What kinds of problems did the previous transmission have? Looking at CR the LaCrosse got top marks in the Trans Minor and Trans Major areas for the 2012-2016 model years.

 

 

The 2017 (specifically) was panned for a lot of complaints about the way the 8-speed transmission shifted and video-screen/infotainment systems going blank. In fact, CR took the car off the Recommended list for that. The 2018 introduced an new 9-speed tranny that had been co-developed with Ford....but that had already had a year's experience in a couple of 2017 Chevy models, without very many teething problems. I decided, after considerable research and discussion wth my colleagues here on CL (some agreed with me...some didn't), that the wait for the 2018 was worth it.

https://www.consumerreports.org/cars...ility#pagestop

(BTW...I have no complaints with the 2018's tranny....and no problems with the electronics except for an small quirk in the way a couple of the red dash-lights come on with the ignition on initial start-up).

 

I remember the numbers, it was $7k lol

 

 

You remember what you said were the numbers. In practice, for several reasons (a couple of then unusual), it didn't quite turn out that way. Anyhow, it's not worth arguing....I got the car I wanted at a good, if not perfect price....apparantly you also did wth the Pacifica. That's what matters.

Also, don't take what I said the wrong way. There's nothing necessarily wrong with a 50K loaded vehicle, with a bunch of features on it.....it's just not necessarily for me.

 

 

Respectfully, Steve is wrong. It was not 7K....at least not when the deal was over. Closer to 1-2K.

 

Back to the Avenir. Bit, if you liked the Enclave, you might also want to look at the upcoming Lincoln Aviator, if they actually put it into production. Looks like it might be good competition. You've already had experience with the Ford Explorer, and the Aviator will be done on the Explorer platform, though not necessary the same Explorer platform you owned previously. We'll have to wait and see, but the Aviator will probably end up a little smaller than the Enclave...the Aviator will be a mid-sizer, and the Enclave, at least as I understand it, though FWD, is on the border between mid and full-size.

 

 

wait a sec, just saw this, they did that again? I heard on the last gen, they TOOK AWAY heated washer nozzles. That's really bizarre. But I guess the entire world is about cost cutting today. Mazda took away xenons from loaded 3's. Those cars had xenons, rain sensing wipers, sticks, etc. all at a fair price, at one time. Just drove a Murano for 3 days in Toronto and it has to list for around 40k. Dag took 80 minutes to go 18 miles to Don Mills the other night. The doors were so chintzy it was a little hard to understand. I suppose the new Buick has to be under the same pressure. On the Murano, I thought this 4 banger just doesn't have enough torque at all (it was AWD). Lift the hood and what did I see.....

 

I partially agree on the interior. The 2018 is more muted-looking inside, with less wood-tone trim....the 1Gen was definitely more ornate inside. Hopefully, though, it will be built better than the last-generation. Though roomy inside, and an actually usable third-row seat, I wasn't impressed with the overall build-quality of the 1Gen Enclave.....the smaller, Opel-sourced Buicks simply clobbered them in that department.

 

Doors are chintzy on a number of vehicles today (yes, even the Enclave), at least partially because of weight-reduction demands (and maybe cost-cutting with thinner materials). Hyundai and Kia, though, seem to still have some genuine solidness in their doors......many of them close with a nice thunk.....though, oddly, the Sportage actually feels more solid in that department than the more expensive Sorento.


Also, remember that no matter how thin the sheet metal on the outside of the doors, how chintzy they sound, or how thin the interior panels, are, doors still have solid, crash-resistant inner bars under the skin, and have to meet DOT/NHTSA side-impact standards.

 

Never understood the thud thing about doors. Aside from MB, I like how Toyota has their doors close on the modern cars. Our Matrix has very light doors while my Corolla is just fine I think modern sheetmetals are just fine. It's not something that's is really all that concerning. Our SUVs are nothing special in how the doors close

 

Many people (and I confess I'm one of them) associate a solid-thud door-closing, with no rattles/squeaks or tinny sounds, with build quality. Probably the most solid-sounding doors on the market, today, are those on the Mercedes G-Wagen (Gelandewagen). For the price, Kia/Hyundai/Genesis, IMO, do an excellent job giving that heavier-feeling thunk on closing.....so do some of the small, Opel-based Buicks. The worst? That's arguable (and subjective), but IMO the tiniest doors (and hood) I've sampled on a modern vehicle (if you can consider it modern) were on the Geo Metro/Suzuki Sprint. That car was basically built like tin, for maximum weight-reduction and gas mileage. You could take the hood, hold it on both hands, and, basically bend it back and forth almost like a piece of cardboard LOL.