mmarshall

After two years in service (August 2017-August 2019) and a long wait, with several snags/ordering problems before I took delivery, I'm absolutely delighted with my 2018 Buick Lacrosse. Probably the best automotive dollars I've ever spent, though I still remember my Saturn SL2 and its unique features/customer-perks very fondly. I look forward to driving my Lacrosse every day, though I'm retired and don't put a huge number of miles on it (roughly 500-600 miles a month) in the dense D.C. area traffic. Most of that is for daily shopping/errands, to the County Rec-Centers for indoor swimming (we also have an outside pool in my condo development for summer use), to one of the many dealerships/vehicle-retail outlets in the area for reviews/test-drives, to church and church-related functions, and a occasional trip to see some of my old friends and co-workers. The car, despite a few quirks and assembly-goofs, by my standards, is simply a joy to drive, especially considering its price tag, where it provides the comfort and refinement of some sedans that cost two and three times as much. I'd replace it, in a couple of years, with another one in a heartbeat if GM had not (foolishly IMO) dropped it, and much of the rest of the sedan production at the Detroit (Hamtramck) plant. So, as it is, absent a natural disaster, an accident/totalling, or vehicle-theft, I'm probably going to have this car for quite some time....GM, by dropping it, has probably lost my future business, though my dealership and Service Advisor has given me such excellent service that that alone is one reason why I've stayed with GM.

Anyhow, back to the car. As a traditional large Buick, it excels in low noise level, suspension/tire/riding comfort, soft-seating comfort, and a smooth, silky drivetrain, with a couple of exceptions. The N/A 3.6L V6 starts and runs like a super-quiet sewing machine. The efficient 9-speed automatic is like butter most of the time, and the undercarriage provides the kind of comfort/compliance that is unusual to find at all these days, much less at a sub-40K price. I consistently average low-20s MPG, on Shell Regular 87 Octane, even in the wintertime when mileage often drops....the idle-shut-off feature for the engine and fuel-management system of the V6 also help in that department, I've done as well as 30-31 MPG in straight, level Interstate conditions. I have the greatest of respect for the Lacrosse's competitors, several of which I considered when I ordered my Lacrosse The Genesis G80 and Kia Cadenza provide more-solid construction/hardware and a longer warranty, but don't drive quite as silky. The Lincoln MKZ is comfortable and has pure class in its styling, but lacks a N/A V6 and is loosely-assembled. The (latest 2019) Toyota Avalon XLE is well-built and decent-riding with the 55-series tires, but IMO is not particularly plush or comfortable inside. The Lexus ES is reliable and well-built, but there are several things I don't like about it. The Chevy Impala has much of the Lacrosse's riding comfort, but is over-styled inside and has some weirdly-designed features. In short, in my book, nothing else in the American market can beat this car, especially for the money, in the attributes I look for in a sedan. In many ways, by 21-st Century standards, it is the perfect replacement for my big 1965 Buick Electra flagship that I had in college...even better, because it is only two years old and not a worn out oil-burner like that car was. I even ordered it in almost the same color.....light gray (Pepperdust) metallic, with a gold-flake spakle-effect color to the paint when in the sun. The trunk, despite not being an SUV, is large enough to carry almost anything I've needed so far. The FWD gets me through enough winter conditions, in snow and ice, that the Lacrosse's AWD option, for me, was not needed....and, from reviews I've read, the AWD takes away some from the ride comfort. I've said before, and still feel, after two years, that a Cadillac version of the Lacrosse is what should have replaced the former DTS, not the XT6 or CT6, neither of which I was impressed with.

However, no vehicle is perfect, and I'd be lying to you if I said the ownership-experience was totally happy or without issues. Visibility straight out the back, with the droop-rear roofline, is almost impossible without the back-up camera. My car doesn't have the automatic tilt-down mirrors in reverse for parking...I have to raise and drop each one manually with the power-mirror controls (it comes only on upper-level Lacrosses with other features I didn't want). The climate-control system (a common problem wth domestic GM products) suffered an early issue when the regulation system that distributes hot/cold air out of the dash/defrost ducts got screwed up, and it was in the shop for several days while they ordered and replaced several electronic regulator-parts. My Service Advisor, as usual (I ask for him every time the car needs service) was wonderful, but the guy who actually did the work, while adequately fixing the defect, left the front seats and dash in sloppy, dirty condition, with even few small scratches...it took me a hour or so of of time, effort, and SCRATCH-OUT application to get the interior clean to my standards again. No trouble wth the system since then, though. And the 9-speed transmission may hot have been perfected when I got my car....I got an early-production version which (supposedly) has an undersized valve-plate in it which allows some slip and momentary neutral engagement on some 4-6 upshifts, and, in the winter, at extremely cold temperatures around 10 degrees or lower, allows a hard first 1-2 shift, but smooths out after that. I can live with the minor slip as long as the transmission itself is not harmed. And, if it does fail, Buick is generous with its drivetrain warranty...6/70, like a number of luxury-level marques. The car is only two years old, and it is guaranteed at least four more years, possibly more if GM extends the original warranty. And, like many vehicles today, the body sheet metal is unacceptably thin for my tastes, and

Also a couple of quirks inside.....I don't like the fact that one must use the touch-screen to turn the A/C compressor on or off or select the air-vents (there are no separate buttons), one cannot display all the climate-functions and the pre-set radio stations together on the screen (it defaults back and forth), the horn pad in the middle of the steering wheel is very stiff and hard to push, and the warning-lights for the engine/gauges/drivers' information group have a mind of their own when the car is first started up....one cannot predict how they will flash and/or go out at random.

But that's it. Quirks or no quirks, I'm seriously in love with this car. And, best of fall, it was American-built, with American labor.

