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 Ford Mustang (fails 37% less often than average).
Ford Mustang
- On Canada's official test the most frugal 2026 Ford Mustang uses 9.1 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 | Ford Mustang | |
|---|---|---|
| Model years in the US safety record | 2003–2009 | 1981–2026 |
| New cars registered in Europe | — | 55,766 (2010–2022) |
| Licensed in the United Kingdom | — | 12,016 |
| On the road in the Netherlands | — | 7,283 |
| In traffic in Finland | — | 1,553 |
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 | Ford Mustang | |
|---|---|---|
| UK MOT first-time pass rate | — | 83% |
| … against cars of the same age | — | +6% |
| New York safety inspections failed | 0.3% | 1.1% |
| … against cars of the same year | −86% | −37% |
| Illogical odometer records (NL) | — | 68.9% |
| US owner complaints | 80 | 9,231 |
| Most complaints about | Structure | Air bags |
| Model year with most complaints | 2004 (34) | 2005 (705) |
| US recall campaigns | 4 | 81 |
| Manufacturer service bulletins | 4,641 | 3,373 |
| NHTSA defect investigations | 2 | 95 |
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).
Safety
| Cadillac XLR | Ford Mustang | |
|---|---|---|
| NHTSA overall rating | — | 5★ (2027) |
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program, most recent rated model year (public domain).
Fuel, emissions and price
| Cadillac XLR | Ford Mustang | |
|---|---|---|
| Official combined fuel use, Canada | 13.0 l/100 km (2009) | 9.1 l/100 km (2026) |
| Real-world use in Europe, petrol | — | 13.9 l/100 km |
| Official CO₂ of new cars in Europe | — | 266 g/km |
| Average power of new cars in Europe | — | 332 kW (445 hp) |
| Average mass in running order | — | 1,851 kg |
| Dutch list price when new (median) | — | €85,667 |
| Average odometer in Finland | — | 92,000 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).