2025 Cadillac XLR Redesign, Pictures, Specs

2025 Cadillac XLR Redesign, Pictures, Specs  –  The Cadillac Escalade is a big, ballin’ status symbol. For drivers who practice sensibility and don’t think too much about flash factor, the smaller 2025 Cadillac XLR has a similar vibe and much of the same practicality in footprint that’s much easier to handle. This three-row luxury SUV has the goods to move a busy family in style.

While it doesn’t have the same in-your-face, imposing, and swaggy presence as its gargantuan sibling, the XLR is still stylish but in a way that prioritizes quiet confidence. There’s not a lot to get excited about in terms of its design, but it’s handsome and understated. Inside, aluminum trim, carbon fibre, contrast stitching, and leather-covered surfaces help elevate the cabin and make it feel both luxurious and durable.  2025 Cadillac XLR Redesign

2025 Cadillac XLR Redesign and Update Plan

Exterior and Interior

Even with its upgraded performance suspension, the XLR Sport remains comfortable and composed over broken roads without feeling sloppy on winding roads. It strikes a great balance of not feeling too floaty but also isolating the occupants well from road imperfections.

First- and second-row occupants get plenty of leg- and headroom, and even the third row isn’t too terrible for short drives. The seats are also comfortable and supportive and are heated and ventilated up front. (Rear seats are usually heated too but have been left out of this particular model — a casualty of the global microchip shortage.)

2025 Cadillac XLR Specs

The XLR Sport is the top trim available but it still requires add-on packages to get standout features like a heated steering wheel, rear-view mirror camera, automatic parking assistant, head-up display, surround-view recording (kind of like a dashcam), surround-view parking cameras, and more. It would have been nice to see more of these features as standard in the top trim. It’s basically an advanced autonomous cruise control system that uses sensors and GPS data to keep a safe distance between you and the cars around you, as well as follow any bends in the road.  2025 Cadillac XLR Redesign

Super Cruise works exactly as it should, allowing people to drive without hands on the steering wheel or any driver input on certain highways, with sensors tracking a driver’s face to ensure they’re still paying attention. I wish it felt a bit more natural and left more space for large semi-trucks in the next lane when safe instead of focusing solely on staying centred in the lines. Not surprisingly, the system will force a driver to take control if there’s construction or any abnormalities that it doesn’t recognize.

Engine and Performance

The XLR offers two engines: a 2.0L turbocharged four-cylinder in the base Luxury, and a naturally-aspirated 3.6L six-cylinder that comes in the Premium Luxury and Sport trims. All XLR models come standard with all-wheel drive and a nine-speed automatic transmission. The V6’s 310 hp and 271 lb-ft of torque is perfectly adequate, though with peak torque arriving at 5,000 rpm, it requires a bit of time before a push at the accelerator results in a gust of passing power. The transmission displays some roughness from time to time, but is generally quite adept. 2025 Cadillac XLR Redesign

The XLR has different driving modes including tour, AWD, sport, and off-road, and I appreciate the ability to drive the SUV in tour mode with only its front wheels getting power to help save fuel, or use the automatic AWD mode when conditions require more traction. Sport mode doesn’t change the SUV’s behaviour too noticeably except for holding gears longer, and perhaps providing a bit more urgency with its throttle response.

2025 Cadillac XLR Fuel Economy

Over about 640 km of mixed testing (that included a particularly frustrating two hours of idling in gridlock traffic), my tester returned an average of 12.3 L/100 km. During that nightmare traffic jam, fuel consumption rocketed past 16.0 L/100 km, but it settled to a less scary number after a day of long highway and backcountry drives.

Even though this is a sizable V6-powered SUV, I was expecting better fuel economy because I drove it predominantly in front-wheel drive mode, it has automatic stop-start, and because the XLR uses cylinder deactivation to run on four cylinders instead of six under lighter loads. Cadillac recommends premium fuel.  2025 Cadillac XLR Redesign

2025 Cadillac XLR Safety Features

All XLR vehicles come equipped with high-beam control, teen driver settings, automatic emergency braking, and front and rear parking sensors (which are once more missing from this model due to a shortage of chips). When you switch on the left turn signal or move the steering wheel in that direction, the steering-responsive headlights illuminate in your direction, which is a neat feature. One unique feature is that the XLR will vibrate the driver seat — either the left, right, or both sides — to flag a potential collision and the direction it’s coming from. I find it a bit jarring, but it can be turned off and the SUV will use audio alerts instead.

2025 Cadillac XLR Price and Release Date

The base XLR starts at $57,998 before the $2,200 destination fee, while the Premium Luxury and Sport models both start at $62,698. As tested, the 2025 Cadillac XLR Sport rings in at $78,483, undercutting its German competition while offering tons of interesting and useful tech that helps it stand out among many of its competitors.

The 2025 Cadillac XLR has a lot of appeal and stands out in a crowded segment with its confident style, excellent practicality, useful technology, and long list of standard safety features. Combined with its composed driving dynamics and luxurious feel, the XLR gets a lot right and is easy to live with day to day, making it worthy of consideration for a stylish but practical family on the go.  2025 Cadillac XLR Redesign