First Drive Review
A peculiar thing happened in the days following our first drive of the 2014 LaCrosse: We began to notice examples of the full-size Buick everywhere. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that our headquarters is near Detroit, but nevertheless, the LaCrosse had been flying so far below our collective radar it was sharing air space with hang gliders and crop dusters, virtually invisible. And this observation doesn’t bother Buick in the least. A quick look at the sales numbers reveals that Buick has peddled more than half a million LaCrosse sedans worldwide (including a sizable number to 30-somethings in China) since its 2009 introduction and 57,000 in the U.S. in 2012 alone.
Even the Pretty Ones Need a Little Sprucing Up
To spice things up for the 2014 model year, Buick brought in its seasoned flagship for a little dry-dock work. Appearance updates include a new front fascia with a waterfall grille and sculpted hood, plus headlamp housings that have been massaged for a more angular appearance. Wing-shaped LED daytime running lamps and articulating HID headlamps are optional. Base cars receive a wing-shaped LED light pipe and DRLs in the lower front fascia. Astern, the LaCrosse gets a reworked rear fascia wearing a full-width chrome accent, wraparound LED taillamps, and a new trunklid with an integrated spoiler. Behind the cosmetics, all LaCrosses get active grille shutters that close at highway speeds to smooth aerodynamic flow and aid fuel efficiency.
Four trim levels are available: the base model, the literally labeled Leather edition, and the Premium I and Premium II. (Details on pricing can be found here.) Standard features include dual-zone climate control, a high-res center screen, remote start, next-generation IntelliLink connectivity, and an eight-way power driver’s seat. A redesigned center stack ditches the smorgasbord-like layout of the previous car, reducing the number of infotainment hard controls from 17 to a mere seven. It’s still a bit weak on storage cubbies, however, with most personal items—keys, phones, etc.—fighting for space in the two cup holders.
To make life easier for buyers who want it all, there’s the Ultra Luxury package, which pairs Buick-exclusive Sangria (code for deep purplish) and Ebony leather on the seats and door and console armrests with a synthetic suede headliner. The treatment makes for a pleasing, but dark, environment. Turn up the color intensity a few notches, and it could pass for the interior of Prince’s tour bus.
Buick has worked hard to keep the cacophony of the harsh outside world at bay, employing acoustical laminate on the windshield and front side glass, expanded baffles in the roof pillars, and melt-on sound deadeners throughout the lower body, essentially creating a rolling anechoic chamber. Buick calls it QuietTuning, and the deafening silence was only occasionally penetrated under hard acceleration or on particularly broken pavement.
