Buick essentially rebodies the Cadillac DTS
By Scott Oldham Email
Date posted: 04-03-2006
Over the years, we've driven cars that disappoint, cars that irk, cars that thrill. We've even sampled a few that made us laugh. But the 2006 Buick Lucerne CXL V8 is the only car we've ever driven that has caused us physical pain.
Our Platinum Metallic test vehicle was packed with options, including heated and cooled front seats that cost an extra $1,075. The cooling part of the package was fine, but using the seat heaters, turned the Buick's front seats into torture devices. Now we know what it's like to sit on an open flame.
Logbook entries on the subject included: "Call the burn unit, I just used the seat heaters."
After a few days we all learned to avoid the seat heater button on the door panel, but the Lucerne's botched bun warmers aren't the only thing about Buick's newest sedan that left us cold.
Poor performance
To create the Lucerne CXL V8, which is the brand's first full-size, front-wheel-drive, V8-powered luxury sedan, Buick essentially rebodied the Cadillac DTS and shaved a few grand off the sticker price.
Sound idea. Buick needed to replace its long-in-tooth Park Avenue, and the new model would have a V8 engine, a novelty for its class. Problem is, the DTS isn't exactly a spring chicken. The bulk of its hardware has been around since the late 1990s and it's all showing its age.
Even the 4.6-liter Northstar V8 is graying around its temples. In the Lucerne, it's rated at 275 horsepower at 5,600 rpm and 290 pound-feet of torque at 4,400 rpm. Impressive numbers five or six years ago, but the much smaller V6 engines in the 2006 Hyundai Azera and 2006 Toyota Avalon nearly match that output. In fact, the 3.5-liter V6 in the Toyota is rated at 280 hp.
At 3,869 pounds the Lucerne is also heavy for its class, and to make matters worse, Buick backs the V8 with a four-speed automatic transmission, which is about as cutting edge as a cassette deck. It shifts smoothly enough for a luxury car, but its gear ratios are too tall to give the Lucerne an alert, ready-when-you-are feel.
As expected, the Buick's acceleration times aren't really any better than the times posted by its V6-powered competition. The Lucerne isn't slow, but it isn't the banker's hot rod its V8 would lead you to believe. At the test track 0-60 mph took 7.7 seconds and the quarter-mile was completed in 15.5 seconds at 92 mph.
On the same day at the same strip we tested an Azera and it ran from zero to 60 mph in 7.2 seconds and matched the Lucerne's quarter-mile performance. The last Avalon we tested was even quicker. Buy a Lucerne with the standard V6 and you should expect to be shut down by the ice cream truck.
Of course the V6 Hyundai and Toyota are without the Lucerne's throaty V8 soundtrack, which is certainly worth something, but they're much more fuel-efficient than the Buick. We averaged less than 14 mpg during our week in the Lucerne, 21 mpg in the Avalon and 17.7 mpg in the Azera.
Where's the power steering?
Order the top-of-food-chain Lucerne CXS and you get the V8 standard as well as Cadillac's Magnetic Ride Control suspension, and larger 18-inch wheels and Bridgestone tires. This is the setup we praised in our first drive of the Lucerne.
This midlevel CXL model, which goes without the magnetic suspension and 18-inch rubber, isn't nearly as well sorted. For starters, its 17-inch Continental tires struggle under the mass of the oversized sedan. They howl in protest every time you turn the wheel and provide little grip. The suspension, which features load-leveling air shocks in the rear, is also tuned too softly and relies too heavily on the electronic stability control to get the car around corners. StabiliTrak is a good system, but can only do so much. Our best run through our slalom test was just 59 mph, which is 3 mph slower than the Azera tested on the same day.
With that big engine sitting between its front tires, it shouldn't be a surprise that understeer is the Lucerne's preferred cornering attitude. In tight bends the outside edge of its front tires takes quite a beating, and there's torque steer if you wood it on the way out.
Like its tires, the Buick's magnetic steering system doesn't like the turns much either. Its ratio is quick enough, but there's too much assist and off-center response is oddly abrupt. Its power assist also stopped working for about an hour after we drove the car hard through a series of corners. Cooked its fluid is our guess. It had been awhile since we drove a car with manual steering, and we hope it's a long time before we experience it again.
On open road, the Lucerne is happier. In long, fast sweepers, the Buick's soft suspension leans over slowly and takes a nice set. And the ride, while a little floaty for our taste, is agreeable if you like that kind of thing.
Its light steering helps hide the Lucerne's size around town, but the car's huge 42.2-foot turning radius (44 feet with the 18-inch wheels) makes parking and U-turns a problem. Grave Digger, the 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe and the USS Ronald Reagan all have tighter turning circles.
Its brakes are also inexcusably deficient. Pedal feel isn't bad, but its best stop from 60 mph took up almost 138 feet, which is worse than most of the SUVs we've tested lately.
Quiet interior
Inside, the Lucerne is a tranquil place. Interior sound levels at full throttle and at 70 mph are lower than we recorded in the 2007 Lexus ES 350 we tested recently.
The rest of the Lucerne's interior, however, doesn't hold up against its competition. With the exception of its chrome metal door handles, which are appropriately upscale, the Lucerne's interior doesn't have the premium feel we expected. Seat comfort is average, the cupholders are laughably shallow, and forward vision is blocked by A-pillars the size of railroad ties. Our test car also had several fit and finish issues, including a loose headliner.
Yes, there's an abundance of wood and leather, but the materials are average for a car with a $35,000 sticker price. As is the Lucerne's equipment list. Despite its sticker, our Lucerne did not have a sunroof, a telescopic steering wheel or one-touch up windows. Those in the Snowbelt, however, will appreciate its optional heated windshield washer fluid and its remote vehicle starter system. Six airbags and OnStar are standard.
Link: http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drives/FullTests/articleId=109862#2
