DRIVEN TO DRIVE

Archive for the ‘NEW VEHICLES’ Category

What’s not to like?

There are four things I don’t like – but let’s qualify that by emphasizing that these are four things I don’t like! Others may agree.  Some people may be impartial and some may even disagree.  I don’t care – here are the four things I don’t like.

1 – The Side Mirrors

From the outside, esthetically – I don’t like them.  They don’t seem to fit the over-all design.  They appear rather angular whereas the rest of the car has beautiful lines and curves.  But that is subjective.  From the driver’s seat – I hate them.  Mirrors are not ornaments – they serve a very real purpose, assuming drivers actually know how to use them, so don’t muck around with them.  When I look at an image in a side mirror I have to put this into perspective – that is, relate it to a known reference.  Many people like to see the side of their vehicle and use this as a reference point.  I prefer to open up the mirrors to gain a wider field of view, but on the Buick LaCrosse, the first thing I encounter is a weird shape.  There is no hard vertical or horizontal for me to reference.  The slanting top of the mirror also cuts off a huge area of relevant information.

In their favour, the mirrors do have heaters that can be activated with the defrost. They also automatically dim with bright head lights, and they have a display warning of vehicles in the blind zone (although I couldn’t get this particular option to work), but over all, oblong shaped mirrors would be a huge improvement.

2 – The Rear Seats

I’m not a big fan of the concept of First and Second Class passengers, especially in passenger vehicles.  The front seats are heated – the rears seats are not.  The front seats have cooling – the rears seats don’t. The front seats passengers have full airbags protection.  The rear seat passengers – well, a full set of air bags is an option. The front seat passengers have very comfortable seats that conform to the body.  The rear seat passengers get a quasi-bench seat to roll around on.  The third (centre) passenger gets to sit on  the hump.  The front seat passengers get plenty of head room – the rear seat passengers, not so much.  Here’s tip – when there are three rear seat passengers, put the shortest one on the hump.  If there are two rear seat passengers – they each get a cup holder.  With three rear seat passengers, all three will have to hold their drinks since the only available cup holders are in the fold-down arm rest.

All is not bad for the rear seat passengers – they do have plenty of leg room.

3 – The Left-Side “A” Pillar

This pillar presents a huge blind spot.  Yes I understand these pillars need to bear the weight of the vehicle in the event of a roll over, but the angle and position of this pillar is somewhat of a real concern and drivers will need to be aware of this especially while turning left.

4 – The Glove Compartment

The glove compartment, a name that lingers from the time when it was actually used for gloves, can be a useful space or not.  In the Buick LaCrosse, its only practical purpose seems to be to hold the many booklets pertaining to the ownership of the vehicle. The space isn’t at all spacious and it certainly isn’t all that practical, however, the thing I really dislike is the fact that it cannot be opened fully if there is a front seat adult passenger.   What were they thinking!?

Having said that – there are lots of things to like, but that’s for another day!

This review was written based purely upon personal experiences gained during a test drive of one vehicle over a period of one week. The vehicle was evaluated solely upon its merits and not by price nor in direct comparison to any other vehicle. Prospective buyers are encouraged to contact their local dealerships to arrange a test drive to evaluate the vehicle based upon their own needs and requirements.

The Engine Compartment

The interior hood release is tucked away at the left side of the foot-well. The exterior safety catch is easy enough to locate being dead centre under the hood.  Once released, the hood was incredibly easy to lift, and then it began to rise up by itself aided by a single piston support.

There no great surprises under the hood, everything was neatly positioned and nothing was “flapping in the breeze”.  The transverse mounted 3.6 litre V6 motor was for the most part hidden under the protective cover.

My only peeve was with the impractically narrow window washer fill-up nozzle.  It’s time automotive designers ventured into the real world and tried filling a window washer reservoir in the middle of the night in a howling snowstorm.  If they did, the next filler nozzle they designed would resemble a 4” diameter funnel!

That’s my gripe for the day.

But on the positive side – I did notice a weather seal around the complete engine compartment, not just along the leading edge.

The Cargo/Trunk Compartment

The truck is very tidy and looks very practical having a nice wide almost flat floor.  All sides of the truck were well lined and protected.  The same attention to detail went into the truck upholstery as with carpeting in the cabin area.  Even the speaker cones were well protected.

