Buick takes the lid off 2017 Cascada convertible
Yes, spring is coming. If the spate of 60-degree days this winter haven’t convinced you, maybe today’s test car, the 2016 Buick Cascada, will do the job.
Buick is introducing the Cascada, based on an Opel platform, as a new model this spring. We got to drive it for a week in Florida.
Convertibles abound in Southern Florida. Drive down the street and you’ll see lots of high end BMWs and Mercedes, plus fleets of Mustangs and Camaros.
But look to the mid-priced segment and you see lots of used-but-now-discontinued Chrysler Sebrings, Toyota Solaras, and Volvo C70s.
Buick should fare well in this market with its first convertible offering in 25 years. The car drew considerable attention parked outside our condo complex and turned heads on the road.
Cascada means waterfall in Spanish. So the natural reaction was to try and pose the car in front of one for its photos. However, the only waterfalls in Florida’s flat landscape seem to be artificial ones in miniature golf courses or in people’s gardens.
So we settled for the Cascada in front of the cascades of a nice fountain.
The Cascada’s soft top lowers to hide away under a hard boot in 17 seconds. There are no latches or clips to manually release. Buick claims you can do this at speeds up to 31 miles per hour.
There was the temptation to test this feature, especially when it began to rain as we were driving home from the photo shoot. However, I could hear my dad’s voice saying, “You never, ever, try to put the top up or down with the car moving.’’ Of course, that was when we had mid-’50s Ford Skyliner convertibles.
One lasting memory is the warning stamped on each side of the hard tonneau that automatically covers the top when it’s lowered.
“Don’t Cover,’’ it reads.
The reason: If you should get involved in a rollover crash, there is what Buick calls “spring-loaded, pyrotechnically activated roll bars’’ behind the back seat, designed to deploy with a bang should you need head protection.
Looking rearward of that tonneau, a satellite radio shark antenna on the trunk lid is the only thing that disturbs the Cascada’s smooth lines when the top is down. The Buick logo above the rear license plate does double duty as a trunk release. Push in on the bottom of the logo, and the trunk pops open.
Inside the trunk, you’ll find reduced space to accommodate the lowered top. There’s a semi-solid container that must be left in place in the trunk where the top fits. However, it can be pushed up for added storage when driving with the top up. Also, there’s a pass-through to the rear seats for carrying longer items.
THE INSIDE STORY: Cascada’s interior is attractive and well thought out. The many buttons are self-explanatory.
Speaking of the back seat, there’s room for a couple of smaller passengers there if the front-seat passengers move their seats forward. Those front seats move forward automatically when you pull the release to tilt the seatbacks forward to enable rear access.
When you get in the front seats and close the doors, an automatic seat belt presenter telescopes forward to make it easier to grab your seatbelt.
Power comes from a 1.6-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder engine making 200 horsepower and 207 lb.-ft. of torque. It’s not a performance vehicle by any means, but the engine does the job smoothly and emits a nice exhaust tone when pushed.
One of the big drawbacks in many convertibles is structural rigidity of the body and chassis. If we had the Cascada back in Boston, one trip over a raised highway with diagonal expansion grids would tell the story in this category. Hit those grids at 60 mph and the body either flexes noticeably or it doesn’t. Proper convertible design necessitates serious body bracing and (today) use of high-strength steel.
However, taking the Cascada over some bumpy roads supported Buick’s claim that the body is well-braced.
Convertibles, by their nature, tend to have large blind spots. The Cascada is no different, and the trait is exacerbated by the Cascada’s tiny rear window and lack of a blind-spot monitoring system. It’s hard to believe designers and engineers didn’t fight harder for that system in their planning meetings.
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That’s a surprise and a design flaw in a vehicle that has front collision alert, lane departure warning, and front and rear parking assist.
The result is a car that’s much safer and more enjoyable to drive with the top down.
Cascada comes in two trim levels, the 1SV and 1SP. The base 1SV is priced at $33,990 (including destination).
Our test vehicle was the 1SP with a $36,990 MSRP (including destination). The only option on our vehicle was a $395 special paint called “flip chip silver metallic,’’ which, to me, was an eye-catching mocha tone that elicited a number of positive comments.
The interior was well done. Seats were comfortable for normal driving but could have used additional bolstering for all-day excursions. Controls were standard GM from the past few years, meaning a bit dated and heavy on buttons, but easy enough to operate.
Ultimately, we found the Cascada delightful to look at and enjoyable to drive—exactly what Buick was aiming to achieve.
2016 Buick Cascada Premium
THE BASICS
Price, base/as tested (with destination): $36,990/$37,385. Fuel economy, EPA estimated: 20 city/27 highway/23 combined. Fuel economy, Globe observed: 22.7. Drivetrain: 1.6-liter turbocharged 4 cylinder, 6-speed automatic, front-wheel-drive. Body: 4-passenger soft-top convertible.
THE SPECIFICS
Horsepower: 200. Torque: 207 lb.-ft. Overall length: 184.9 in. Wheelbase: 106.1 in. Height: 56.8 in. Width: 72.4 in. Curb weight: 3,979 lbs.
THE GOOD
Size, styling, ride.
THE BAD
Lack of blind-spot assist, rear visibility.
THE BOTTOM LINE
A great ride with the top down.
ALSO CONSIDER
Audi A3, Volkswagen Beetle and EOS.
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