Review

The Buick Lucerne is a full-size, premium sedan with front-wheel drive and a standard V6 engine. The Lucerne CX is a traditional Buick, with the Premium Ride Suspension maximized for cushioned comfort. The Lucerne CXL comes with a firmer (but certainly not at all harsh) Ride and Handling Suspension, and is positioned to compete with the Toyota Avalon and Lexus ES 350. We found it a very enjoyable car to drive, with agile handling and plenty of performance. The CXL Special Edition adds numerous trim and convenience features. The Super is the top of the Lucerne line and includes a V8 engine and Magnetic Ride Control, a sophisticated adaptive suspension with responsive handling.

Advanced safety systems are available on all models. Side Blind-Zone Alert uses radar to provide drivers with more information about vehicles in hard-to-see areas around the car. Lane Departure Warning uses a camera to warn drivers of inadvertent lane changes. StabiliTrak, which includes the function of traction control, and Brake Assist are offered as well.

For 2010, the changes are relatively minor. The Super receives a new optional 18-inch chrome wheel, the entire line-up gets the rocker panels and fog lamps from the Super model, Bluetooth is available on the base model, the instrument panel gauges are backlit, and there are some revised interior treatments and new exterior colors.

Buick has a long history of innovative engineering, handsomely conservative styling, and premium luxury at below-premium prices. The Lucerne follows these Buick traditions.

Line-Up
Buick Lucerne CX ($29,230) is powered by a 227-horsepower 3.9-liter V6 engine with a four-speed automatic transmission. Standard equipment includes cloth upholstery, air conditioning, seats for five people with a power driver's seat, power windows, power door locks, leather-wrapped tilt steering wheel, AM/FM/CD/MP3 audio with six speakers and steering wheel audio controls, XM Satellite Radio, cruise control, electrochromic rearview mirror, remote keyless entry, cornering lamps, heated outside rearview mirrors, an extended-range key fob, and 17-inch bright-silver-painted aluminum wheels. Package 2CX ($1,700) adds StabiliTrak, Brake Assist, rear parking assist, remote starter, a theft-deterrent system, dual-zone automatic climate control, a universal home remote, a cargo net and Bluetooth to the CX.

Lucerne CXL ($32,730) upgrades with leather seats, dual-zone automatic climate control, universal home remote, a cargo net, eight-way power heated front seats with power lumbar support, memory settings, a heated leather-wrapped steering wheel, and turn signals integrated in the outside mirrors. The CXL suspension is tuned a little tighter, too, and includes airlift control in the rear for automatic level control. The CXL Special Edition ($33,230) adds chrome wheels and unique interior trim, and offers additional options and packages, including a heated wood-trimmed steering wheel ($150) and heated and cooled front seats ($895). The Driver's Confidence package adds StabiliTrak, Brake Assist, rear parking assist, remote starter, and a theft-deterrent system to the CXL ($945).

Option packages for CXL: The 3XL ($2,100) includes Side Blind-Zone Alert, Driver's Confidence Package, dual heated mirrors with turn signals and left-hand day/night feature, Lane Departure Warning and chrome alloy wheels. The 4XL ($3,000) includes Driver's Confidence Package, harman/kardon speakers, heated and cooled front seats, leather, heated steering wheel and chrome alloy wheels. The 5XL ($3,500) includes the features of the 3XL and 4XL packages combined.

Lucerne Super ($39,230) is powered by a 292-hp 4.6-liter V8 and equipped with Magnasteer power steering, Magnetic Ride Control adaptive suspension, StabiliTrak stability control, Brake Assist, and P245/50R18 all-season radials on 18-inch aluminum wheels. Inside, The Super features a leather-wrapped upper instrument panel with French-seam stitching, heated leather seats with suede fabric inserts, harman/kardon audio, heated and wood-accented steering wheel on a power tilt-and-telescope steering column, wood shift knob, and other upgraded finishes and trims. StabiliTrak, Brake Assist, rear parking assist, remote starter, a theft-deterrent system, dual-zone automatic climate control, a universal home remote, a cargo net, and Bluetooth are standard. Outside, the Super sports its own unique grille, front and rear fascias, extended rocker panels, and integrated dual exhaust tips. Chrome wheels are optional ($750).

Options include Side Blind-Zone Alert ($395), Lane Departure Warning ($295), a power tilt-and-slide sunroof ($950), and an engine block heater ($75). A sound system with DVD-based navigation ($1,945) is optional on the Super, CXL, and CXL Special Edition; the harman/kardon speakers ($495) and a six-CD changer ($300) are available on the CXL and CXL Special Edition. Six-passenger seating is available on the CX and CXL by ordering front bench seats ($295).

