The leather-appointed front seats are soft and easy to settle into. With a simple motion you can rest your hand atop the center console’s 8-inch diagonal color touch screen, making it easy to command the IntelliLink infotainment system. Just below this screen are the controls for dual-zone climate and heated and ventilated front seats. Everything is there, whether it’s to turn a knob or press a button. The Driver Information Center and Cluster Display can be configured with the information needed most often.
IntelliLink allows natural-language voice recognition for conversational commands such as “Call my office,” or the navigation content you need immediately. The built-in Bluetooth lets you play music wirelessly and the LaCrosse is now available with Bose Premium Surround Sound.
Under the hood, LaCrosse has a lot of horses. A 3.6L DOHC VVT engine with direct injection and Hydra-Matic 6T70 six-speed automatic transmission make up the power recipe. This powerful engine provides 304 horsepower and 264 lb.-ft. torque. A full fuel tank holds 18 gallons and the EPA fuel economy is 18 mpg in town and 28 mpg highway.
Now the LaCrosse has an available technology called eAssist. The powertrain integrates a compact electric motor with an advanced lithium-ion battery, and a 2.4L 4-cylinder gasoline engine, resulting in up to 36 mpg highway by using stored energy in the battery from coasting and braking.
Safety features such as eight standard airbags, rear vision camera system, StabiliTrak electronic stability control, and four-wheel disc brakes assure peace of mind, as you enjoy the power and comfort of LaCrosse. Even Side Blind Zone Alert, Rear Cross-Traffic Alert, Lane Change Alert, and Lane Departure Warning are added to the standard safety package.
Even with all the comfort, safety, and power amenities mentioned, without style and beauty a car wouldn’t be complete. Well, the LaCrosse was definitely complete.
Outside, the LaCrosse had Midnight Amethyst Metallic color with LED taillights and dual bright exhaust tips, resting on beautiful 19-inch alloy wheels. Such exterior beauty is accompanied by Light Neutral cocoa warm wood tones flavoring the interior.
There are nine other exterior colors to choose from, including White Diamond, Quicksilver, Crystal Red, Atlantis Blue, and Carbon Black. While the inside offers Ebony wood tones, Light Neutral, Choccachino, and Sangria with some ash woods.
Buick has reshaped the front and rear of LaCrosse. The all-new hood flows toward the multifaceted waterfall grille, as the hood’s crisp, curving folds to form an arch that wraps the front fender into the illuminated-looking design that encircles the projector-style head lamps.
I just couldn’t find anything to complain about. Quiet tuning features provided a state of driving bliss. Bose music added to the relaxing state of the drive. The tremendously powerful engine took me quickly and effortlessly where I wanted to go at a “quick time” pace.
Globally, LaCrosse sales have exceeded 500,000 units since its 2009 introduction.
The standard price is $38,810. Additional safety features and leather package (Ultra Luxury) adds another $3,000.
Wheelbase: 111.7 inches
Length: 197 inches
Width: 73.1 inches
Front track: 61.7 inches
Rear track: 62 inches
Front headroom: 38 inches
Rear headroom: 37.3 inches
Front legroom: 41.7 inches
Rear legroom: 40.5 inches
13.3 cubic feet cargo space
Warranty:
6-year/70,000 mile Powertrain Limited Warranty
4-year/50,000 mile Bumper to Bumper Warranty
2-year/24,000 mile scheduled maintenance oil and filter and tire rotation
Durhl Caussey writes a car column read around the world. He may be reached at this paper or [email protected].
