Buick LaCrosse 2012 Review

Buick LaCrosse 2012 Review. This four-cylinder LaCrosse is a risk for Buick, in that if you sell an underpowered car to people who don't prize performance, you might end up with your car becoming associated with plodding pace and holding up traffic.

The good news is that it doesn't have to be that way--this little four-cylinder pulls reasonably well and without too much racket and drama, considering that this is a 4,000-pound sedan. Acceleration isn't a strong suit, but all things considered, the LaCrosse won't leave you permanently mired in the slow lane. And when you come to a stop, the engine shuts down to save fuel and then imperceptibly refires as soon as the brake is released. It's a good, simple system that should serve solid duty in the entire range of General Motors vehicles.

Buick has come a long way with cars such as the Regal and the Enclave, and the LaCrosse is another key part of that story. I don't find the car quite as sorted as the smaller Regal or as comfy as the big Enclave crossover, but it is a surprisingly tied-down large sedan, considering the tri-shield badging. In fact, it might be a little more than some buyers in the Buick demographic are ready for. The steering is so responsive as to be twitchy, with little sneeze room on center, and the suspension doesn't give much ground to soften the road blows.

From an enthusiast perspective, it's good, but unless the LaCrosse buyers' average age has dropped precipitously, this might be more than they bargained for.

EDITOR WES RAYNAL: I like this 2012 Buick LaCrosse overall, but I felt a weird sort of stumble in the powertrain. It was inconsistent, it did it on its own, and I couldn't replicate it. Happened twice, maybe three times.

The four-cylinder is OK in this application. As noted, it's no rocket off the line but the power is adequate. I love the start/stop system and agree that for the most part it's a good system that GM could put in darn near everything it builds. But the company needs to figure out the stumbling thing I experienced.

The car looks good to my eye inside and out. Quality inside is not quite on par with the Germans, but it is as good as most of the domestic competition.

DIGITAL EDITOR ANDREW STOY: You want a hen's tooth in this business? Show me an automotive writer who's also a Buick geek. I'll proudly wear that crown until some other 35-going-on-65 journo comes and swats it off my head, but the LaCrosse with eAssist isn't going to replace even the 1973 Century Luxus on my wish list (yeah, I'll even roll Colonnade tri-shield on you).

Wes succinctly summed up the powertrain issues: There's an intermittent engagement/disengagement stumble, usually during low-speed operation or when decelerating. It's frustrating, mainly because the eAssist system works so well otherwise. Acceleration is perfectly adequate for this large sedan, the start/stop functionality worked seamlessly and, most importantly for Buick's customer sensibilities, it doesn't sound like a small four-cylinder hybrid. The engine--all noise, for that matter--is exceptionally well damped, and if it wasn't for the mystery clunk, the unaware would never know there was an electric assist.

I noted the drivetrain stumble and got on with my three days in the LaCrosse, learning to expect it during certain driving conditions. But the demon of Roger Smith lurked elsewhere in my Buick; "bad GM" had seemingly been engineered out of the interior--easily the best Buick cockpit since my 1963 Rivera--until I filled the gas tank and noted that the fuel gauge was stuck at the halfway mark.

After about five miles of driving, the needle began to move again, and 10 minutes later it had finally reached the full mark. Duly noted, it reached accuracy but took its time. A lazy sending unit, perhaps.

Then the heated seats broke. Pressing either button brought a relay click from under the dash, "high" selected briefly, and then nothing. I started looking for a pothole to help me knock some sense into the system but thought better of it lest the gas gauge grow petulant again ("it's full, Dutch, I swear!").

Ignore the three preceding paragraphs and Buick has a stylish, beautifully trimmed mid/large sedan with lots of room for five, which can theoretically achieve 36 mpg on the highway, all for a perfectly reasonable $36,000 and change.

Thing is, it has to work. And my LaCrosse simply didn't. Buick LaCrosse 2012 Review.

Base Price: $33,300

As-Tested Price: $36,685

Drivetrain: 2.4-liter I4 with 15-kilowatt electric motor; FWD, six-speed automatic

Output: 157 hp @ 6,000 rpm (15 hp @ 1,000-2,200 rpm electric motor), 163 lb-ft @ 4,000 rpm (79 lb-ft @ 1,000 rpm electric motor)

Curb Weight: 4,026 lb

Fuel Economy (EPA/AW): 29/28.4 mpg

Options: Driver confidence package including HID headlamps with adaptive forward lighting, side blind-zone alert and head-up display ($1,440); audio system with navigation and backup camera ($1,345); entertainment package including AM/FM/XM stereo, CD player, 120-volt power outlet and 11-speaker Harman/Kardon sound system ($600)

Read more: http://www.autoweek.com/article/20120315/carreviews/120319912#ixzz2D88bLRSF