Buick Lucerne review for those who dont venture to the Buick forum

[Minarets]

i wanted to post this here as well for those of you who may not read over at the Buick fourm:

Well, i must start off by saying i am more then delighted with this car. upon driving by the dealer yest. i saw a black on black CXS sitting in the front of the dealer. had to see it up close.

now before i really get into it i must admit, i am 24 years old and when i think Buick i think of AARP, wipser 2000, prunes and their juice. i have never ever ever said, "wow, thats a nice Buick."

from the onset, this one was a "wow, thats a nice Buick" i test drive cars almost religiously. if its new and out, i have prolly attempted to drive it. i am n the market for a new car in the near future and have been looking at the Acura TL, Infiniti G35 andthe new Chevy Impala SS...all somewhat sportier vehicles then the Buick, obviously.

i have been reading a lot of Buick new push of quality. "fine French stitching," "1cm gaps in sheetmetal" etc,

well this def looked veddy veddy nice. the black paint with all the chrome accents was stunning. the grille, while big, was nice looking (as nice as a Buick logo can look to a 24 year old). the back end was almost the most impressive thing to me. it looked so "un-domestic" looked great imo. i did not realize the air vents were different for the the models. 4 for the V8 and the rest have 3. the wheels looked nice and not cheap looking like the Chrysler 300C chrome coated wheels look and feel. the chrome trim really was luxurious and stunning.

upon the saleman coming over i asked to take a ride. the first thing i always do is sit in the drivers seat, adjust to my liking and then get out and sit directly behind me to see what kind of leg room i will have. i am 6'0 and 250lbs...i want comfort and i know there will always be more room behind my wife then me, so if i am comfortable behind "me" most should be. well, i was. nice room in the back and the first thing that took my attention away was the leather.
the leater was the nicest leather i have felt on any of the previous models i have mentioned thus far. most are to "thin" feeling or too "waxy". these seemes plush and soft. two thumbs up here. i wasnt a huuuuge fn of the leather design on the seats, but that is minor.

well back to the front and i must say, i am really lovin GM's push of the remote starters. for some those are needless, but i love it. here in Nashvegas, TN we get a taste of all weather. so if i can get a remote that will heat my seats and defrost my windown in the morning and cool my seats and crank up the AC in the summer, i am impressed.

the dash is nice. still not quite European, but as far as a domestic goes, its as nice as i have seen. the wood is nice, fake or not. the guages could be better, but still no complaints. the steering wheel is too big though. not a fan. another complaint is, and to some this is no big deal, but it bothers me--the center radio controls and such just look out of place for me. you have all this nice wood on the dash, and on the shifter, and then this black plastic board plugged in with knobs. to be fair, this design is leaps and bounds better then the previous GM interiors that cross over on so many vehicles, but there really and truely is no difference in this and the Impala SS stack that is much less $$. it still "works." also of note, the seats had great lumbar support, plus the very nice leather made it enjoyable. i am sure this would be a nice "trip taker."

the Northstar V8 has plenty of punch, but i do wish they had used the same engine the SS got. 303hp would be great, but i know to the target buyer this is not needed. it would def help bring in the underage crowd (underage typical Buick owner). the car coners decently, but again, this is no BMW 3series, and it does a great job of being what it is--a moderately luxurious car, that look and feels good for a pretty good price. i know they are trying to compete with the Avalon and ES300. i think it can for any open-minded individual. it looks better then both of those, imo. sure some will want Lexus' unheralded quality but Buick is right behind them according to JD Powers.

again, as a 24 year old with a wife and child, this is a car i would consider, much to my suprise. it has almost every feature i want (remote starter, plenty of leg room, good stereo, aux for ipod, good looks, V8)

2 things that are lacking for me personally, that i want, HIDs (bi-xenon headlamps) and at least a 60/40 split in thebackseat. there is only a console pass through.

but as i have seen there is no perfect car. everyone that i have driven and considered has its plusses and minusses. this car is a winner.

you can bet that i will be considering this car in about 6 months when ready to buy. my father-in-law is a GM employee and i have been looking and waiting for a GM car that catches my eye enough to actually own and use the discount. i will be so bold t say this is the best looking GM sedan i have ever seen besides the CTS-V (and i know the differences are slight but the CTS-V to me looks light years better then the CTS). i never imagined that i would come home and tell my wife, i like a buick, but i did.

Buick has themself a winner





i apologize for all the spelling and grammar mistakes, been up all night with my 6 day old , and sorry to continually ramble on about this car, but it has me excited. go drive one for yourself.

[Phillip]

The Lucerne has gathered positive press thus far; MT implied that it was comfortable, yet fun drive in their COTY coverage. My only concern is that the large car segment is busier than in the days of the LeSabre; whereas the safe previous-generation Avalon was Buick's only real concern five years ago, the current-generation car is a much more assertive effort at securing market share, while another competitor by the name of Azera has jumped in the sandbox with attributes to menance both. Unfortunately, the Buick strikes me as the weaker link. I still can't let go of the fact that both of its engines are gunned down by the Korean and Japanese V6s in respect to performance and fuel economy...

[sigma]

Is the global 3.6 going to replace the 3800? And will Buick tune the Northstar to get it back up to 290HP? I think those two changes would do alot to help beat back Avalon and the new Hyundai. That and a 6 speed transmission.

[Phillip]

Originally Posted by sigma

And will Buick tune the Northstar to get it back up to 290HP?

Not as long as the DTS is still around IMO. Then again, they didn't perform all that differently in MTCOTY. Objective numbers were a wash, while subjective opinion were okay. Interestingly, the editors seemed to find both more entertaining to drive than the Impala SS...