2017 LACROSSE ON EDGE OF BEING COOL
Buick aims to woo new generation of loyalists — and keep traditional buyers
It’s a clashing of worlds, this strange juxtaposition of sleek new refinement against a backdrop of repurposed nostalgia, artisanal coffee and manbuns. This city — so earnest in its embrace of counter-culture that any mainstream symbol risks cold dismissal — seems an odd location for Buick’s introduction of its newest LaCrosse.
But this is all part of a strategy to expand the brand’s demographic, retaining the traditional Buick owner with comfort and quiet refinement, while repurposing itself as contemporary and cool.
One of the most notable features of the new LaCrosse platform is a new five-link rear suspension with hydraulic bushings — a setup with better refinement and rear seat comfort and reduced noise and vibration.
The new architecture — with its lower, wider platform — more easily lends itself to sportier, energetic design. Less weight and a wider track should add up to a better-balanced vehicle with more capable handling, particularly with LaCrosse’s new continuously adaptable suspension and optional all-wheel drive.
Our tester was a LaCrosse Premium AWD, which starts at $47,400. Our car wasn’t equipped with the technology package, which adds head-up display, lane-keeping assist and adaptive cruise control, but did come with 20-inch wheels.
It’s an attractive, if not flashy, car in garnet red. The lack of ostentatious chrome embellishment is intentional, courting the Buick buyer who prefers a modest display of success and leaving the bling to Cadillac.
There’s plenty of plump, “French-stitched” caramelcoloured leather in our tester, and a nice flow to the cabin, whose quality materials meet snugly with no gaps. Unlike other GM products, there’s no icy-blue ambient cabin lighting — Buick wanting nothing to clash with the quiet serenity of the cabin. The wide, sloping centre stack is cleanly executed, with only a few simple buttons and ergonomically friendly knobs. There’s also no CD player, another nod to youthful buyers’ predilection for downloaded music.
GM’s new shift-by-wire electronic shifter, first seen in the Cadillac XT5, not only frees up space on the console, its lack of bulky shift linkage creates new space for personal items such as purses, iPads, wallets and keys.
Plump, solid, squeak and rattlefree, the seats are among the most comfortable this backside has ever planted itself upon. The wider wheelbase provides more shoulder room, and there’s plenty of head and leg room both fore and aft — a roominess augmented by a panoramic sunroof, and improved visibility because the A-pillar presents its narrow side to the driver.
Of course, one of Buick’s main selling points is its “Quiet Tuning.” In addition to the Bose audio noise cancellation system, acoustic glass, triple door seals and plenty of foam insulation, there’s a new proprietary sound displacement material under the floor. Indeed, this is one of the quietest cars we’ve ever experienced, with an idle so imperceptible that my drive partner insisted it wasn’t running.
While Chinese markets get the turbocharged four-cylinder with more torque and better fuel economy, there’s a single powertrain available here: a 3.6-litre V-6 with 310 horsepower and 282 poundfeet of torque. It’s equipped with a standard auto/start system that’s virtually seamless, and cylinder deactivation when under light load. The engine is mated to GM’s eight-speed automatic transmission with new electronic shifter, and paddle shifters, a LaCrosse first.
Over some twisty roads on the hilly country outside Portland, the LaCrosse handled itself with considerable poise. It now boasts a Sport button, which adds noticeable heft to steering, quickens throttle and transmission response and firms up the adaptive suspension. It’s quite capable, but not exactly exciting.
We found the $35,345 base model became confused and slow to downshift in Drive mode, when paddle shifters were engaged. The system features what Buick calls “temporary tap” which lets the paddles function in Drive mode, reverting back to automatic shifting when not used, unlike Manual function, which lets the driver choose.
Perhaps an anomaly confined to this particular car, we found ourselves pinning the throttle in sixth gear — and going nowhere. This was mainly when going downhill, and could have been attributed to the hill descent system. The engineers dubbed it driver error, being in Manual and thinking we were in Drive — unlikely, especially given the press briefing’s emphasis on the safety of this type of electronic shifter and its well-defined gates.
Fuel economy is rated at 11.1 L/100 km in the city and 8.4 on the highway for FWD models, and 11.6/8.1 for those with AWD. Our average consumption for the AWD on 20-inch wheels was 10.1 L/100 km, which included pushing it hard on the hilly back roads. The LaCrosse is only available for now with the V-6; with any luck we’ll see the turbo-four as well.
The new LaCrosse should roll into Canadian dealerships sometime this fall.
With its poised handling and contemporary design, the LaCrosse does a really nice job of appealing to the younger demographic, without alienating the traditional buyer who likes its quiet respectability.
But until I see a hipster driving one through downtown Toronto, I won’t be convinced it’s cool.