A Lacrosse, a Continental, and an Acadia walk into a bar...

"Quadradeuce" (quadradeuce) 03/16/2018 at 20:49 • Filed to: Bizarre cross-shopping

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My wife and I took off work this afternoon to test drive a few cars, sans kids, in our ongoing effort to replace the family truckster. We stopped by a GMC/Buick dealer and a Lincoln dealer to drive the lacrosse, Acadia, and Continental. Here’s our initial impressions.

Lacrosse. I have a hard time getting past the nameplate, but this was a pleasant surprise. Very comfortable for my 6'5" frame, very nice interior for the price, very quiet even at 75mph, and overall a decent full size sedan. Engine and transmission worked so well you were never aware they existed, which is ideal for the cross country duty we will use it for. Cons include poor visibility, Ok stereo (Bose is overrated), and the badges on the front and back. But seriously, this car is quiet as hell and just plain comfortable.

Acadia. Much cheaper interior than the lacrosse while also costing $10k more. Lots of room, including a functional third row. A bit smaller than the Enclave and Traverse, which is a plus. Better visibility, but noisier. Overall, a decent alternative to a minivan.

Continental Reserve. This was towards the top of my list. We test drove a very low miles certified used model. Right away I was surprised by how noisy it was. Not only was the engine louder than our 9-7x, but there was a noticable squeal coming from a rear wheel. Maybe a rusty brake disc? Transmission seemed be be uncertain and searching for gears. The 2.7 Ecoboost sounded like a truck motor. Seats were very comfortable with gobs of settings, but thinner padding left me concerned about long term comfort. Visibility was better than the lacrosse. Best stereo of the group. Overall I was not as impressed as I was hoping going in.

We also sat in an MKX. While very nice inside, I have no idea why anyone buys a midsize crossover if they have kids. Rear legroom is terrible. Just terrible.

There you have it, the lacrosse is on top at the moment. Apparently we’re octogenarians at heart.

merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc > Quadradeuce 03/16/2018 at 21:19

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You could do a caddy XTS, should be same as the Buick. Or better yet, the CT6? Pre owned should be somewhat reasonable.

Amoore100 > Quadradeuce 03/16/2018 at 22:21

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Is the Regal just too small? The new Sportback is quite a looker and the issue of “Buick” badging can be easily remedied with a few Opel badges all around.

There’s also the TourX, but I take issue with having body cladding on a non-raised wagon—if my car is going to be ugly, I better be able to take it off road goddamnit!

Quadradeuce > merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc 03/16/2018 at 22:34

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I really like the CT6 but it is quite a bit more than the lacrosse. We’re going to test drive one to see if it’s worth it.

Quadradeuce > Amoore100 03/16/2018 at 22:40

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We are very interested in the tourx, but I’ve only had a chance to sit in it at the car show. My local dealer has no idea when they’ll show up on the lot. I’m waiting for the typical auto journo hit piece about it being a slow seller despite the fact that they are scarce away from the coasts.

I also need to see the essence trim, because the cloth seats were not comfortable on the mid grade model at the show. I also want to sit in the GS seats. I literally sit in my car for up to 24 hours at a time. I need good seats.

boxrocket > Quadradeuce 03/17/2018 at 20:00

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I’d be concerned about the longevity and durability of the lacrosse. We’ve had a few used ones with the new body style (which, in reference to all of gm, buick is making the best-looking vehicles in the company), and they look surprisingly worn with under 20k miles. The new engine and platform of the acadia give me pause, especially with as many problems as the old Lambda quartet had.

I’d recommend looking at the Volvo S90 (and V90!), and the V60 will be on sale soon if you want something a bit smaller. Also the Lexus GS, and someone already mentioned the Kia/Hyundai/Genesis offerings, and a Mazda CX-9.

I actually test drove an MKX with my mom yesterday, and we liked the rear legroom, though it’s designed as a two-row-only vehicle, and we found there was more flexibility in the MKT that we didn’t test drive (my mom felt it looked too much like a hearse).

Quadradeuce > boxrocket 03/17/2018 at 20:20

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I’m not too worried about GM drivetrains. My experience with GM cars that are widely regarded as “crap” is that as long as you actually maintain them, they will drive on forever. That 3.6 V6 is fairly mature. Interior wise, that’s the gamble with GM. But after driving that Continental with 10k miles that felt like 100k miles, I’m not sure Ford is any better. In any case, the lacrosse is cheap, so you’re not out to much if things go south.

I liked the S90 at the Auto show. I may check it out, but we don’t have a Volvo dealer in town for service. The V60 is to small and the center console is unforgivable terrible for such an expensive car.

I have not looked at the Lexus lineup closely because I am not a fan of that grill. I prefer to blend into the woodwork a bit more. However, we’re going to stop by the Toyota Lexus dealer just to check them out.

I’m sure the rear legroom is fine in the mkx for average height people, but I’m tall and my kids are tall. Add in ridiculous car seats and all that legroom disappears.

I’m excited to drive a Genesis if I can actually find one...

boxrocket > Quadradeuce 03/18/2018 at 00:53

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I largely agree woth your overall assessment (especially the Lexus grille, ugh, but the car makes up for it), with one major exception: Gm’s long lost that reputation. Notice none of the old engines (2.4L for the Theta platform derivatives, 3.6L for the Lambda successors) carry over to the new generation. The 5.3L has problems that it shouldn’t. The 1.4L & 1.8L engines used in the smaller cars are a joke, and the new 1.5L seems to have an appetite for Oxygen sensors, which makes me curious what’s going on upstream to make a largely-straightforward and proven part be the cause of so many issues so soon after launch.

merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc > Quadradeuce 03/18/2018 at 20:57

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Good luck. My BIL has one and as far as fit and finish, it’s a beautiful car, not sure about performance, but that would depend on the enigine choice. I imagine they are a bit more, and the Buick is no slouch either, it’s the newer updated of the three on the platform, and they look very nice. Better than the XTS IMO. You can always debadge it to clean up the trunk lid. I do all of mine, just keep the manufacturer badge and that’s it. Looks much cleaner.

Quadradeuce > merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc 03/19/2018 at 10:03

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I’m not too concerned about performance for this car. It will be our family highway cruiser. Comfort is key.

If we went with the Lacrosse, I will for sure debadge the trunk. Buick should have retired the Lacrosse name. Either bring back an old name, or go come up with something new. There was no benefit to link this car to the Lacrosse name.