And thanks a lot, Mary Barra, for dropping this excellent car ....and for closing up the Hamtramck plant, and American jobs with it.

Toys4RJill

Do you still do that weird thing where you roll into a stop, but don't in fact stop....all so you can avoid the engine shutting down via Auto stop/start?

mmarshall

The idle stop/start doesn't always engage.....only at certain combinations of engine-temperature, A/C load, cooling/heating demands, state of battery-charge/drain (the Lacrosse, unlike many sedans, actually has an ammeter gauge for that), and a couple of other factors. One can avoid it altogether by simply flicking the shift-lever to (manual) just before the stop, and back to D (Drive) before you start rolling. Or, in some cases, you can feather-foot the gas/brakes while stopped and fool the computer into keeping the engine on...but that can make the car creep forward, so you need room in front of you.

That idle-stop, BTW, annoying as it is, does contribute to some very good MPG figures for a car and engine this size. Of course, the light sheet metal, 9-speeds, cylinder fuel-management, and my conservative driving style also help. And the idle-stop saves some wear and tear on the engine, though what it (potentially) does to the starter is anybody's guess.

TripleL

Delighted the car is serving you well and you are so happy with it MM!

mmarshall

Thanks. It's not been perfect, but ranks up with some of the best auto dollars I ever spent.

coolsaber

congrats, you seem happy with it!

arentz07

Glad you're still liking it! Sounds like Buick is sticking to their guns on making comfy, smooth cars. My first was a 2001 Buick Century, and I miss it sometimes just for how nice it was to cruise on the highway.

As for the rear visibility, I noticed this same issue with a 2019 ES 350 loaner that I had on Friday. It's got a pretty narrow window back there.

Oh, and it was the model with the 18-inch wheels, and I thought the ride quality felt equal to the one with the 17's that I had before.

mmarshall

Always did like a big Buick sedan. IMO, best comfort for the buck on the market. Unfortunately, their quality suffered for decades, which is why I waited till now to get another one.

Not really. Only the Lacrosse and (to a lesser extent) the Enclave drive and ride like traditional Buicks. The rest are either smaller, stiffer products or redone German Opels.

Nice cruiser, but the Buick interiors were cheap back then. Reliability, though, was surprisingly good for a domestically-desighed GM product.


More or less typical of today's sedans. Not only does the roofline droop down, but so does the trunkline...you cannot see the rear corners of the car. That's one reason (among several) why the Government now requires the back up cameras.

Wandl

Have you driven a Lacrosse with the Dynamic Drive Package with the adaptive suspension? Curious to get your take on on if Buick loses the comfortable demeanor with the bigger rims or not.

mmarshall

I don't remember driving one. Most Lacrosse customers didn't want it, and dealers did not order many of them or keep them in stock. With the proliferation in recent years of Buick SUVs, the AWD option on the Lacrosse was not very popular, either. I haven't driven the version with the 20" wheel option either, but other reviewers say that it stiffens the ride considerably.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

q1 sales down almost 60% YoY unfortunately. http://gmauthority.com/blog/2019/05/...arter-2019-q1/

it's too bad because the Lacrosse is a really nice looking vehicle. i think they cheaped out on the interior some and are missing some features, but it's too bad it's likely going away, and really bad gm won't be bringing the very nice 2020 refresh (launched in china) here.

in brighter news, q2 for buick up about 8% over q1 http://gmauthority.com/blog/gm/buick...sales-numbers/

enclave and envision sales way up.

http://gmauthority.com/blog/2019/08/...arter-q2-2019/

http://gmauthority.com/blog/2019/07/...sults-2019-q2/

mmarshall

Part of the reason Lacrosse sales are down is that people are simply afraid to purchase one. With all the talk and publicity about its demise (and the closing of the Hamtramck plant), many of those who would otherwise have wanted one (or bought one) are concerned about it becoming an orphan. CR doesn't help much, either, with its advice not to buy something that has been discontinued. Any way you look at it, though, it's hard to get around the fact that GM and Ford are doing everything they can to try and get people out of sedans and into SUVs. It's simple....they make more per unit on SUVs.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

and yes it's true they make more on suvs, but i believe you simply have it backwards... gm does not have that kind of control - profits on sedans are low because demand is low, volume declining, so it's on its way out unfortunately, meanwhile demand for crossovers/cuvs/suvs is red hot, so profits are higher (less need to haggle/discount). if they made more on sedans because there was more demand, they wouldn't kill them off.

'simple' economics 101 (supply and demand).

mmarshall

In the reality of today's market, large corporations often have the ability to manipulate supply and demand....it is not all the basic simplicity of what Econ 101 taught 50 years ago.

But, anyhow, we're getting off-topic (me included)....my experience with the 2018 Lacrosse. In spite of a few quirks and design/production faults, I absolutely love this car, and look forward to driving it every day. And, I also need to note that this thread is not an MM-review (where I have to be at least reasonably objective and non-partisan), but simply my own personal feelings and experience. I'm sure you feel the same way about your G90...it is an impressive vehicle inside and out, and, in some ways, is built better than the Lacrosse....though I'm sold on the Lacrosse's ride-comfort.

mmarshall

Took my annual trip down to see my doctor a couple of days ago...his office is not extremely far away, but almost a good hour's trip. On mostly 4-lane divided roads and a few stop lights (not many) I averaged roughly 32 MPG...pretty darn good, IMO, for a car of this size and power. I wasn't using the A/C much, though....it was a relatively cool cloudy morning. My previous Verano, a car with a lot less power and about 400 lbs. less weight, would have been hard-pressed to match that on the road. This 9-speed transmission might have a few quirks in it, but it and the fuel-management system on the V6 really help with the MPGs.