EXAM TIME; End of the marking period, and Cadillac gets an "A''.(Auto File)

Like teachers preparing report cards, we pored over our logbook, tallied up the track test results, and boiled down all the owners' opinions to determine if the Cadillac XLR passes muster.

From its hardtop-convertible operation to its true dual exhaust, we found very little to detract from the XLR's luxury-sport ambitions. We give the car top marks for looks and handling, and though a couple of owners wrote to us detailing problematic purchasing experiences, the overwhelming majority of comments were positive.

At the drag strip we found the XLR got quicker with each successive run, with a best 0-to-60 time of 6.30 seconds, putting it 0.38 second ahead of both the Lexus SC 430 (Dec. 17, 2001) and the Mercedes-Benz SL500 (Sept. 23, 2002) in our test file. The XLR reached the quarter-mile pole in 14.59 seconds, which again compares favorably with the SC 430 (15.03 seconds) and the SL500 (15.09 seconds).

The SL500 easily matched the XLR through our slalom course, however, its tauter chassis driving the big two-seat Benz through at 43.7 mph, making both the Cadillac and the Mercedes six-tenths of a mile per hour faster than the Lexus. The XLR would no doubt perform better if equipped with more performance-oriented tires instead of the run-flat all-season Michelins it wears.

The Caddy takes just 119 feet to come to a stop from 60 mph, which not long ago would have put it in near-supercar territory. That figure still makes for a superior stopping distance, but the SC 430 bests the XLR by a foot, while the Benz blows it away, at 113 feet.

Away from the track the XLR makes for a buttery-smooth ride. There is almost no freeway hop of which to speak, bumps are absorbed with ease and it is very composed on the expressway. Owners and staffers agree the Cadillac's magnetic ride control suspension works well in balancing a placid, luxurious cruising ability with decent handling prowess.

According to our stopwatch, the power-retracting hardtop takes 26.5 seconds to open and 28.5 to return to its fully closed position. Top down, even at 80 mph, we felt very ...