When you hear the name Buick, what comes to mind? If you get a senior’s discount you’ll sit back on your hemorrhoid cushion and say, “Ah yes, fine automobiles. All the luxury of a Cadillac without drawing attention from the IRS.” If you’re reading this while living in a house that’s worth 50% of what you bought it for, you look at Buick the way Teddy looked at Matt Damon in Rounders; you owe me some f***in’ money. For me the brand reminds me of my grandma, because she’s the only person I’ve ever known who owned one. Sure, Tiger Woods did, but only because his endorsement deal made him.
Basically, Buick’s have always had a reputation as being a car for old people, but after spending a few days with the 2010 Buick Lacrosse CXS, they might have been on to something.
It all goes back to the name, “doctor’s car.” Doctors frequently bought Buicks because they had all the luxury and comfort of a Cadillac, without the image of being an expensive car. So doctors could make house calls without their patients second-guessing their bill based on the doctor’s transportation. What the Buick was was an entry-level luxury car. Over the years their reputation has changed (doctors’ cars tend to wear German or Japanese badges now) but the idea never did. Buicks are still an Armani suit with a less pretentious label.
The Lacrosse CXS is just that. With an MSRP of $33,000, and a standard features list as long as Linsay Lohan’s CVS Pharmacy receipt, it’s an incredibly luxurious and well-equipped car. For the base price you get; leather seats (heated and cooled too), satellite radio, power everything, variable assist steering, parking assistance, fog lights, a heated steering wheel with audio controls, heated mirrors, dual-zone climate control and even an automatic rear sun shade. I found little use for the last item, but it tells you that Buick went all-out to provide it’s customers with every creature comfort on this planet at almost no extra cost. (By comparison, Buick’s main competitor, the Lexus ES350, makes you pay extra for leather.)
Under the hood is a 3.6 liter V6 feeding 280hp and 259 ft lbs. to the front wheels through a 6 speed automatic. It’s not a ton of power, but I had no problem merging with the over-caffeinated drivers on L.A. freeways. The power-band felt huge, and the top-end was good enough to have me wondering if a gremlin had bolted on some turbos during the night. It won’t do 150mph on the autobahn, but triple digits are more than accessible. Use a light foot and you’ll get 27mpg on the highway, with barely a whisper coming through the 5mm ultra-quiet windows. Not bad for a 4,200lb cruiser.
It also appears that Buick has been to art school. The 2008 Lacrosse was a boring, dated, rounded mess. It looked like a dead fish laying in a heap at Safeway. This new design has some panache. It has a tall belt-line, nice creases and a great stance. Some of the chrome accents are a bit much (although the 3 “speed holes” are finally gone), a little too “This car is nice! We swear!” But overall I think it’s better looking than comparable cars from Lexus, Acura or Nissan. It’s a big, bold car, just like a Cadillac.
On the road it’s surprisingly good. Despite being 4,2000 lbs and longer than anything in it’s class, it stayed pretty flat in the corners and handled lane-changes without much discernible body-roll. Sure there will be under-steer at the limit, but it’s a Buick Lacrosse, so if you’re taking this car “to the limit” it’s probably because your parents let you borrow their car, not because you own it. AWD is optional, but even with the FWD-whether accelerating in a corner or from a stop-there was plenty of grip. It may not have the moves to keep up with the Bavarians, or be as fun as the rear-drive G37, but taken for what it is, it’s hard to find fault on the road.
The only options on our car were the Audio/Sat NAV system ($2000), Xenon lights ($700) and the heads-up display ($350) for a total as-tested price of $36,805. Fully loaded the Buick costs only a little more than the competitions base price.
As an entry-level Luxury car the most important aspect of this car is the interior. People don’t buy Rolls Royces or Bentleys for their looks or skid-pad score. They buy them because the interior is more welcoming and relaxing than a hot tub after 2 martinis. As shown above, Buick went all-out to provide a warm and comfortable environment to travel along in. As a whole the interior is a very nice place to be. Thick glass drowns out almost any outside noise, as did the suspension.