My only complaint with the truck area was the very rather limited size of access space – more practical for soft sided bags than for rigid boxes.

The Trunk space can be extended into the cabin area. The rear seats fold forward in a 40/60 configuration which presents a nice flat extended surface for far larger objects, assuming they fit through the trunk access space.

Also behind the rear seat centre armrest there is an excess panel covering a small hole leading from the trunk area – a hole about the right size to fit the ends of a pair of skis.  Since this hole serves little purpose other than to accommodate skiis, why not include a ski bag so moisture, grit and grime gathered from a day of skiing isn’t dragged into the cabin area?

OK – so that was my second gripe!

Spare Wheel

Oh how I hate spare wheels, but that’s another story. Since we’re talking about the Buick LaCrosse and the Buick LaCrosse comes with a spare wheel. Let’s look at the spare wheel. Oh how I hate compact spares wheels. Yes, they take up less space. Yes they are light and smaller, hence easier to manage, but where do you put the full size wheel after it has been exchanged for the compact?

You will need three hands to get this little sucker out of the trunk. One to hold up the floor covering and the other two to lift the wheel out. Oh how I hate spare wheels.  This is why we have roadside assistance.

OK – that’s my third gripe for the day!

This review was written based purely upon personal experiences gained during a test drive of one vehicle over a period of one week. The vehicle was evaluated solely upon its merits and not by price nor in direct comparison to any other vehicle. Prospective buyers are encouraged to contact their local dealerships to arrange a test drive to evaluate the vehicle based upon their own needs and requirements.

It was time to see what GM had to say on the subject

I went to the local GM dealership and picked up a Buick LaCrosse brochure.  As I flipped the pages, something jumped out at me – pages 4 was headed – “Compromise isn’t part of our Vocabulary”!  I hadn’t realized up until then but this statement is pretty accurate.  GM has not compromised one little bit.  Not only that, there are some interesting and some innovative features.

1. I like the Head Up Display (HUD). While it’s not new, it is a very useful feature.  There are several display formats depending upon a driver’s personal preference and these are updated as information changes – information such as changes in temperature to the name of new being played on a CD.
2. The blind zone alert.  I like the concept – just haven’t figured out how it works yet.
3. Park assist is really nice especially with rear view option.  Due to the high truck profile and the slanted rear window, there isn’t a lot of visibility available for when backing up.  Having park assist is a godsend and this comes in the form of audible beeps in conjunction with amber and red lights located just above the rear window.  It gets better, with the Navigational System Package, an optional extra on the CXL and CXS models, a rear mounted camera relays a live feed to the navigation screen the moment Reverse has been selected.  I have to admit it takes a little getting used to, I still want to use the mirrors and look through the rear window, and perhaps this is a good thing, but the fact remains – there are lots of options available to make backing up a safe experience.
4. There is a 3-prong 120v AC outlet located just below the ventilation ducts for the rear passengers. The first thing that crossed my mind was why 3-prong, what could the car be grounded on, then it occurred to me that some appliances come with three prongs – duh!
5. The Keyless entry and keyless start are nice, although after 4 days I’m still looking for a key as I approach the vehicle.  Walk up to it – open the doors.  Sit in the driver’s seat – start the motor.  It’s that simple and that easy, just as long at the key is in close proximity.
6. The vehicle has “Puddle Lights” so called because they illuminate the area near the door, so you can see the puddle.  Some vehicles have these un the underside of the door handle so you can see where you are stepping before you open the door.  Of course once the door is open, the light is shinning in the wrong spot.  The Buick LaCrosse has puddle light situated on the underside of the door that illuminate the stepping area while the door remains open.

Some good news – I discovered how to open the gas cap cover.  Push it in and it pops open.  With all the other technology, I was searching for a button to press.  I just wasn’t thinking of something so simple.

This review was written based purely upon personal experiences gained during a test drive of one vehicle over a period of one week. The vehicle was evaluated solely upon its merits and not by price nor in direct comparison to any other vehicle. Prospective buyers are encouraged to contact their local dealerships to arrange a test drive to evaluate the vehicle based upon their own needs and requirements.

