Which is the best year XLR???

[Phil105]

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

I have become more receptive to getting a low mile V vs. Base/Platinum since I will get an after market warranty anyway....not much of a price difference for same color/miles when I look over listings. I can't work on the base any easier than the V in reality and the V seems to be equal as to issues....any observations appreciated. I am having a simple, single bypass surgery being done next Tues but after that planning on really bearing down on a purchase.....I am 71 but NO other issues.....had tonsils out as a child....that is IT....look at myself as a vintage car with everything working even though a little old....but never abused.....LOL

Lenny,
You might read this article as it pertains to your search. Some good points are made. Just food for thought.

Stop Buying Old Cars With Super Low Mileage If You Want To Actually Drive Them

 

[lextoy]

i know what you mean about the visors, yes they only pop up to about horizontal on my 07.
i have a feeling it is the same on all model yrs.
i have thought about removing mine as they serve no purpose 99.9% of the time.
i use visors for sun glare about once every few yrs...
my problem is i am 6'1" so they block my vision a bit, and i have my seat as low and far back as i possibly can.
i can imagine if your wife is sitting way forward the A pillar roofline and visors are annoyingly close above her head.
you get the XLR, she gets a miata??

also noticeable is the high sills on the XLR, my shoulder barely crests the window sill,
so for a short person their head barely sticks up high enough to see?
or have to put the seat way up...

 

[LennyK1]

i know what you mean about the visors, yes they only pop up to about horizontal on my 07.
i have a feeling it is the same on all model yrs.
i have thought about removing mine as they serve no purpose 99.9% of the time.
i use visors for sun glare about once every few yrs...
my problem is i am 6'1" so they block my vision a bit, and i have my seat as low and far back as i possibly can.
i can imagine if your wife is sitting way forward the A pillar roofline and visors are annoyingly close above her head.
you get the XLR, she gets a miata??

also noticeable is the high sills on the XLR, my shoulder barely crests the window sill,
so for a short person their head barely sticks up high enough to see?
or have to put the seat way up...

Zactly what my wife experienced.....removing them might offer the perfect solution. She is moving her seat pretty far forward and about as high as they will go (for visibility over hood) and then she feels "too close" to the visors and the windshield. My little girl is not a Miata lady....maybe a new Camaro with memory seats is what I am thinking for her.....LT3 I believe....we have a Twin Turbo (365HP) 2015 F-150 Platinum and we LOVE it......has every option you can imagine including adjustable pedals, electronic steering wheel (in/out, up/down) and all on memory.....most converts just do not have the luxury options the XLR has.....hate to say it but C6 or C7 Vettes are just too common place....tons of them around....want something really distinctive OR something that will really go and is a looker....I am mostly wanting this to be HER sports car......she owned a new '65 442 Convert but I want something updated but fun....just thinking out loud.....smile...thanks for everyones thoughts.....still like the idea of an XLR-V....hummmmmnnnnn

 

[buki]

Two of my cars ( 2013 Hellcat and 2002 Viper SR 10) have engines with HP rating above 421 HP so a V was outside of my performance wheelhouse.

I drove a V and a base before buying my 2005 Xenon Blue Base model in late 2013.

The decision was based on one thing...adaptive cruise control! The convenience of ACC far outweighs the extra horses the V provides.

The XLR was the first 'driverless' car ever made. After 10 years its a technology that still rules the performance/luxury roost.

Try one. I guarantee you'll like it.

Really...does a few extra horsepower that you will rarely use really justify giving up a convenience and luxury that we 71 year olds need for gaining 1.6 seconds in zero to 60 times.

 

[LennyK1]

Two of my cars ( 2013 Hellcat and 2002 Viper SR 10) have engines with HP rating above 421 HP so a V was outside of my performance wheelhouse.

I drove a V and a base before buying my 2005 Xenon Blue Base model in late 2013.

The decision was based on one thing...adaptive cruise control! The convenience of ACC far outweighs the extra horses the V provides.

The XLR was the first 'driverless' car ever made. After 10 years its a technology that still rules the performance/luxury roost.

Try one. I guarantee you'll like it.

Really...does a few extra horsepower that you will rarely use really justify giving up a convenience and luxury that we 71 year olds need for gaining 1.6 seconds in zero to 60 times.

Yeh....Vs do not have ACC......strangely, the 2015 F-150s with ACC are getting recalled because of "false detects"....jamming on brakes at underpasses and passing tankers, etc......funny Cadillac got it so right a decade ago and Ford stumbled their first year.....

 

[Phil105]

Yeh....Vs do not have ACC......strangely, the 2015 F-150s with ACC are getting recalled because of "false detects"....jamming on brakes at underpasses and passing tankers, etc......funny Cadillac got it so right a decade ago and Ford stumbled their first year.....

Don't think I'd compare an XLR to an F-150 when you're discussing "stumbling"!! A quick comparison of resale values should clear that issue up. Also, Ford had a retractable hardtop about 30 years before Caddy. Just sayin.

 

[LennyK1]

I have a Platinum 2015 F-150 EB and love it......glad I did NOT get the ACC at this point......but LOVE my Cowboy Cadillac......smile had adjustable pedals and memory seats so both me and my wife can just open and go.....smile....

 

[Phil105]

I have a Platinum 2015 F-150 EB and love it......glad I did NOT get the ACC at this point......but LOVE my Cowboy Cadillac......smile had adjustable pedals and memory seats so both me and my wife can just open and go.....smile....

I have a '14 Platinum - been in Fords all my life. Really odd for me being on a GM forum but I do love these XLR's - the looks anyway - some of the "technical aspects" of them are not quite so wonderful.

