2012 Buick Lacrosse Best Acceleration Review

The optional push-button start is much more than a modern way to ignite Buick LaCrosse’s responsive performance. It represents an appropriate beginning to a journey that unites engine, transmission and suspension in a formidable configuration. The Buick approach to motion is all about you possessing power as well as the ability to handle it. As you’ll discover, once you press Start in the Buick LaCrosse, an elaborate series of technologies begin communicating in anticipation of the driver’s shift into Drive. At that very moment, highly sophisticated systems spanning engine, transmission, available all-wheel drive, suspension, handling and safety are sharing data all in preparation to go. Sitting behind the wheel of a Buick means having the knowledge to discover and explore new lands. To help you navigate, the available voice and touch-screen-activated hard-drive-based Navigation System1 in Buick LaCrosse offers over 6 million miles of North American roads.
 
To save time, optional XM NavTraffic incorporates real-time traffic and road conditions right into your Nav screen, directing you around trouble spots and toward the most efficient route. And while you’re on the road, your hands don’t have to leave the wheel thanks to available Bluetooth. Buick LaCrosse lets you pair your Bluetooth-enabled phone with hands-free features to talk, store numbers and receive calls through the audio system. So go forth. There’s no telling what you’ll discover.And to entertain back-seat passengers, the Buick LaCrosse offers integrated dual rear seatback-mounted DVD screens (each one allows for independent video playback or use of an auxiliary device like a gaming console) with available companion wireless headphones.


Buick LaCrosse ensures that half the fun of getting there is the sights and sounds you discover inside. Buick’s QuietTuning process reduces, blocks and absorbs noise to make Buick LaCrosse an acoustic haven. The laminated windshield, triple door seals, minute body panel tolerances and other acoustical technologies throughout help outside noises stay outside. So then you can hear the optional Harman Kardon 5.1 Matrix surround sound system and its 11 speakers pumping out 384 watts of your favorite tunes. Speaking of which, there’s an available USB port1 to sync your iPod. Buick LaCrosse also offers an optional hard drive packing 40GB of navigation power and musicstoring capacity for thousands of songs. Like your home DVR , you can pause and replay live radio. If you’re listening to a game on available XM  and your cell phone rings, hit pause, take your call and after hanging up, pick up the action where you left off.

Is it a highly advanced piece of engine technology or a work of art Yes. Being a Buick means performance isn’t merely measured in numbers. It’s determined by how the driver uses, controls and channels that power. So while the optional 3.6L V-6 uses direct fuel injection and variable valve timing to generate 280 hp and 259 lb-ft of torque, that’s not the entire story. Pair it with an electronically controlled 6-speed automatic transmission, and now you’re fully maximizing performance while still delivering remarkable fuel efficiency. The controlled “hands-on” experience comes when you simply move the gear selector to the left for the clutchless manual operation of Driver Shift Control. A quick tap is all that’s needed for smooth, crisp shifts. You’ll also find a technological marvel inside the 2.4L 182-hp ECOTEC four-cylinder engine. Dual overhead cams, variable valve timing and direct fuel injection deliver the optimal balance of low-end torque and high-end horsepower. This ingenious engineering produces enhanced performance and an impressive 19 city/30 hwy mpg.

Fortunately, we never leave well enough alone in this case, traditional front suspensions. With all of LaCrosse’s horsepower, we created the HiPer (short for High Performance) Strut Front Suspension on the CXS model to handle it. Buick LaCrosse’s chief engineer describes it best: “The most significant attribute of HiPer Strut is what the driver doesn’t feel. Torque steer will be minimized (when steering pulls to one side during full acceleration); the normal tugging and vibration felt through the steering wheel on rough roads is significantly reduced. They simply experience a smoother, more controlled and more balanced driving experience.” In other words, it improves grip in dry and wet conditions, as well as the direct feel of the road.

The intelligent All-Wheel-Drive (AWD ) system available on the LaCrosse CXL model turns handling into a team sport. It’s one of the most advanced all-wheel-drive systems on the road. Combined with an electronic limited-slip differential, AWD helps optimize traction by distributing power to the wheels with the most grip. In low-traction situations, it can send up to 50 percent of engine torque to an individual front wheel and up to 85 percent to either rear wheel (as illustrated at right). Seamlessly integrated with StabiliTrak and traction control, AWD helps handle dry, wet and snowy roads.


Architects. Buick designers. At times like this, it’s hard to tell them apart. They both create one ofa- kind designs that reinvent what has gone before or in this case, The New Class of World Class. Using the very finest materials, they astound all who visit. The sweeping lines of LaCrosse never seem to end. Seductive and uninterrupted, they lead you from one curve to the next. This sense of continuity is found throughout LaCrosse. Like how wraparound headlamps flow into the side sweep spears, which merge seamlessly into the LED taillamps. Along the way, they complement Buick’s signature chrome portholes and waterfall grille. It’s been said by many an admirer, ”It takes you places even standing still.“ And isn’t that really the beauty of the world’s most striking designs?

 The Buick Design Philosophy of uninterrupted, flowing lines continues inside the sculpted LaCrosse interior. The ice-blue ambient lighting welcomes and calms you. Highly crafted, premium materials like contrasting French-seam stitching, smoked chrome accents and dark poplar wood grain appliqués surround you in style. Ventilated and heated leather-appointed front seats and a heated steering wheel are available for year-round comfort. As is a power rear-window sunshade. And the soft-touch instrument panel with real stitching not only provides a tactile feel, but its “low and away” design gives the cabin a sense of openness.