2007 Buick Lucerne Review

Superb full-size luxury car.

Introduction

The Buick Lucerne is the brand's flagship sedan. Its clean lines are suggestive of fine European imports yet maintain Buick traditions. Inside, Lucerne is elegant, comfortable and easy. Underway, it's smooth and quiet; but with precise steering and a chassis that handles winding roads with aplomb. we find the Lucerne to be a plush, highly competent full-size sedan at a compelling price.

The Lucerne CXS is certainly the most enjoyable of the new Buicks to drive, thanks to its powerful V8 engine and Magnetic Ride Control, an adaptive sports suspension developed for the Corvette. Yet we might opt for the Lucerne CXL V6, a very enjoyable car to drive, with agile handling and plenty of performance. The V6-powered Lucerne CXL is positioned to compete against the Toyota Avalon and Lexus ES 330, while the V8-powered CXS aspires to the Lexus GS and Infiniti M luxury sedans.

As it has done from time to time throughout its 103-year history, Buick is rethinking, renewing, revising and rationalizing its model lineup. The Buick Lucerne replaced the Park Avenue and LeSabre when launched as a 2006 model. The Lucerne benefits greatly from the structure and chassis hardware that it shares with the recently launched Cadillac DTS. In this, Lucerne is not breaking tradition but confirming it. The biggest Buicks have shared body structure with Cadillacs since the 1930s, if not before; and they have shared significant chassis pieces since 1965.

Lineup

The 2007 Buick Lucerne is offered in three trim levels.

CX ($25,515) comes with a 3.8-liter V6, four-speed automatic transmission, cloth seats for five people, a power driver's seat, power windows, power door locks, manually operated heating and air conditioning, AM/FM/CD with six speakers and steering wheel audio controls, cruise control, remote keyless entry, and 16-inch aluminum wheels. Six-passenger seating is available by ordering the front bench seat ($295). A Comfort and Convenience package ($795) adds an electrochromic rearview mirror, Universal Home Remote, illuminated visors with vanity mirrors, intermittent front wipers with Rainsense, and body-colored outside mirrors with power adjustment and heat. The Driver Confidence Package ($795) includes rear park assist, remote vehicle start and theft alarm.

CXL is available with the V6 ($28,530) or a 4.6-liter V8 ($30,540). Either way, CXL upgrades with leather seats (for five or six passengers), a leather-wrapped steering wheel, a power passenger's seat, dual-zone automatic climate control, and 17-inch painted aluminum wheels. The suspension is tuned a little tighter and includes Airlift rear shocks for automatic level control. All items from the Comfort and Convenience package (see above) are also standard. The CXL V8 adds GM's Magnasteer magnetic assist steering, with a faster ratio; and firms up suspension damping a little further. To help maintain better control in adverse conditions GM's StabiliTrak electronic stability control system is available as an option on the CXL V8 ($495).

CXS ($34,545) comes standard with the V8, 18-inch wheels, StabiliTrak, Magnasteer, and Magnetic Ride Control for the best handling available in a Lucerne. CXS also has upgraded leather seats with eight-way power and memory for driver and front passenger. Audio is a nine-speaker, 280-watt Harman Kardon setup with standard XM Satellite Radio.

Options for the Lucerne include heated/cooled front seats; heated leather-wrapped steering wheel; factory-installed remote start; Ultrasonic Rear Parking Assist; rain-sensing windshield wiper system; the first heated windshield washer fluid application in its class; six-disc in-dash CD changer with MP3 capability; and a satellite-based navigation system, now with touch-screen capability.

Safety features include six airbags: a dual-stage driver's front airbag and a dual-depth front passenger bag, front-seat side-impact airbags, and full-coverage side-impact curtain airbags. The front seatbelts come with pretensioners, so be sure to wear them. Traction control, anti-lock brakes, and a tire pressure monitor are standard on all models. OnStar comes standard and includes the first year of Safe and Sound service; OnStar operators will dispatch rescue crews if your airbag deploys and you don't respond to calls, a great feature for you and the rest of your family. The first-ever application of a dual-depth passenger airbag has two sections; a smaller section deploys in a less severe crash or if the passenger is small or seated nearer the dashboard. In a bad crash or if the passenger is not wearing their seat belt the full bag deploys for maximum effect.

Walkaround

There is no mistaking the Lucerne for anything but a Buick. The Lucerne has a handsome appearance with a good stance thanks to its long wheelbase and wide track. The classic Buick waterfall grill blends in well with the large integrated headlamps. The side profile, with its steeply raked windshield, is reminiscent of several recently introduced European sedans such as the VW Passat and Audi A6. The rear of the Lucerne features a high trunk line with nicely integrated tail lamps.

