Driving Impressions
reviewed by
The Buick Lucerne is a smooth but spirited car. The ride quality is excellent, thanks to its long wheelbase and stiff body structure. In back-to-back driving along a stretch of less-than-perfect road, we found the Lucerne's ride quality comparable to that of the benchmark Toyota Avalon. The Lucerne rides a bit firmer than past Buicks, but it's still plenty smooth.
The steering is precise and responsive, and the suspension is well controlled, even at high speeds along not-always-smooth roads. After driving several different Lucerne models over the course of several hours, winding among the vineyards in the Santa Ynez Valley just north of Santa Barbara, California, we found that all of them handled with controlled precision and quiet competence, exhibiting no wallowing or causing any untoward moments. A rigid chassis is the key to balancing sharp handling with a smooth ride, and the Lucerne really delivers.
The high-powered Super comes with Magnetic Ride Control, which we found improved handling a bit, though the differences were not dramatic. Magnetic Ride Control is an adaptive damping system designed to enhance overall ride performance. With Magnetic Ride Control, the shock absorbers are filled with a synthetic fluid in which magnetically charged particles are suspended. By applying electrical current to the particles, a computer continuously adjusts the fluid's viscosity (its thickness) according to varying road surfaces and driving styles. The system, which first appeared on the sporty Cadillac XLR, and then the Corvette, delivers a quicker response than earlier adaptive-damping setups that continuously adjusted the shock absorbers' main valves.
Powering the Super is a version of the 4.6-liter Northstar V8, rated at 292 horsepower at 6300 rpm and 288 pound-feet of torque at 4500 rpm. (Torque is the force you feel when accelerating from an intersection or up a hill.) The Lucerne Super V8 is EPA-rated at 15/22 mpg City/Highway.
The Lucerne CX and CXL models are powered by a 3.9-liter V6 with continuously variable valve timing that delivers 227 horsepower at 5700 rpm and 237 pound-feet of torque at 3200, and has EPA ratings of 17/26 mpg City/Highway. The V6 is also Flex-Fuel capable, meaning it can run on 100-percent gasoline, up to 85-percent ethanol, or any variation of the two. On E85, it is EPA-rated at 13/20 mpg, City/Highway.
The V8 engine comes with GM's electronically controlled Hydra-Matic 4T80 four-speed automatic transaxle, and the V6 uses the 4T65 four-speed. Both Lucerne engines feature electronic throttle control.
The Side Blind-Zone Alert system uses radar sensors on both sides of the vehicle (mounted behind the rear fascia) to scan a 150-degree field of view within a 3.5-meter range. Alternating radar beams sweep the adjacent traffic lanes to detect approaching cars. Vehicles entering one of seven zones identified by the system will illuminate an LED symbol in the appropriate outside rearview mirror. The system ignores stationary objects, such as fire hydrants or parked cars.
The Lane Departure Warning uses a camera, mounted near the inside rearview mirror, to identify traffic lane markings and provide audible alerts if the Lucerne should appear to be wandering from its appointed path.
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