2010 Buick LaCrosse CXS user reviews

Pros Good interior space.

Cons Too many to list. See Summary.

Summary Caveats: It was a rental from a nationally well known agency. I only drove it for six days. I usually drive Japanese cars. Attention to detail impresses me.

My gripes:

1) There was no parking brake. That is, no button, pedal or lever that I could find to activate it. To make it worse, there was no driver's manual, and there was only a DVD. Now, how the heck was that going to help? In the end, I just put the transmission in park and shut if off, hoping that there was some sort of automatic parking brake. Still don't know.
2) The seats were uncomfortable. Like some cars I've driven, the headrests jut so far forward that it causes me to bend my head and leaves little support for my upper back. Long distance driving leaves me with a sore neck. I've run into this in Toyotas and Nissans too. Only the Honda seats feel comfortable to me. But, I'm short. Maybe tall people like it.
3) And, it was a power seat with a bunch of levers and dials. I had to spend 15 minutes in the rental car parking lot trying to figure out how to get the seat into the right position. Again, no manual.
4) The placement of the seat belt receptacles in the rear seat were too close together in the middle, with the result that my son's car seat covered all of them. To latch the seat belts, we had to shift the car seat (with him in it) back and forth to latch the side seats. They must have decided on the placement with large people sitting in the outboard positions.
5) Non-standard labels on the buttons and control levers. Again, without a manual and with non-intuitive labels, I couldn't figure out what half the buttons on the darn instrument panel were for. Imagine a pilot getting into an aircraft without any training and no manual to refer to. That's what I hate about rental cars and American cars in particular.
5) The view outside the car was atrocious. The A and C pillars were thick and obscured all the corners of the car, the most important views. The side window sills were high. The rear window was tiny. It felt like sitting in a cave. I couldn't see the front of the hood or the lip of the trunk. Backing it up and turning into a tight space were stressful exercises. Especially since it was a rental.
6) And, for such a "big" car, it had a laughably small trunk. In one of the dumbest design ideas I've seen, there were huge housings for the trunk hinges that cut out at least 15% of the potential trunk space. I think my nephew's Toyota Corolla could have held more. Ironically, because that's one of the reasons I opted for an upgrade - to get more trunk space. Who designed that thing?
7) There was a MPG indicator prominently shown in the center of the dash. It read: average MPG. When I got into the car, it showed 22.2 MPG. It showed that even with the car not moving. I put several hundred miles on the car. The mileage indicator hardly moved from that figure. There was no way to tell if you were driving efficiently or not. Maybe there was some button I could push to change it, but without the non-existent manual, how could I tell? What a useless indicator.
8) I spent some time looking around for a cigarette lighter outlet and an audio jack so I could plug in my iPhone to use as a navigator. In their misguided design brains, they decided to put the cigarette lighter and an audio jack at the far rear of the center console under two hinged covers. One of those covers was a tray that I think they intended to hold an iPod. However, it was so far back that it was behind my elbow, which would have made manipulating the iPod impossible. Secondly, it was so far away from the dashboard that I could not plug my iPhone into the lighter outlet and the audio jack and put the iPhone up on the dash in front of me. It would have required cables at least 4-5 feet long.

I had to place the iPhone on top of the console next to the shift lever. When I needed to see it, I had to pick it up and hold it up, taking my eyes off the road, or have my wife look at it for me. Doh...

How did it drive? OK, I guess. I'm used to smaller cars, and with the obstructed outside views, I had a hard time parking it. Maybe it's just me, but I couldn't recommend this car to someone else. YMMV, if the indicator would tell you. Hahaha...

Pros The style easily blows away the competition. Interior quality is competitive. Such a huge leap over the previous generation LaCrosse, that the old one will be completely forgotten. As it should be.

Cons While this car easily trumps the lame Camry (erp, Lexus) ES, $20 of extra effort would make a noticeable difference. The plastichrome accents are cheap looking. The use of fake woodgrain has no place in a luxury sedan.

Summary I'm concerned that I'm under 40 and I find a Buick attractive. The first time I saw this car, I thought it was a new BMW or Lexus GS. The short front and rear overhangs and sleek roofline is not typical of most american sedans. A colleague just bought a white one and I can't believe how good it looks. After driving one, a well optioned 3.0 rental, I now prefer this vehicle whenever I travel. It's far better than a Camry/Lexus ES, better styled than the generic Genesis, and sportier than a 6cyl Chrysler 300. If I were to purchase one as a daily commuter, the areas of low-rentness would have to be addressed first... I currently drive an Audi that has a impeccable interior, so fake woodgrain with no optional upgrade is a non-starter. And I'd like to see what the 3.6 engine adds to the performance. But overall, I am really proud of GM. This car is absolutely stunning and, with ongoing improvements, Buick is going to continue to steal customers from Lexus and the Germans.

Pros Absolutely gorgeous in every aspect, handles like a champ especially in sports mode and feels like riding on a gentle cloud in regular mode.Amazing audio, very quite ride and spacious.This luxury vehicle gets attention everywhere it goes

Cons Breaks are a little sluggish but i think its designed like that so it doesn't jolt the car when stopping.

Summary All I can say is if you really want to know more about it, seriously go test drive one...try the CXS or the CXL AWD...fully loaded on either one I will assure you that you will be very impressed with this vehicle and restore faith in American made cars once again.

Pros automobile. The drive one the engine started was pretty tame, and controlled. I think that the Russelheim division of GM did a pretty good analysis of how the Buick should handle. the strides were pretty smooth.

Cons As for the negatives, the quality of materials did not impress me. Too much false materials to make me kind of disappointed in GM's rather abysmal attempt at making a luxurious cabin

Summary There are better choices. I like the ride quality of the Lexus ES better. A supremely better car, inside and out. The Toyota Avalon is also a much floatier choice for the one that prefer better quality refinement, regarding engine noise, transmission quality. And as well , long term residual as well as long-term value, will suit the Japanese competition unfortunately better.

I can even say that the Hyundai Genesis at 32K is a supremely better deal than the top of the line Buick Lacrosse, due to a better tranny, Stronger engine, and more luxurious accoutrements in overall.