One of the XLR's foremost convenience features is Keyless Access. Keyless Access makes XLR a truly "keyless" car. A driver can simply keep the fob in a pocket or purse to operate the doors, trunk and ignition. The fob communicates with the XLR's computer control system via radio antennas under the car's bodywork. The system is intuitive and hassle free.

The doors are opened by touching a pad located in openings at the rearward edges of each door. Once the pad is pressed, the doors unlock and open if the fob is within a 1-meter radius. To operate the ignition the driver presses a button on the instrument panel. The same button is pressed to stop the engine. As a safety feature the engine will not start unless the fob is in the car and the brake pedal is depressed.

The XLR's seats are both heated and cooled in the back and the cushion. A 7-inch color touch screen mounted in the upper center console gives driver and passenger access to DVD navigation; a nine-speaker world-class Bose audio system with a six-CD in-dash changer and digital signal processing modes; XM Satellite Radio (continental U.S. only) and DVD entertainment (available in Park position only). The XLR also is equipped with OnStar and a head-up display that projects key driver information onto the windshield.
The XLR traces its roots to the Evoq concept car. Cadillac stunned the automotive world with the audacious Evoq, unveiled at the 1999 North American International Auto Show. The XLR began production in spring 2003 on a dedicated assembly line at General Motors' Bowling Green Assembly Plant in Bowling Green, Ky. Shipments to Cadillac dealers are slated to begin by mid-year 2003.