Story by John LeBlanc
CINCINNATI, OHIO — In a market where crossovers and small cars sell like hot chocolate in January, a large four-door sedan like the Buick LaCrosse often gets overlooked in Canada.
While the compact Buick Verano sedan is the General Motors brand’s bestseller in the Great White North, full-sized sedans like the LaCrosse sell better in other markets, like the U.S. or in China. For instance, Buick says it has sold more than 500,000 copies of the LaCrosse since the current generation went on sale in 2009, with U.S. sales topping 57,000 in 2012, compared to only 2,400 sold in Canada the same year.
However, on top of rivals like the Lexus ES and Lincoln MKS, the LaCrosse now faces internal GM competition from the all-new 2014 Chevrolet Impala and new-last-year Cadillac XTS (all three share the same GM corporate platform). So for 2014, Buick has updated the LaCrosse with new exterior styling, interior updates, state-of-the-art safety features and a new top-line trim level.
No one will call the new 2014 LaCrosse’s styling breathtaking, but Buick designers have done a good job freshening up a look that won’t offend your neighbours. Its front end gets a revised grille, hood, and trendy LED running lights in new headlight assemblies (articulating HID headlamps are optional). Hidden are new active grille shutters that close at higher speeds to aid fuel economy. Out back, you’ll find a new full-width chrome strip, wraparound LED (of course) tail lamps, and trunk lid with a built-in spoiler.
Of course, the big reason why you would consider the two-sizes–up LaCrosse over Buick’s smaller Verano or Regal sedans is simply more interior room. Rear legroom continues to be almost limo-like, but for 2014, Buick has made the LaCrosse’s cabin an even nicer place to be.
As before, the 2014 LaCrosse (which starts at $37,395, including a $1,600 freight and pre-delivery inspection fee) is amply equipped right out of the box, including dual-zone climate control, an audio system with full connectivity, steering wheel-mounted controls, remote start and an eight-way power driver’s seat. The best part is a cleaned-up centre stack, where Buick says seven buttons now do the job 17 did before.
And for buyers who are looking for the ultimate in LaCrosse interior furnishings, there’s now the self-explanatory $2,050 Ultra Luxury Interior Package, highlighted by leather on the seats, console armrest and door armrests contrasted by synthetic suede on the headliner and door pillars.
What hasn't changed for 2014 is the Buick sedan’s selection of powertrains. All LaCrosse models get a carry-over six-speed automatic transmission and front-wheel drive. Power comes from either a 303-horsepower and 264 pound-feet of torque 3.6-litre six-cylinder gas engine (rated at 12.2 L/100 km city, 7.3 highway) or a no-cost eAssist four-cylinder mild-hybrid system that makes 182 hp and 172 lb-ft (rated at 8.3 L/100 km city, 5.4 highway). All-wheel-drive is a $6,190 option on V6 models.
There is only a 170-millimetre difference in length between the longer LaCrosse and its tidier
Regal sedan sibling, but after driving updated versions of both Buicks over the same Kentucky roads south of Cincinnati, the driving experiences are kilometres apart.
For starters, you sit higher in the full-sized sedan, and where the Regal’s dash and seats wrap around its front passengers, the LaCrosse’s flatter thrones and forward slanting dash create a sense of added width.
For our one-day media drive, we only had access to front-wheel-drive 2014 LaCrosse models with the six-cylinder engine. Taking 6.7 seconds to go from zero to 100 kilometres an hour, the Buick is no straight-line rocket, but power is adequate for the intended buyer.
If the big Buick sedan doesn’t offer the level of performance some of its rivals do, the 2014 version does keep pace in the ongoing safety kit wars. New radar and camera-based safety features include Lane Change Alert, Side Blind Zone Alert, Full Speed Adaptive Cruise Control, Lane Departure Warning, Forward Collision Alert, Rear Cross Traffic Alert and Automatic Collision Preparation. GM’s patented Safety Alert Seat (also found in the Impala and XTS) pulses your posterior when any of the above systems senses a potential collision.
What the typical LaCrosse buyer may not appreciate is the Buick’s relatively well-controlled cornering abilities. The optional front suspension tames dreaded torque steer and gives some feeling in the LaCrosse’s steering, something the Lexus ES is devoid of, and LaCrosse Premium models come with a Sport button that stiffens the electrically controlled shocks and makes the electrically assisted variable-effort power steering and throttle responses a bit quicker. It’s no back road burner, but the LaCrosse is surprisingly well controlled when being pushed through long, constant radius turns. Around town, the big Buick absorbs bad pavement like a pro quarterback shedding off defensive linemen.
What isn’t surprising is the 2014 LaCrosse’s ability to keep any kind of outside noise from entering its incredibly quiet cabin. Buick brands it as QuietTuning, a strategy that includes acoustical laminate on the windshield and front side glass, steel laminate on the front-of-dash body area, expanded baffles in the roof pillars, use of sound deadeners throughout the entire lower body structure and sound-absorbing material in the LaCrosse’s engine, passenger and cargo compartments — all in the name of blocking exterior noise and absorbing any remaining sounds. And it works. Next to much pricier luxury sedans, the LaCrosse is nearly silent at any speeds.
With the 2014 LaCrosse, Buick has built on the big sedan’s success and worked hard on any weaknesses. Few in its segment offer the same level of interior room, features and price, not to mention its library-quiet cabin experience.
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Story by John LeBlanc
CINCINNATI, OHIO — In a market where crossovers and small cars sell like hot chocolate in January, a large four-door sedan like the Buick LaCrosse often gets overlooked in Canada.
While the compact Buick Verano sedan is the General Motors brand’s bestseller in the Great White North, full-sized sedans like the LaCrosse sell better in other markets, like the U.S. or in China. For instance, Buick says it has sold more than 500,000 copies of the LaCrosse since the current generation went on sale in 2009, with U.S. sales topping 57,000 in 2012, compared to only 2,400 sold in Canada the same year.
However, on top of rivals like the Lexus ES and Lincoln MKS, the LaCrosse now faces internal GM competition from the all-new 2014 Chevrolet Impala and new-last-year Cadillac XTS (all three share the same GM corporate platform). So for 2014, Buick has updated the LaCrosse with new exterior styling, interior updates, state-of-the-art safety features and a new top-line trim level.
What the typical LaCrosse buyer may not appreciate is the Buick’s relatively well-controlled cornering abilities. The optional front suspension tames dreaded torque steer and gives some feeling in the LaCrosse’s steering, something the Lexus ES is devoid of, and LaCrosse Premium models come with a Sport button that stiffens the electrically controlled shocks and makes the electrically assisted variable-effort power steering and throttle responses a bit quicker. It’s no back road burner, but the LaCrosse is surprisingly well controlled when being pushed through long, constant radius turns. Around town, the big Buick absorbs bad pavement like a pro quarterback shedding off defensive linemen.
What isn’t surprising is the 2014 LaCrosse’s ability to keep any kind of outside noise from entering its incredibly quiet cabin. Buick brands it as QuietTuning, a strategy that includes acoustical laminate on the windshield and front side glass, steel laminate on the front-of-dash body area, expanded baffles in the roof pillars, use of sound deadeners throughout the entire lower body structure and sound-absorbing material in the LaCrosse’s engine, passenger and cargo compartments — all in the name of blocking exterior noise and absorbing any remaining sounds. And it works. Next to much pricier luxury sedans, the LaCrosse is nearly silent at any speeds.
With the 2014 LaCrosse, Buick has built on the big sedan’s success and worked hard on any weaknesses. Few in its segment offer the same level of interior room, features and price, not to mention its library-quiet cabin experience.