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Buick LaCrosse rolls out as smooth and plush mid-size sedan
Bob Plunkett
Date Posted: 5/10/2005
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BAY HARBOR, Mich. -- Sedans have been staple vehicles for Buick, the venerable brand at General Motors, for most of the company's 102-year history.
In fact, the Century -- Buick's entry-level sedan -- traces back to 1936, when Buick first identified its products by easy-to-remember names rather than numbers.
For Buick's 2005 line, however, Century scores a final run in limited numbers, while the mid-size Regal sedan -- a familiar Buick badge since 1973 -- fades away.
But a replacement product for both Century and Regal is in the works at GM's Canadian plant in Oshawa, Ontario.
It's an entirely new sedan of mid-size scale with premium features packaged under the badge of LaCrosse.
The name comes from a Buick design concept exhibited in 2000 on the auto show circuit, while a LaCrosse conformed as a four-door sedan with smooth and graceful lines debuted at the 2004 Chicago Auto Show.
Bob Lutz, GM's product czar who helped marshaled this sedan into production, showed us a prototype of LaCrosse during the 2003 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in California and pointed out in the precise meshing of body panels how the fit and finish work on this new car scores new high marks for quality.
The opportunity to drive pre-production samples of LaCrosse came this summer along the winding shore of Lake Michigan on Route 119 out of Bay Harbor, Mich.
First impression from that drive is that LaCrosse feels like a well-heeled and stable car with a plush ride quality, surprisingly quiet isolation for the passenger compartment and more than sufficient pedal power.
Space for riders is good and there are perks aboard with the content list rising through three trim levels -- base CX, upscale CXL and deluxe CXS.
And the exterior styling for LaCrosse looks clean and refined in the less-is-more school of design.
The slinky body features a bold prow marked by Buick's signature oval grille with vertical bars in chrome and flanking pairs of articulated oval headlamps.
Below the grille a body-colored fascia contains split air intake ports and corner foglamps.
A canted hood incorporates striking curves from the headlamps and draws them in taut lines rearward to the base of a raked windshield.
Sides reveal smoothly rolled shoulders and shapely wheelwells with body-colored molding streaking across the double doors.
And the line of the roof is a smooth arch that tapers to a rolled tail.
The unit-body structure for LaCrosse has a wheelbase that runs 1.5 inches longer than the wheelbase of either Century or Regal, and that extra room shows up in the passenger compartment with additional backseat legroom.
Layout of the cabin provides seats for either five or six passengers.
The typical plan is for five with a three-place bench in back and a pair of form-fitting bucket seats up front flanking a center console that houses the shifter stick, a deep storage bin and padded armrest.
The six-person plan puts the shift lever on the steering column and replaces the front buckets with a bench for three containing a fold-out center console/armrest.
Buick laces the cabin with bright touches of chrome and brush aluminum, accents in burl wood and a generous supply of soft-touch material covering dash and doors.
Seats are clad in fine cloth fabric for LaCrosse CX, while both CXL and CXS grades show soft leather finished with fancy gathered-stitch French seams.
The driver's seat for all versions applies six-way power controls for infinite adjustments, with power available for the front passenger seat on top trims plus heated front seats.
The rear bench adds sculpted spaces for two, while the seatback splits 60/40 and folds on CXL and CXS.
Powertrains for LaCrosse vary with trim designations.
LaCrosse CX and CXL stock the GM 3800 Series III V6 from an iron block with 3.8-liter displacement.
This pushrod V6 produces 200 hp at 5200 rpm and 230 lb-ft of torque at 4000 rpm.
It links to a smooth and responsive automatic transaxle (GM's Hydra-Matic 4T65-E) with electronic controls and four forward gears.
LaCrosse CXS uses GM's new 3.6-liter aluminum V6 with dual overhead cams (DOHC), electronic throttle control (ETC) and variable valve timing (VVT) to generate 240 hp at 6000 rpm and 225 lb-ft of torque at only 2000 rpm.
The plant also ties to the Hydra-Matic 4T65-E four-speed automatic.
Suspension architecture for LaCrosse was designed to deliver a refined ride quality, although we discovered the sedan also feels agile when steered through a twisty set of curves and it holds body roll to a minimum.
The independent suspension has a MacPherson strut coil-over-spring unit up front with constant-rate springs and a tri-link coil-over-spring design in the rear with variable-rate springs.
LaCrosse CXS upgrades to a tight Gran Touring suspension with larger stabilizer bars mounted fore and aft.
Disc brakes for all four wheels apply to all trims.
Additional gear for CX and CXL includes options for an anti-lock brake system (ABS) with electronic brake force distribution (EBD) and a traction control system (TCS). The CXS applies these items as the standard with StabiliTrak vehicle stability controls also available.
Frontal air bags for front-seat riders are stock on all trims, with curtain-style air bags concealed above front and rear side windows optional.
The list of standard features for all versions extends to air conditioning and power controls for windows and door locks and the driver's seat, remote keyless entry system and a stereo kit with CD player and six speakers.
Options include a power sunroof, the heated front seats, audio and climate controls on the steering wheel, a six-disc CD changer and XM satellite radio service.
We expect a MSRP for LaCrosse to begin around $23,000.
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| Vehicle Specifications: |
| 2005 BUICK LACROSSE Specs |
| Description: |
Mid-size 5/6-passenger sedan |
| Model Options: |
Mid-size 5/6-passenger sedan |
| Wheelbase: |
110.5 inches |
| Overall Length: |
198.1 inches |
| Engine Size: |
OHV 3.8-L V6, DOHC 3.6-L V6 VVT |
| Transmission: |
Auto/4 Hydra-Matic 4T65-E |
| Drive: |
Front |
| Braking: |
Power 4-disc, CX/CXL: opt. ABS/EBD.TCS, CXS: ABS/EBD/TCS opt. StabiliTrak |
| Airbags: |
2 (front) plus opt. 4 (side curtain) |
| Gas Mileage: |
3.8-L: 20/29 mpg, 3.6-L: 19/28 mpg |
| Price: |
$23,000 to $30,000 |
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