Chrome trim is kept to a minimum. The only stylistic link to Buicks of old is the row of small portholes on each of the front fenders. They are also the only clue to what's under the hood: the V6-powered Lucerne gets three portholes on each side while V8-powered models get four on each side. Flashback to the Fifties, when more powerful Buicks had more holes. But they didn't serve any real function then, and still do not today. Still, we like them.

Two new exterior colors, Light Quartz Metallic and Gold Mist Metallic, are available for '07.

The Buick Lucerne is built on the same mechanical platform as the Cadillac DTS, which was also all-new for 2006. Now in its second year of production, deemed the sweet spot for some buyers, the Lucerne benefits from the newest techniques for building a quiet luxury car.

These include hydroformed frame rails for a stiffer body and use of laminated steel with plenty of sound deadening material placed in strategic locations. Buick engineers shaped the outside of the door mirrors to lessen wind noise. Laboratory test results show that the Lucerne is quieter than a Lexus ES 330. This was also evident in a back-to-back driving comparison.

Interior

Much like the exterior, the Lucerne's interior is cleanly designed with just enough touches of wood and chrome trim to make it luxurious without being opulent. The dashboard is fairly traditional in design with a smallish instrument pod containing three round gauges in front of the steering wheel.

The center stack is located high up for easy access, and contains large knobs for operating the climate control and audio system.

Standard on all '07 Buicks is OnStar with Turn-by-Turn service, which allows customers to talk to a live advisor, who in turn downloads complete step-by-step directions to the vehicle through the OnStar system. Audio directions are then automatically played through the vehicle's stereo as they are needed, triggered by the OnStar system's GPS capabilities. Drivers can be directed to their destinations without having to take their hands from the wheel or eyes from the road.

And a touch-screen navigation system that can display a map is also available.

Buyers who want seating for six can order a traditional front bench seat. Most people instead opt for bucket seats, which provide a good level of comfort and come with an armrest in the center console.

Rear-seat passengers are well taken care of with good headroom and excellent leg room. The long wheelbase also allows for a wider-opening rear door with almost no intrusion from the wheel well, making it easy to get in and out of the car.

Driving Impression

The Buick Lucerne is a smooth but spirited car. The ride quality is excellent, thanks to its long wheelbase and stiff body structure. In back-to-back driving along a stretch of less-than-perfect road, we found the Lucerne's ride quality comparable to that of the benchmark Toyota Avalon. Buick loyalists who are used to a cushy ride will not complain about the Lucerne. It might be stiffer than they are used to, but it's still plenty smooth.

The steering is precise and responsive, and the suspension is well controlled, even at high speeds along not always smooth roads. After driving Buick Lucerne models over the course of several hours, winding among the vineyards in the Santa Ynez Valley just north of Santa Barbara, California, we found the Lucerne handles with aplomb, exhibiting no wallowing or causing any untoward moments. A rigid chassis is the key to balancing sharp handling with a smooth ride, and Lucerne really delivers.

The CXS comes with Magnetic Ride Control, which we found improved the handling a bit, though the differences were not dramatic. Magnetic Ride Control is an adaptive damping system designed to enhance overall ride performance. With Magnetic Ride Control, the shock absorbers are filled with a synthetic fluid in which magnetically charged particles are suspended. By applying electric current to the particles, a computer continuously adjusts the fluid's viscosity according to varying road surfaces and driving styles. The system, which first appeared on the sporty Cadillac XLR, and then the Corvette, delivers a quicker response than earlier adaptive-damping setups that continuously adjusted the shock absorbers' main valves.

Indeed, when we tried a CXL V6, we were pleasantly surprised at just how well it performed. With the lighter V6, the Lucerne seemed more agile on twisty roads. The front end felt a bit lighter. The V6 models also suffer less from torque steer, a slight tugging felt through the steering wheel when turning and accelerating at the same time. As an additional benefit the V6 Lucerne is rated as a Super Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle (SULEV). The V6 is EPA-rated 19/28 mpg city/highway, while the V8 is rated 17/26 mpg.

So which model? If you don't demand instant power when accelerating away from traffic lights or merging onto freeways, the V6 is probably a better bet because it costs less and gets better fuel economy. We were pleased with its performance. However, GM's excellent StabiliTrak electronic stability control system is available with the V8 models, which improves driving control by reducing the chance of skidding. StabiliTrak is well worth having. And this car performs well with a modern double overhead-cam V8.

Summary

The Buick Lucerne is an attractive near-luxury car offering looks, features, quality and value. If you like a modern, comfortable ride with competent road manners, the Lucerne, with either a V6 or V8 engine, is well worth consideration. It comes with a longer warranty (4 years/50,000 miles) than Buick has offered in the past, and Buick has been doing quite nicely in recent J.D. Power and Associates surveys on product quality.

NewCarTestDrive.com correspondent John Rettie files this report from Santa Barbara, California.