs less. So the E320 is not expensive to own and operate - it is a good car value. The Mercedes does not have low ownership costs, but it has low ownership costs for its invoice price.

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Review From Automobile Magazine

2007 Cadillac XLR-V

By Erik B. Johnson / Article provided by: Automobile Magazine

The XLR-V is Cadillac's most expensive model to date, costing some $23,000 more than the next priciest Cadillac, the STS-V, and it's a huge risk for a division still in the midst of mustering a credible threat to the European luxury marques. But the focus cannot be on whether or not a $100,000 Caddy should exist-since one indisputably now does-but rather on whether it lives up to the lofty expectations created by its six-figure sticker price.

Ponying up all that dough secures the speediest Cadillac ever, thanks to a powerful, 443-hp, supercharged V-8, which accelerates the XLR-V from 0 to 60 mph in a claimed 4.6 seconds-an improvement of 1.2 seconds over the base XLR and just a tick behind the recently discontinued Mercedes-Benz SL55 AMG. In order to handle the higher pressures and temperatures produced by the Roots-style blower, Cadillac engineers had to substantially revise the base car's powerplant, a task that included decreasing displacement from 4.6 liters to 4.4 liters and adding beefier components, including a new block and heavy-duty pistons. It's nearly the same setup found in the STS-V, but there the Northstar pumps out 469 hp due to freer-breathing intake and exhaust plumbing that won't fit in the XLR-V, which requires a prominent hood bulge simply to make room for the supercharger.

Nearly as impressive is the Magnetic Ride Control, which processes wheel and road data once every millisecond. It's been upgraded for V-spec duty to include two settings. The default setting is a more comfort-oriented program-identical to the sole setting on the base car-that goes too soft before shoring up the supports, but the second mode, a sportier calibration chosen by tipping the gear lever into the manu-matic slot, keeps the car flat on initial turn-in and nicely balanced during aggressive cornering.

The XLR-V's gearbox, one of the General's first six-speed automatics, is extremely smooth in both automatic and manu-matic modes. But manual gearshifts are effected somewhat lazily, so it is imperative to plan shifts ahead of time in order that you don't find yourself suddenly testing the seatbelt when you hit the rev limiter. We wish there were shift paddles, too.

The steering is like a late-in-life Marlon Brando having a root canal: weighty but numb. It gains some feel over the base XLR's rack but still isn't communicative enough, a shortcoming it shares with the SL. This is, we suppose, a function of those cars' bizarre market niche, where hot-rod droptops must also serve as boulevardiers, able to cruise at parade speed as well as bomb down mountain passes.

Regular XLRs boast easily modulated brakes with short pedal travel, and the V's binders are also plenty strong-and fade-free-with upsized rotors measuring 13.4 inches up front and 13.0 inches at the rear. But the pedal feels spongy, and as a result the brakes aren't particularly confidence-inspiring.

Aesthetic changes are few. Besides the attractive V-series mesh grille and additional badging, the XLR-V gains exclusive eighteen-inch wheels, polished exhaust tips, and the hood bulge. The cabin has been gussied up with French seams and top-grade leather on the dash, door panels, and console, as well as on the protective roll hoops and their surrounding trim pieces. The fancier duds are unable, however, to disguise an interior that isn't especially noteworthy to begin with.

But is the XLR-V worth $100,000? Cadillac has priced the car to say "Hey! Here we are!" as much as for profits. In terms of performance, the XLR-V merits its steep sticker price. Six figures is a tall order, however, for a car that lacks the cachet, history, and gorgeous interior of a Jaguar XK or a Mercered-Benz SL. So, the answer is: Not quite. But drop in a more stylish cockpit and give it a few years-then ask us again