Buick Lacrosse

Buick LaCrosse

At the end of a recent business meeting, I walked to the parking lot with another participant, continuing the discussion that had gone on in the session. As coincidence would have it, we were parked next to each other.

"That's a really nice-looking car," she said of the LaCrosse that Buick had loaned us for this review before getting into her Acura.

Back in Detroit, a Buick executive should have experienced a giddy moment of joy. Drivers like her are the very people Buick hopes to reach with the completely redesigned 2010 LaCrosse sedan - people who have abandoned American luxury cars for foreign nameplates.

"We've gotten a lot of surprised comments from people who say, 'That's a Buick?'" said Steve Parsons of Parsons Buick of Plainville. He said the first LaCrosse he sold was to a buyer who traded in a 2009 Acura TL with 1,200 miles.

"We had ordered the car with him in mind, but when it finally arrived, he told us that he had won the Acura in a drawing and that he was out of the market," Parsons said. "The salesman said OK, but invited him to come in and take a look at the car. When he did, he found the LaCrosse more comfortable, quieter and nicer to drive. He decided to trade."

The new LaCrosse has the best of all worlds: Good handling that should please the import buyer, a comfortable and quiet ride and an attractive design inside and out.

There are three LaCrosse trim levels. The base CX is anything but basic with a long list of standard equipment. Our mid-level CXL was even more luxuriously outfitted with leather upholstery. At the top of the lineup is the CXS that targets buyers who want a sportier sedan.

The CX and CXL are powered by a 255-horsepower, direct injection, 3.0-liter V-6, and are paired with a six-speed automatic transmission and front-wheel drive. This engine also powers the new Cadillac SRX.

CXL buyers have the option of stepping up to an all-wheel drive; this should be a popular option in New England. Buick promises to add a four-cylinder engine during the 2010 model run.

At the top of the lineup is the CXS, with a 280-horsepower, direct injected, 3.6-liter V-6. It too uses a six-speed automatic but is offered only with front-wheel drive. To sharpen the handling, a sport suspension is included.

The car's performance with either V-6 is more than adequate and highly refined. Our review vehicle, with the 3.0-liter V-6, reached 60 miles per hour in 8.4 seconds. The car felt livelier than that performance suggests; much livelier, actually. Trials in California of the CXS, with its 3.6-liter V-6, produced a more competitive 7.6-second time for the dash to 60 miles per hour. Both engines were precise while accomplishing this run; the transmission also turned in a flawless performance. The automatic gearbox, however, sometimes delayed downshifting when it came time to pass or merge. The ride is quiet, soft, comfortable and well-controlled. That is a difficult combination to pull off effectively, but Buick has done it. One ES 350 owner who took a brief ride called the LaCrosse highly competitive with his Lexus. That should have brought another moment of joy to the Buick executive.