It was time to drive the Buick LaCrosse at night

Okay, perhaps it wasn’t technically night time, more like that moment before daybreak when it was still darkish outside.

Regardless, everyday it seems, there is something new to discover about the LaCrosse and this morning I discovered the driver side mirror automatically dims in the glare of light from vehicles approaching in the left side lane. Interesting!

But overall my quasi-night time driving was a pleasant experience. The ambient lighting was very pleasant and somehow instilled a calming effect.  This was interesting, there was enough cabin light to allow a sense of orientation, yet it didn’t interfere by way of contrast with the view outside.  Even the navigation panel dimmed but remained bright enough to reference.

It wasn’t long before the sun rose and I’d had my morning cup of coffee and it was back to reality. It just struck me – when I refer to “the LaCrosse”, am I repeating myself?

Doors and Accessibility

Let’s be frank, I’m not as nimble or bendable as I once was.  There was a time when I could easily get in and out of an F2000 – today I wouldn’t even attempt it.

I understand the Buick LaCrosse isn’t an F2000 but regardless, I found it awkward to get in and out of the LaCrosse.  This may not be a problem for perhaps younger folks or perhaps for people with a shorter stature, but I found the low angled door frame caused me to duck my head.  Once I was inside, no problem, there was ample head room.  It was during the entry and exit that I experienced discomfort. Getting in and out of the rear seats I found was even more awkward.

In its favour the doors of the Buick LaCrosse do open wide which is a good thing in one respect but when seated, trying to close the door was a bit of a reach.  I had to lean right out of the vehicle to reach the door handle so as to draw it closed.  Gentlemen – here is a good opportunity for you to open and close the door for your significant other to save them having to reach so far for the door handle 

This review was written based purely upon personal experiences gained during a test drive of one vehicle over a period of one week. The vehicle was evaluated solely upon its merits and not by price nor in direct comparison to any other vehicle. Prospective buyers are encouraged to contact their local dealerships to arrange a test drive to evaluate the vehicle based upon their own needs and requirements.

My first impression is of a Buick Lacrosse was – I like it.

It’s larger than I had envisaged.  But over all, I like it.  It’s stands proud and has a nice line to it and I really like the sculptured fender panels. The tall shoulder line gives it a strong bold look. It has what I call – roadside appeal. But more importantly, it has a head turning factor. It will get people to look at it and ask – what is that?  Mind you, the strong Buick grill and the three badge Buick emblem are dead giveaways, but regardless, it is definitely a head turner.

Inside the car, I have to say, I was a little overwhelmed.

My first impression was – is this a case of kpd? (knobs per dollar) where quantity attempts to overshadow quality.  Pleasingly, I have to say I was impressed with the quality.  But rather than sit and read the manual for an hour to find out what everything was for, I decided to concentrate on the essentials – where’s the heat?  Dual climate controls zones that could be linked – interesting.  Heated and ventilated seats.  Heated seats are a blessing in the winter, and the ventilated seats would no doubt be refreshing in the hot humid days of summer. Heated steering wheel – oh yes!

Esthetically very nice, but the best thing a new owner can do is take an evening a read the Owner’s Manual.

For example – there is a Super Knob located in the middle of the dash and surrounded by a cluster of push buttons and knobs.  I was getting a little frustrated with the apparent lack of control this control had, until it suddenly dawned on me that the screen had touch control.  Little things like that make all the difference.

Another example was the parking brake.  I couldn’t find one.  There wasn’t a handle brake or a foot operated brake, and as I understand it, a vehicle needs a parking brake by law.  Ah ha – found it – it’s controlled by a button.  That should make for some interesting handbrake turns.

So far I still haven’t discovered how to operate the Remote Start even after I read the section in the Owner’s Manual, and I still haven’t discovered how to open the gas cap cover.

This review was written based purely upon personal experiences gained during a test drive of one vehicle over a period of one week. The vehicle was evaluated solely upon its merits and not by price nor in direct comparison to any other vehicle. Prospective buyers are encouraged to contact their local dealerships to arrange a test drive to evaluate the vehicle based upon their own needs and requirements.