 

[XLRATING]

Yeh....Vs do not have ACC......strangely, the 2015 F-150s with ACC are getting recalled because of "false detects"....jamming on brakes at underpasses and passing tankers, etc......funny Cadillac got it so right a decade ago and Ford stumbled their first year.....

I got that "jamming on brakes" using ACC on 2-4 lane curvy roads with no median, as it picked up a car coming the other way. You also get a red image of an XLR exploding in the HUD when that happens. All of that startled me so much I almost wrecked on my own.

It also doesn't work well if you live where others view "following distance" as "space for me to fill." Unfortunately it's like that where I live, so all in all I find ACC useless. The non-ACC on my daily driver works much better.

 

[Phil105]

I got that "jamming on brakes" using ACC on 2-4 lane curvy roads with no median, as it picked up a car coming the other way. You also get a red image of an XLR exploding in the HUD when that happens. All of that startled me so much I almost wrecked on my own.

It also doesn't work well if you live where others view "following distance" as "space for me to fill." Unfortunately it's like that where I live, so all in all I find ACC useless. The non-ACC on my daily driver works much better.

That seems to be the case pretty much anywhere nowdays. I actually rarely use cruise control due to traffic so it really doesn't matter much to me whether the ACC works or doesn't.

 

[Phrede]

Two of my cars ( 2013 Hellcat and 2002 Viper SR 10) have engines with HP rating above 421 HP so a V was outside of my performance wheelhouse.

I drove a V and a base before buying my 2005 Xenon Blue Base model in late 2013.

The decision was based on one thing...adaptive cruise control! The convenience of ACC far outweighs the extra horses the V provides.

The XLR was the first 'driverless' car ever made. After 10 years its a technology that still rules the performance/luxury roost.

Try one. I guarantee you'll like it.

Really...does a few extra horsepower that you will rarely use really justify giving up a convenience and luxury that we 71 year olds need for gaining 1.6 seconds in zero to 60 times.

YES it does. "Rarely" using Hp is a personal choice, of which I do not concur. BTW there are more differences between a base and a V than Hp. I have no problem watching where I'm going when driving and know when to back off just comes as second nature after decades of practice.

I certainly would not be making guarantees when it comes to a subjective opinion about someone elses wants and desires. I can guarantee you that I enjoy my V more than I would a base model.

 

[dennis93coupe]

Had both a V and a base

I have had both a base and a V currently. I bought a 06 base in Feb 2014 and really liked it. The base sold in March of 2015. I was looking for a specific color exterior and interior at the time and found V's few and far between. So I got weak when I spotted my base and bought it. I had a lot of fun with it even after I bought the V and would have kept it if I had the room and maybe someone to share it with. I didn't push to sell it and it took 3 months before it found it's new owner. I was going to change a few things on it and got a small start, changed the exhaust from a former V and installed it with all the factory V parts except the computer. I had a rocker switch mounted just above my right knee where you had to look for it to find it when I wanted it in the open less restrictive mode. As an added note, the base with V mufflers is no where near as loud as a V. I had bought new wheels, 19 inch chrome 10 spoke like on the V. I was just waiting for the tires to wear out before I mounted them. I actually got used to the ACC and liked it. I would say it was an easier car to drive than my V is. When you step on the V it just goes wild and usually scares the heck out of your passenger. In a way I miss having it as it was fun having 2 XLR's at the same time. You don't slide across the seats in the V and you can get in and out of the base easier because of that, doesn't have the pretty wood steering wheel, no ACC which I liked to a point, quieter, smoother ride than the V, gas mileage wasn't all that bad, but on the open road my V does better. Driving in city traffic forget about good mileage in the V. Insurance is a little more for the V less expensive for the base. Visability across the top of the hood is less with a V. It's more of a matter of do I really need the extra power to me in my opinion.

 

[XLRATING]

Two things:
1. We have both the V & a base & I agree with all of Dennis's points. I find the base more enjoyable to drive because I don't have to be as "on" attention-wise as with the V. I might feel different if I drove the V more, because part of the problem is I have to remind myself not to hit the go pedal the same way that I do for a 320 hp car. At the same time, Mike who does drive the V (& a 600 hp Mustang) more, said the feedback from the V is more muted so you have to pay really close attention to feel what the car is doing & tell when you're nearing the limits. Again, it's all personal preference, which is ok.

2. Having just dealt with an extended warranty engine repair on the V, I can warn you that things can be a lot more difficult with a limited production engine because the warranty companies may not understand it & it may not be in their database for repair payment. That makes some sense because as between the XLR-V & the STS-V, which both have the 4.4L supercharged, there are only about 4,500 of these engines made. We had the exact same oil leak repaired on the base & the V, in an area where there was no difference between the 4.6 & 4.4L. The base was no problem getting covered. The V (with a warranty from a different company) took WWIII to get covered because the warranty company didn't agree with labor hours the dealer said it would take. It was clear they simply didn't understand the engine & it wasn't in their database. At one point things got bad enough they even cut the labor they would cover below their original insufficient offering. It took wrangling over the course of several days before things finally got straightened out. At the same time they did cover replacing a top sensor & updating the top calibration without any problems - & those things were the real reason we got the warranty in the first place.

Unfortunately, there's probably no way to verify with an aftermarket warranty company "do you understand the 4.4/have it in your database," so if you go with a V that is something to keep in mind when deciding to save your dough & roll the dice on repairs vs. buying a warranty. Our dealer said all the other warranty companies they've dealt with have paid for this repair with no problems, but I don't know (& am going to ask) if any of the other repairs involved a V.