Safety features on all models include six airbags: A dual-stage driver's front airbag and a dual-depth front-passenger airbag, front-seat side-impact airbags, and full-coverage side-curtain airbags. The front seatbelts come with pretensioners to enhance the effectiveness of the airbags. Traction control, anti-lock brakes, and a tire pressure monitor are standard on all models. OnStar comes standard and includes the first year of Safe and Sound service; OnStar operators will dispatch rescue crews if your airbag deploys and you don't respond to calls, a great feature for you and the rest of your family.

Walk Around
There is no mistaking the Lucerne for anything but a Buick. The Lucerne has a handsome appearance with a good stance thanks to its long wheelbase and wide track. The classic, Buick waterfall grille blends in well with the large integrated headlamps. The side profile, with its steeply raked windshield, is reminiscent of several recently introduced European sedans such as the VW Passat and Audi A6. The rear of the Lucerne features a high trunk line with nicely integrated tail lamps.

Chrome trim is kept to a minimum. In addition to the grille, the only stylistic link to Buicks of old is the row of small portholes on each of the front fenders. They are also the only clue to what's under the hood: The V6-powered CX and CXL get three portholes on each side and the V8-powered Super gets four on each side. Flashback to the Fifties, when more-powerful Buicks had more holes. They didn't serve any real function then and do not today, but we still like them.

The Lucerne Super is distinguished by a larger grille that cuts deeper into the front bumper and features fewer, thicker vertical bars. The grille bars turn sharply inward at the top, giving more definition to the waterfall effect. Below the grille, the look is more familiar, with twin lower air intakes accentuated by chrome slashes that seem to point to the outboard foglights.

The smaller main grille of the CX and CXL is finer in texture and is chrome. The twin lower air intakes on these models hide behind horizontal grillwork cut into the lower bumper.

The Buick Lucerne is built on the same platform as the Cadillac DTS and benefits from modern build techniques for a quiet luxury car. These include hydroformed frame rails for a stiffer body and the use of laminated steel with plenty of sound-deadening material placed in strategic locations. The results of these quiet-tuning efforts were evident in our test drives.

Interior
The Lucerne's cabin is cleanly designed with just enough touches of wood and chrome trim to make it luxurious without being opulent. The dashboard is fairly traditional in design with a smallish instrument pod containing three round gauges in front of the steering wheel.

The center stack is located high for easy access, and contains large knobs for operating the climate control and audio system.

Individual front seats are standard, but buyers who want seating for six can order a traditional front bench seat. The individual front seats provide a good level of comfort and come with an armrest in the center console.

Rear-seat passengers are well taken care of with good headroom and excellent leg room. The Lucerne's long wheelbase allows for a wide-opening rear door with almost no intrusion from the wheel well, making it easy to get in and out of the car.

OnStar with Turn-by-Turn service is standard and allows customers to talk to a live advisor who downloads complete step-by-step directions to the vehicle through the OnStar system. Audio directions are then automatically played through the vehicle's stereo as they are needed, triggered by the OnStar system's GPS capabilities. Drivers can be directed to their destinations without having to take their hands from the wheel or eyes from the road. New OnStar eNav allows a subscriber to find and save destinations on MapQuest.com, and have those destinations sent to the vehicle's OnStar system.

A touch-screen navigation system is also available, giving the Lucerne driver the best of both worlds. New OnStar Destination Download enables OnStar subscribers with screen-based navigation to quickly input their destinations via the press of a button; while new XM NavTraffic (available in 80 major North American markets) delivers real-time information about accidents, traffic backups, and road construction directly to the navigation screen. With or without navigation, all Lucernes come with an enhanced XM display that delivers more channel and artist information.

Bluetooth comes standard on all models and enables true hands-free calling. It uses OnStar's voice recognition to dial phone numbers, and conversations are played through the Lucerne's audio system.

Driving Impressions
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.

Summary
The Buick Lucerne is an attractive near-luxury car offering looks, features, quality and value. If you like a modern, comfortable ride with competent road manners, the Lucerne, with either a V6 or V8 engine, is well worth consideration. It comes with a longer warranty (4 years/50,000 miles) than Buick has offered in the past, and Buick has been doing quite nicely in recent J.D. Power and Associates surveys on product quality.

NewCarTestDrive.com correspondent John Rettie reported from Santa Barbara, California, with editor Mitch McCullough reporting from Los Angeles and John F. Katz from south-central Pennsylvania.