Road Trip Review: 2010 Buick LaCrosse

From my window seat at Col’s Place in Madison Heights, I watched a young, 30-something couple get into their 2010 Buick LaCrosse, much like the one I recently drove from Illinois to Minnesota, except theirs was midnight blue and mine was silver. I then thought of a certain snarky car reviewer who should see this, but I knew it wouldn’t matter – he’s perpetually stuck in the past, when big hair was fashionable and a Buick was the car of choice for the affluent but not showy 55+ crowd.  That may have been true once, but all Buicks, including the LaCrosse, have been redesigned from the wheels-up for a new era. Luckily, the buying public and those that live in the present have caught on even if one reviewer has not.

Buicks are younger, more modern, and more state-of-the-art than they ever have been. They are also competitively priced within their class. The CXL AWD I drove has a standard price of $31,820 and comes loaded with standard features, including a V-6 engine, six speed automatic transmission, StabiliTrak, heated leather seats, Bluetooth, OnStar and more.  By contrast, the comparably equipped 2010 Lexus ES 350 starts at $35, 175 and is only a front-wheel drive.  When comparing the two, Dan Neil of the Los Angeles Times said that the Buick LaCrosse “…blows the Lexus out of the sky. Pow. Parachute. Smoking crater.” Kelsey Mays of Cars.com said, “I’m in my twenties, and I want one.”

I’m not a car reviewer by trade — I’m just a writer who drives a lot — and I found the Buick LaCrosse to be one of my most comfortable and stylish rides to date. Even after several hundred miles of driving, I didn’t get driver’s cramp or a backache. The interior functions, including various menus, sound system, cruise, and power adjustments, were all easy to find and use. The cockpit-style dash, with its blue ambient lighting, looked slightly intimidating to me at first, but I came to appreciate the intuitive placement of buttons and gauges — I didn’t have to read the manual before taking to the road.  The exterior of the LaCrosse has elegant, clean lines and looks almost deceptively lean. I fit a year’s worth of road supplies into this car’s trunk and back seat with room to spare, and didn’t feel claustrophobic at all while driving. There was more than enough elbow, head, and leg room.

I drove the LaCrosse in Minnesota, where the AWD was thoroughly tested. On the farm where I stayed, the driveway was steep and covered in ice – I didn’t know if an AWD could make the climb, but the LaCrosse not only went down the incline steadily, it climbed back up without any hesitation or slippage.

I averaged 20.5 miles per gallon between approximately 800 miles of city and highway driving, which is in line with other automobiles in the midsize AWD class.

The only thing I thought the LaCrosse lacked was a larger interior storage compartment. As someone who is on the road nearly every day, and who often works from her car, I’d have liked more storage space for the things I often use, including two phones, various cords, notepads, pens, toll booth change, and CD’s. I don’t know how Buick could achieve that without giving up the seat width and elbow room, but it’s the one thing I felt the LaCrosse could improve upon.

I name all the cars I drive, and I was right to name the LaCrosse after one of my favorite real-life knights, Sean Connery. It was a luxurious ride, with strong, distinctive features and plenty of road muscle. All good and borrowed things must come to an end though, and Sean has been returned to the fleet so he can impress other drivers. I’ve swapped my Buick key fob for one from Cadillac. My new road companion is a thunder gray CTS Sport Wagon which I’ll be driving from the Midwest into the South and then the East Coast. I’ll be keeping this one until the beginning of June!  I named her Cosima, and I look forward to getting to know her over the next several states. I hope you’ll stay tuned as we hit the road in search of stories, interesting people, and noteworthy pit stops.

Tagged as: Buick LaCrosse, Road Trip Rides