The materials are all pretty good. The fake stitching along the dashboard is one of many small details that add up to trick you into thinking you’re in a more expensive car. At a quick glance all you see is leather, wood and chrome. The blue accent lighting, soft leather seats and simple, well-laid out center console put your mind at ease. When you drive this car nothing will be loud, intrusive or complicated, just as a luxury sedan should be.
It wasn’t completely faultless though. The shifter is a bit too far back, making the move to Drive like pulling back a bow-and-arrow. The chrome around the NAV looks great, but it’s perfectly angled to shoot sun in your eye no matter what time it is. There’s also some parts that look straight-up old, and thus out of place. Amid the leather, new wood and Nav system you have what looks like a headlight dial from the 80′s and the cheapest window/mirror control I’ve ever seen.
There was one “wtf?” interior piece; the arm rest. People like resting their left arm. People also like being able to close the door. Buick knew this, but felt there was a problem with one piece capable of both. So they bolted a bi-planes wing to the door. There’s the recessed part you use to close the door, and then they put a narrow armrest right above it. What they ended up with is two things that do neither job well. The armrest is too narrow, and to close the door you have to thread the needle into this little hole, like Luke Skywalker taking down the Death Star. I can already hear the sound of annoyed grand mothers and uncles out there, “Where’s the damn handle?” It’s a door handle people, don’t get fancy.
It’s not the most exciting or artistic design, but it’s easy to use and nice enough to look at. Buick didn’t push too many boundaries (except that arm rest) in here, but with GM against the ropes it’s not the time to take chances. As is true with girls, I’ll take a functional, logical interior over a daring, useless mess any day.
At the end of the day, the number-one priority for an entry-level car is comfort. These cars won’t ignite your eyes, ears or soul, but you’ll drive to your destination in a warm, tranquil environment that has every gadget you could need. With that criteria in mind, the Buick Lacrosse CXS is a good car. It drives well, it’s quiet as a church inside and it’s not bad to look at. The interior isn’t perfect, and the body won’t cause a Twilight-esque stampede of women, but that’s true of all the cars in this class. The Acura TL looks ridiculous, the Lexus is as much fun as an empty, white room and the G37 isn’t as spacious.
What you get from any luxury car at this price is compromise on four wheels. None of those cars are great, none are terrible. Like choosing a flavor of NyQuil, none will taste amazing but they will all get the job done. With better pricing, standard equipment and more room than any of the others, the Buick CXS will do the job just fine and probably go down the easiest.
How would you compare this care vs. the Hyundai Genesis Sedan?
Pricing out a similarly equipped Genesis ended with an MSRP of $41,800. This was with the comparable V6 motor. The reason is that while the Genesis starts at $33,000, they only have 3 option packages and they're all expensive (at least $2k). The only way to build a car similar to the Buick was to get the Premium Package and the Technology package, which cost $8k.
A little research found a lot of Genesis owners complaining about a bumpy ride in the back (autoblog and Automobile Mag also pointed this out). One owner compared it to riding in the back of a school bus. We all know how difficult it is to find that perfect suspension setup, so it's not a big surprise Hyundai missed the mark a little on the first try.
I think the Genesis is a great-looking car, and it's a great accomplishment for them. In terms of room, technology and materials it's competitive with cars way more expensive. It's still a little more expensive though, and the number of complaints about the ride would worry me. If I was shopping for a car like this I would definitely consider it, and test-drive it, but make sure you ride in the back seat and don't let yourself be blinded by the nice stuff and a cheap V8 sedan.
I might be in the minority on this (dont get me wrong i love the super cars too), but i love when you guys review normal cars. I always see random cars on the road that i would never buy, but am curious to see what its got going for it. This was one of those cars.
Side note: This is one of the few car sites that i check everyday for new content. You guys have seriously gotten something awesome going. Thanks