Review: 2017 Buick LaCrosse redefines large sedans
And it leapfrogs the competition.
Full-size sedans have a tendency to be the Early Bird Special of an automaker’s lineup. Big, floaty sedans with plenty of cabin space but devoid of driving passion seem to dot the automotive landscape. This large, front-wheel-drive sedan segment includes the Hyundai Azera, Toyota Avalon, and Lincoln MKS. You’d be forgiven if you didn’t realize these vehicles were still on sale.
Through its first two generations, the Buick LaCrosse perfectly embodied this segment. Buick must have gotten tired of the blue hair references, because the all-new 2017 Buick LaCrosse is anything but aged and anonymous. This sedan finally has something to say, and, in doing so, instantly becomes the benchmark vehicle in its segment.
From the general shape, you know this car is Buick’s flagship, but it features proportions and design elements like nothing else in recent memory from the brand. The LaCrosse features bold, crisp lines, restrained use of chrome, and clean, angular headlights that frame the large front grille. The relative simplicity of the design gives the LaCrosse a decidedly upscale look. From some angles, it even looks like the Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class.
The new LaCrosse is longer and wider than the outgoing model, and yet is 300 pounds lighter. It also shares a platform with the current Chevrolet Impala, but manages to look orders of magnitude better than that big Chevy sedan.
To put it another way, this is the first modern Buick that has delivered a “wow, that’s a luxury car” presence.
Many of the other large sedans have somewhat busy styling, which renders them fussy. The Buick’s clean appearance makes it look more upscale.
That clean, flowing look is continued in the interior, where a long, beamy dash flows into the Intellilink touch screen—the centerpiece of the dash. The screen has large icons, easy-to-read fonts, and even customizable layout. You can drag icons around the screen to suit your needs.
Trims for the LaCrosse are Base, Preferred, Essence, and Premium. The Base starts at $32,065 and comes with features like 18-inch aluminum wheels, HID headlights with signature LED accents, 8-way power front seats, and 4G Wi-Fi hotspot capability. It also comes standard with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. These infotainment systems bring many of your smartphone features to the touch screen, including navigation, maps, podcasts, Pandora, Spotify, and even voice-controlled text messaging.
The Preferred trim starts at $35,065 and adds power tilt-telescoping steering wheel and three months of SiriusXM satellite radio. Starting at $38,665, the Essence model adds auto-dimming mirror, leather seating with heated front seats, and articulating headlights that turn with the wheel.
With a starting price of $41,065, the Premium model pulls out all the stops. It features front row massaging seats with lumbar, head-up display, forward collision warning system, and lane keeping assist with lane departure warning.
A LOT TO OFFER: The interior features clean, flowing lines and plenty of standard and optional features.
No matter which trim you select, the LaCrosse is powered by GM’s 3.6-liter V6, making 310 horsepower and 282 pound feet of torque. This engine has stop-start technology and is the first engine designed by GM from the ground up to have this capability. Before the engine shuts off at a stoplight, the cylinders turn halfway over and the compressions set up for the next start.
Despite Stop-Start’s fuel economy advantages, starting the engine is one of the most violent events in an engine’s life, and how many times you have to start an engine is as important as how many miles are on it. This new V6 not only minimizes the impact of each start, but makes the start-stop function more seamless. It was the first time I was in a car with this feature that I didn’t want to immediately shut off the function.
Power is sent through an all-new 8-speed automatic transmission to the front wheels, or on the Premium trim, to the available all-wheel-drive. Buick has developed a new shifter design, similar to the unique shifter found in the Toyota Prius. Though it’s distracting to employ any shifter design other than the conventional layout, it’s as unobtrusive as the unique shifters used in Mercedes and BMW models.
You can pull on the shifter when in drive to put the car in manual mode and use the steering-wheel-mounted paddle shifters, but in normal automatic, it manages power quite well. In general, the LaCrosse drives nicely. There is not a lot of body roll in corners, and yet it still soaks up bumps with ease.
The standard wheel is an 18-inch setup, and a 20-inch wheel package is available. Each wheel size has its own suspension and tuning. The 18-inch wheels have larger tires and thus soak up more of the road and offer a softer ride. Steering is on the lighter side with the 18s.
The 20-inch wheel setups bring Continuous Damping Control (CDC) and Buick’s HiPer strut system, yielding a more engaging driving experience. It corners well and the heavier steering feel is more in line with performance luxury sedans. Buick played this one smartly—the 18-inch wheel package is for the customers it wants to keep, and the sportiness of the 20-inch setup targets customers the brand wants to attract.
The front-wheel-drive LaCrosse returns fuel economy of 21 city, 31 highway, 25 combined. The AWD model gets 20 city, 29 highway, 23 combined.
The pricing of $32K to $41K depends on options like panoramic sunroof, rear sun shade, navigation, Bose stereo, blind spot monitoring system, and rear cross traffic alert. An AWD Premium trim with full options can top out at just over $50,000. That puts it in the same spread as the Toyota Avalon, and thousands less than the Hyundai Azera or Lincoln MKS.
For years, entries in the large near-luxury segment were practically interchangeable, and cars like the Buick LaCrosse were partly to blame for that. But Buick has blown up that notion with the new LaCrosse. Not only does it have a true identity in both style and substance, but it has the content and pricing to pivot the LaCrosse upmarket, taking the “near” out of “near-luxury” once and for all.
2017 Buick LaCrosse
THE BASICS
Price: $32,065. Fuel economy, EPA estimated: 21/31. Drivetrain: 3.6L V6, automatic, front-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive. Body: Large sedan.
THE SPECIFICS
Horsepower: 310. Overall length: 197.5 in. Wheelbase 114.4 in. Height: 57.5 in. Width: 73.5 in. Curb weight: 3,598 (AWD, 3,840) lbs.
THE GOOD
Strikingly good looks, plenty of standard and optional features, spirited driving manners.
THE BAD
Can’t think of anything
THE BOTTOM LINE
The new standard for the segment.
ALSO CONSIDER
Toyota Avalon, Hyundai Azera, Lincoln MKS.
George Kennedy is a freelance automotive journalist. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @GKenns101.
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