Where each one leads
Cadillac XLR
- Against cars of the same year, the Cadillac XLR comes out better in New York safety inspections (fails 86% less often than average) than the Chevrolet Corvette (fails 73% less often than average).
Chevrolet Corvette
- On Canada's official test the most frugal 2026 Chevrolet Corvette uses 12.5 l/100 km, the 2009 Cadillac XLR 13.0.
Only measures that do not depend on how many cars were sold: pass and failure rates against cars of the same age, ratings, fuel use and CO₂. How we compare
At a glance
| Cadillac XLR | Chevrolet Corvette | |
|---|---|---|
| Model years in the US safety record | 2003–2009 | 1981–2025 |
| New cars registered in Europe | — | 4,285 (2010–2022) |
| Licensed in the United Kingdom | — | 342 |
| On the road in the Netherlands | — | 3,536 |
| In traffic in Finland | — | 1,400 |
EEA new-car registrations (CC BY 4.0) · DVLA licensed vehicles (OGL v3.0) · RDW (CC0) · Traficom (CC BY 4.0) · generations: Wikidata (CC0).
Reliability and problems
| Cadillac XLR | Chevrolet Corvette | |
|---|---|---|
| New York safety inspections failed | 0.3% | 0.4% |
| … against cars of the same year | −86% | −73% |
| Illogical odometer records (NL) | — | 81.6% |
| US owner complaints | 80 | 5,148 |
| Most complaints about | Structure | Steering |
| Model year with most complaints | 2004 (34) | 2008 (541) |
| US recall campaigns | 4 | 44 |
| Manufacturer service bulletins | 4,641 | 23,500 |
| NHTSA defect investigations | 2 | 69 |
Complaint, recall and bulletin counts grow with the number of cars sold and are not adjusted for it. UK MOT: DVSA anonymised MOT results (OGL v3.0); New York: DMV inspections; complaints, recalls, bulletins and investigations: NHTSA (public domain); odometer: RDW (CC0).
Fuel, emissions and price
| Cadillac XLR | Chevrolet Corvette | |
|---|---|---|
| Official combined fuel use, Canada | 13.0 l/100 km (2009) | 12.5 l/100 km (2026) |
| Real-world use in Europe, petrol | — | 14.4 l/100 km |
| Official CO₂ of new cars in Europe | — | 277 g/km |
| Average power of new cars in Europe | — | 354 kW (475 hp) |
| Average mass in running order | — | 1,749 kg |
| Dutch list price when new (median) | — | €111,709 |
| Average odometer in Finland | — | 98,000 km |
Canada: NRCan Fuel Consumption Ratings, most frugal version of the latest year (OGL Canada). Europe: EEA monitoring of new-car CO₂ and on-board fuel meters (OBFCM), CC BY 4.0. Price: RDW catalogue price (CC0). Finland: Traficom (CC BY 4.0).