Buick LaCrosse is one for the aged
2017 Buick LaCrosse Premium FWD: For men of a certain age?
Price: $47,445 as tested. $41,065 for a base Premium. Driver Confidence Package 2 added adaptive cruise control, pedestrian detection, and automatic braking for $1,690. (More options in the review.) The base price for a LaCrosse is $32,065.
Marketer’s pitch: “You’ll find any reason to get behind the wheel.”
Conventional wisdom: Car and Driver liked the “strong V-6, competent handling, handsome styling” but not the “brittle ride on big wheels, awkward joystick shifter, near-luxury trappings at full-luxury price.”
Reality: Not so sure I’d find any reason. A car for oldsters: I’d been steering away from “Buick for old people” jokes in my columns all these years. I found the LaCrosse’s previous incarnation to be fun enough, comfortable and roomy, and an attractive car.
only “Home” and “Nav,” and some other highlights. In map mode, stereo changes — and even substantial HVAC changes — mean forgetting about where you’re going for a minute.
A touchscreen controls most of the functions, and no good place to rest your hand means a screaming Mr. Driver’s Seat while he tries to simply find a song while cruising the highway. Fortunately, the voice command system operates as well as Cadillac’s.
Friends and stuff: No one should complain about comfort in the LaCrosse, except maybe the person in the middle of the back row. All four corners offer plenty of legroom, foot room, and headroom, and the seats are roomy, supportive and supple.
A large console is easily accessed between the seats, and a phone slot keeps communication devices solidly in place.
The rear seat hump seems enormous for a front-wheel-drive car, but the LaCrosse does come in all-wheel drive as well.
The trunk offers 15 cubic feet of space, a cube shorter than a recently tested Fusion, but still a fairly ample size.
Night shift: The interior lights shine fairly brightly, but don’t interfere with the view of the road. The headlights shine brightly as well.
Fuel economy: I averaged 24 mpg in the usual Mr. Driver’s Seat test arena of country and suburban roads. The LaCrosse is not picky, and drinks regular.
Where Detroit.
How it’s built: Consumer Reports predicts LaCrosse reliability to be average, the same as 2016 and a tick down from previous years.
In the end: General Motors has offered some intriguing new models for 2017, among them the Chevrolet Impala, Malibu, and Cruze. The LaCrosse shows Buick is still exhibiting a softer side, and I’m not a fan. it’s built: