2017 LaCrosse. Has anyone test driven it?

[Golfersailor]

Congrats! Great looking car! That color looks great and is a huge favorite in this area. (Roll Tide) The red was our first choice but we bought the white tri-color thinking it won't show dirt as much as a darker color.
Same here.. I couldn't tell it had the start stop when I test drove it.. now, after a couple thousand miles on the odometer, I still have to look at the tachometer to tell that it shut off.

Maybe we meet in the Championship game! Go Bucks!!

 

[oldteach]

Wheels with a larger diameter always stiffen up a ride. In my personal opinion, larger wheels for a luxury car are more for looks than performance. It's a hard choice for me because I often feel the wheels are a big part of visual appeal. But I also like a soft, smooth ride in a luxury car. A bit of a dilemma for me. 😛

Sal...it is more than just the rim size. The 18 inch are plenty big for looks...it is not like the 17 inch offered previously, which road very nicely, but looked too small on the car wheel opening. The 18 inch now have Continental tires on the 2017, replacing the much stiffer Michelin Pilots, which makes the new 18 inch ride quite nice! When you add the stiffer sport suspension that comes with the 20 inchers(even when switched off), you really need to prepare yourself for feeling every bump in the road with the 20's. Now my friend has a sport BMW, drives like a bat out of hell, especially around corners (last time I drove with him,I was in the back seat and was thrown from side to side as he drove around corners, and bumps felt like craters....and it was a very expensive, brand new car. He loves it, but it was just not my cup of tea. I would not hesitate to get the 2017 Buick LaCrosse with the 18 inch rims and Continental tires, though.

 

[joeybuick]

I recently was in Paris and the majority of cars used by Uber drivers have stop/start engines, including the Opel that is the Buick Regal over here. Frankly, I found the stop/start extremely annoying, and was wondering just how noticeable it is in the LaCrosse. It was very noticeable in all the cars I drove in, and I drove in a lot of different ones. It is the one reason I might not buy a third Lacrosse (that and the fact that the rear end of the '17 LaCrosse looks like a Park Ave)

The Lacrosse engine was designed with the start/stop feature in mind. It's actually the first engine designed with this consideration. It's leaps and bounds above any start/stop on the market today. I also drove several cars in Europe, including a Mercedes C-Class (the new model) and it's inferior to the 2017 Lacrosse in this respect.

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Your best bet is going to be test driving them both and picking which one you like better. However, if your looking at the LaCrosse for it's comfort I don't think it would make sense to put 18" wheels on a premium model with the hiper strut suspension as it firms up the suspension quite a bit and goes against what you are looking for.

Yeah, that's what the guys in Detroit also told me. The 20" model was configured / tuned for those wheels, it would not be wise to change the wheels. The 20" wheels look nice, but comfort takes a huge hit in my opinion. 18" is the way to go for me.

 

[bobby49]

The Lacrosse engine was designed with the start/stop feature in mind. It's actually the first engine designed with this consideration.

You might want to explain which engine or engine/drivetrain you refer to.

 

[mikewo6o]

It has been awhile since any current 2017 owners have chimed-in with your impressions and experience with your new LaCrosse's. We are giving serious thought to purchasing one. Any updates appreciated, especially how the automatic shutdown is working out. Question, does the engine keep running at stop lights if the air conditioner is on? Also, how has your reliability been so far?

 

[XtraPerformance]

It has been awhile since any current 2017 owners have chimed-in with your impressions and experience with your new LaCrosse's. We are giving serious thought to purchasing one. Any updates appreciated, especially how the automatic shutdown is working out. Question, does the engine keep running at stop lights if the air conditioner is on? Also, how has your reliability been so far?

I have been loving my LaCrosse since purchasing it last September. It has done 6,616 quiet, comfortable, and effortless miles so far.

The auto stop/start has been great as well. The only time it is super noticeable is when you are stopped for an extended amount of time and the engine restarts before you take your foot off of the brake. Otherwise it isn't intrusive or harsh at all.

The engine will keep running when coming to a stop if the demand for cooling or heating is strong enough (ie: car still warming up or fan on a higher setting). I've noticed the stop/start not activating quite as much during the winter months as there is more demand for heat to warm the cabin.

As far as reliability goes so far I have not had any unexpected issues come up. However, for my first oil change within the next couple weeks I might have the dealership reset the transmission programming as it seems to shift a little harder than I expected it would. Not sure if I just have high expectations for the 8-speed after reading many reviews saying it is very smooth or if there is actually something weird going on with my transmission.

 

[mikewo6o]

I have been loving my LaCrosse since purchasing it last September. It has done 6,616 quiet, comfortable, and effortless miles so far.

The auto stop/start has been great as well. The only time it is super noticeable is when you are stopped for an extended amount of time and the engine restarts before you take your foot off of the brake. Otherwise it isn't intrusive or harsh at all.


The engine will keep running when coming to a stop if the demand for cooling or heating is strong enough (ie: car still warming up or fan on a higher setting). I've noticed the stop/start not activating quite as much during the winter months as there is more demand for heat to warm the cabin.

As far as reliability goes so far I have not had any unexpected issues come up. However, for my first oil change within the next couple weeks I might have the dealership reset the transmission programming as it seems to shift a little harder than I expected it would. Not sure if I just have high expectations for the 8-speed after reading many reviews saying it is very smooth or if there is actually something weird going on with my transmission.

Thank you XtraPerformance, very encouraging info. Seems like the start/stop feature is very intuitive and working well.

 

[Rick341]

I have been loving my LaCrosse since purchasing it last September. It has done 6,616 quiet, comfortable, and effortless miles so far.

The auto stop/start has been great as well. The only time it is super noticeable is when you are stopped for an extended amount of time and the engine restarts before you take your foot off of the brake. Otherwise it isn't intrusive or harsh at all.

The engine will keep running when coming to a stop if the demand for cooling or heating is strong enough (ie: car still warming up or fan on a higher setting). I've noticed the stop/start not activating quite as much during the winter months as there is more demand for heat to warm the cabin.

As far as reliability goes so far I have not had any unexpected issues come up. However, for my first oil change within the next couple weeks I might have the dealership reset the transmission programming as it seems to shift a little harder than I expected it would. Not sure if I just have high expectations for the 8-speed after reading many reviews saying it is very smooth or if there is actually something weird going on with my transmission.

I just thought I was racking up some miles. 🙂 I picked mine up the first of last October and I've put exactly half as many miles on mine (3,300 to date) and like you, haven't had a single issue (and believe me, I'm looking for one). I haven't noticed the hard shifting in the transmission but there have been a few times that the first shift of the eight seemed to shift hard when taking off from a dead stop, all the rest have been smooth. The wife says I have heavy foot. I've gotten used to the auto start/stop thing and I've grown to love it and wish it would stay in the off mode longer and more often. When the engine stops, it's completely still and quiet. Kind of like sitting in a car without the engine running. 😀 It's hardly noticeable to me, so I keep the RPM indicator displayed in the Heads Up Display in the windshield so I can tell when it shuts off. We're loving this car and I now understand why Buick is the only domestic manufacturer to get a top 3 rating from Consumer Reports. It's averaging 28 mpg overall but I'm a picky SOB and there are a few things I wish they would change such as, put LED lights where they installed incandescent bulbs, (mainly the tail and courtesy lights) The front valance looks great, but with the car's low profile, there's not much ground clearance and it scrubs on occasion when pulling out of a steep driveway or pulling up to a curb stop. I'm still trying to get parking down since I can't see the entire hood from the driver's seat and it's hard to tell how close I am to parked cars and curb stops. I was surprised to find the rear quarter panels flex as easily as they do and made of plastic but they look like the rest of the car and since they'll never rust, won't dent and are lighter, that may be a good modification from metal. I'm a bit uncomfortable with the length between oil changes. (It's got 3,300 miles and there's still 59% of usage left before the first oil change is due) I'm used to changing oil at 3,000 to 5,000 max and I think I'll take it to the dealer at 5,000 and have them change it just to be safe. Oh, and I think Buick classifies the Lacrosse as a full sized sedan but IMO, it's hard pressed to make a midsize category.
Not regretting this purchase one bit.

 

[XtraPerformance]

It's averaging 28 mpg overall but I'm a picky SOB and there are a few things I wish they would change such as, put LED lights where they installed incandescent bulbs, (mainly the tail and courtesy lights) The front valance looks great, but with the car's low profile, there's not much ground clearance and it scrubs on occasion when pulling out of a steep driveway or pulling up to a curb stop. I'm a bit uncomfortable with the length between oil changes. (It's got 3,300 miles and there's still 59% of usage left before the first oil change is due) I'm used to changing oil at 3,000 to 5,000 max and I think I'll take it to the dealer at 5,000 and have them change it just to be safe. Oh, and I think Buick classifies the Lacrosse as a full sized sedan but IMO, it's hard pressed to make a midsize category.
Not regretting this purchase one bit.

Add me to the list of being frustrated with the lack of full LEDs throughout the whole car. Every time I pass a car with LED headlights it just reminds me of my frustration (what a problem to have). Oil changes every 7,500 miles are pretty standard for newer GM cars (same with my Regal) so I wouldn't worry about it too much. I'm at 11% oil life left with 6,644 miles.

Another annoying thing is that despite advertising the availability of dark atmosphere (brown) all weather floor mats within the Buick Owner Resources app they are nowhere to be found. Only available in black from the dealer. 😕

 

[Greg B.]

I had one as a loaner. It is a much bigger car than I prefer so that may be coloring my impressions somewhat. It was nicely trimmed and library-quiet. I believe it had the 18" wheels and rode very well. It had scads of room inside the cabin and from that perspective it was great. However I must disagree with two points I read here. The start/stop system was good until it wasn't. A couple of times it restarted with a bit of a jolt or shudder which I found disconcerting only because it was out of the usual behavior. But the deal breaker for me would be that shifter. I hated it and could not get myself used to it. Going up to the top of the gate and left for reverse was illogical to me. Also going straight up got you neutral and not park. I do not understand why they made it so confusing.

 

[brknnksLacrosse]

I had one as a loaner recently it was really nice once I could figure out how to put the car in gear that is about the dumbest shifter idea I have seen. At first the auto stop start freaked me out because i stopped at light and it died which i thought something happened but really it was the normal feature working. I noticed though that if you didn't press on brake as hard once stopped it did not shut off but if pushed harder it did. It as really smooth and didn't notice it shutting of or turning back on along with no real hesitate when trying to take off from light. The 8 speed trans was different though from my 6 speed lacrosse trans. Drove a bit different which would be expected and rpms didn't go up very high at all unless stomped on it taking off fast. Liked that it did not have a huge A pillar blind spots. Seems to be a very nice upgrade from previous version that's for sure.

 

[XtraPerformance]

I had one as a loaner recently it was really nice once I could figure out how to put the car in gear that is about the dumbest shifter idea I have seen. At first the auto stop start freaked me out because i stopped at light and it died which i thought something happened but really it was the normal feature working. I noticed though that if you didn't press on brake as hard once stopped it did not shut off but if pushed harder it did. It as really smooth and didn't notice it shutting of or turning back on along with no real hesitate when trying to take off from light. The 8 speed trans was different though from my 6 speed lacrosse trans. Drove a bit different which would be expected and rpms didn't go up very high at all unless stomped on it taking off fast. Liked that it did not have a huge A pillar blind spots. Seems to be a very nice upgrade from previous version that's for sure.

So many people dislike the electronic shifter! I love it and think it is very easy to use.

What are your thoughts on the 8-speed transmission versus the 6-speed in the previous LaCrosse?

When you say the RPMs didn't go up very high did you have the accelerator pushed down all the way? The reason I ask is because the pedal goes down 80% and to get the last 20% you have to give it more pressure.

 

[twobrowns]

I agree with the ease of using the electronic shift. I had my lacrosse two months and i find it easy to use. IMO,having reverse up and over , a deliberate movement, to avoid putting it in reverse when wanting D. Also was wondering about the dedent at about 80 % throttle. Why ?

 

[Greg B.]

They could easily have created an electronic shifter that mimics a conventional shifter. I fail to understand why they designed this thing instead.

 

[Rick341]

Add me to the list of those who like the electronic shifter the way it is. I think reverse on most standard shift patterns is either left or right and then up or down so to me, up and left feels familiar. I like that just a touch down from reverse and it's in Drive.. Just discovered that I don't have to push the Park button and put it in Park before shutting the engine off. It automatically goes into Park when the engine start / stop button is pushed..

 

[DonP]

I expect to be in a new Lacrose next week, A move from a '04 LeSabre, which I will miss as a full size 6-pax car with bench front seats.
The shifter is a change, but change is common. Not so long a go (well, maybe long ago) at work I drive a Plymouth with the push-button drive to the left of the wheel - talk about weird.
Having reverse offset is not unlike some 4+-speeds manuals. I can get used to that, as I have adapted to H-pattern on the column, push-button, 3, 4, and 5 on the floor, and so on.
I just hope it will be reliable!

 

[XtraPerformance]

I agree with the ease of using the electronic shift. I had my lacrosse two months and i find it easy to use. IMO,having reverse up and over , a deliberate movement, to avoid putting it in reverse when wanting D. Also was wondering about the dedent at about 80 % throttle. Why ?

Not sure why exactly they implemented the dedent at 80% throttle but it might be the side effect of the unintended acceleration "issue" Toyota had years ago? Who knows for sure though. I didn't even notice it at first until I read about it in a service bulletin.

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Add me to the list of those who like the electronic shifter the way it is. I think reverse on most standard shift patterns is either left or right and then up or down so to me, up and left feels familiar. I like that just a touch down from reverse and it's in Drive.. Just discovered that I don't have to push the Park button and put it in Park before shutting the engine off. It automatically goes into Park when the engine start / stop button is pushed..

I find the shifter very easy to operate without having to think about it or look down to see whether I am in reverse, drive, park, etc. Good to know that it will automatically go into park when the start/stop button is pushed. I didn't know that!

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I expect to be in a new Lacrose next week, A move from a '04 LeSabre, which I will miss as a full size 6-pax car with bench front seats.
The shifter is a change, but change is common. Not so long a go (well, maybe long ago) at work I drive a Plymouth with the push-button drive to the left of the wheel - talk about weird.
Having reverse offset is not unlike some 4+-speeds manuals. I can get used to that, as I have adapted to H-pattern on the column, push-button, 3, 4, and 5 on the floor, and so on.
I just hope it will be reliable!

Goodluck with the purchase of your new LaCrosse (if you haven't purchased it yet)! Going to be quite the upgrade from your LeSabre to the LaCrosse but I'm sure you will love it! Let us know what trim, color, and packages you end up going for! 😀

 

[bobby49]

Two speed pushbutton? Yes, I had that in a Dodge Royal.

 

[DonP]

Premium, White Frost, with everything but the sport suspension & 20" wheels. Mainly the wife's drive. So far so good. All the electronics and configuration via touch screen is different, and it takes quite a few minutes to run through the settings and sort out where everything is and how it works. It is smaller than the LeSabre, noticeably less trunk space. I think the biggest improvements over the '04 include are the back-up camera and some of the accident avoidance features. The parking assist is, well, different, and useful I guess. Interesting that the manual suggests not letting the car sit without some run time for more than 10 or so days. Much smaller gas tank - 15.8 gal vs. 18.5 gal - that is a bummer and a with the funky cap-less filler to boot! {Not all progress is.]

Lack of an available CD player is also a bummer.

As best I can sort guess the FSM will not be available from Helm until perhaps March 2018. (The 2016 is due out in March 2017)

 

[Rick341]

Premium, White Frost, with everything but the sport suspension & 20" wheels. Mainly the wife's drive. So far so good. All the electronics and configuration via touch screen is different, and it takes quite a few minutes to run through the settings and sort out where everything is and how it works. It is smaller than the LeSabre, noticeably less trunk space. I think the biggest improvements over the '04 include are the back-up camera and some of the accident avoidance features. The parking assist is, well, different, and useful I guess. Interesting that the manual suggests not letting the car sit without some run time for more than 10 or so days. Much smaller gas tank - 15.8 gal vs. 18.5 gal - that is a bummer and a with the funky cap-less filler to boot! {Not all progress is.]

Lack of an available CD player is also a bummer.

As best I can sort guess the FSM will not be available from Helm until perhaps March 2018. (The 2016 is due out in March 2017)

Same car here..even same color and I completely agree about the trunk space and size of the fuel tank. I think the display says I have over 400 miles of fuel immediately after a fill up but it sure seems like it's shorter than that even when averaging better than 28 mpg and the trunk space is limited unless we fold down the back seats. I too missed the CD player but I have over 200 favorite songs stored in my smart phone and since the car will connect to my phone via Bluetooth, I can listen to what I want when I want. You can also transfer any amount of your favorite songs onto a flash drive, plug it into the USB port on the car and then search by song title or artist and play any song either by voice command or on the on-screen display and a flash drive is tiny in size and holds a lot more music as compared to all the CDs I used to keep in the car. I do wish there was a built in hard drive where you store the your music, pictures, etc.
Might be just me, but I really like the cap less filler for the fuel tank. Much quicker and no longer have a cap to reinstall or worry about it being tight enough.
Did you find a reason for a reason for the suggestion to not let the car sit for more than 10 days without runtime? I haven't been able to find that in the owner's manual but I've only briefed through it and I'm interested in why they would make that recommendation since I'm sure a lot pf people might not drive as often as most.
We're just a bit short of 4,000 miles on ours and still learning.