Buick Lacrosse 2012 4 Cylinder Car Customer Reviews

The GM engineers assigned to the LaCrosse eAssist projection don't want you lot to be able to tell they've done annihilation to the auto. The goal of the eAssist was to create a more-fuel-efficient version of the four-cylinder LaCrosse using an development of the mild hybrid organisation from the old Chevrolet Malibu hybrid and Saturn Aura Dark-green Line. Their benchmark? Last twelvemonth's nonhybrid LaCrosse, so the arrangement had to be more economical and undetectable. Talk almost a thankless chore.

The i place they want you to observe a difference, however, is on your gas bill. If the engineers have done their job, fuel economy volition rise by near 25 percent, from 19 mpg metropolis/xxx highway for a four-cylinder 2011 LaCrosse to 25/37. That's a improve highway number, Buick notes, than that of smaller luxury hybrids like the Lincoln MKZ and Lexus HS250h. Incidentally, all four-cylinder LaCrosses will be eAssist-equipped showtime in 2012. We drove a development car to run across and experience—or not—the differences.

eAssist? What eAssist?

The LaCrosse's 2.4-liter four-cylinder is largely unchanged, save for a belt-driven electrical motor/generator hanging off the front instead of an alternator. It can utilise 15 hp and 79 lb-ft of torque to complement the engine's 182 hp and 172 lb-ft. A 0.5-kWh battery feeds—and is fed by, during regenerative braking—the motor/generator and sits in a lump at the forepart of the trunk, obscuring twoscore per centum of the seatback and blocking function of the laissez passer-through on the other threescore percent. (The Malibu and the Aura used a motor with 5 hp of aid attached to a nickel-metallic hydride bombardment.) We're told to expect a 0.2-second comeback in 0-to-lx-mph times compared with the four-cylinder LaCrosse.

Every bit the car comes to a stop, fuel period is cut, and the electric motor takes over, guiding the car to a finish and capturing brake energy through regen. There'due south a hint of nonlinearity in the starting time bit of brake-pedal travel every bit the vehicle slows without the expected pressure buildup in the pedal. Once you get past that brief oddity, braking feels normal as the regen tapers off, giving mode to mechanical operation. With a tender right foot on the pedal minimizing waste matter heat through the binders, the system tin capture upwardly to fifteen kW of ability during regeneration. The engine shuts off when the machine is stopped and fires back up once the driver's human foot leaves the brake pedal, 1 of the only hints a heir-apparent will have that all is non conventional in his or her LaCrosse.

Buick messed with the manual besides. The eAssist LaCrosse volition be the first model to utilize GM's next-generation six-speed automatic, which nosotros're told improves on the one-time transmission by reducing friction losses and improving shift response. The eAssist machine tin can get away with a numerically lower final-drive ratio—2.64:i versus the 2011 four-cylinder's 3.23:one. The electric aid means the transmission tin concur a higher gear in steady-land situations and has to swap gears less often, with electric heave taking the place of some downshifts. Indeed, this was one of our biggest complaints with the 4-cylinder LaCrosse, and the eAssist development vehicle we drove did seem to chase for gears less, especially on inclines.

This electric requite-and-take is happening all the fourth dimension in the groundwork, just if you want to cheat and peek behind the curtain, in that location's a screen in the color brandish between the gauges that shows what the arrangement is doing—sort of. It doesn't study each and every fourth dimension the boost is activated (denoted by a "hybrid power" message and an animated graphic) because the motor cycles and then frequently and briefly at times that the displays would take to flash on and off—no need to throw the driver into an epileptic seizure. When the juice is providing substantial assistance, though, you'll go the message, and there's likewise a "battery charging" graphic that displays during deceleration and braking.

Other Economy Tricks

A switch to new low-rolling-resistance tires likewise helps save fuel, and the engineers merits the safe doesn't sacrifice any lateral grip compared with that of the current car. A smaller gas tank is fitted—15.7 gallons versus 18.4—which reduces the curb weight by limiting the maximum amount of fuel, simply the eAssist car's range is yet said to be greater than the 2011's. Electronically controlled shutters in the lower grille, borrowed from the Chevy Cruze Eco, can open up or close to balance cooling needs with aerodynamics. Three underbody panels further improve the automobile'due south slipperiness. Smoother airflow means better regeneration, since drag that would normally be eaten by air resistance can now be captured through the wheels. We asked why these aero tweaks weren't being applied to the 5-6 LaCrosse and were told that, without regenerative braking to recapture that energy, the economic system improvement wouldn't exist significant.

Even with all of these changes, curb weight only increases a claimed six pounds. In addition to the smaller gas tank, Buick offset the weight of the hybrid components by replacing the spare tire with a tire-inflation kit and using aluminum for the rear-interruption knuckles instead of the usual steel.

The toll, on the other hand, will increase more noticeably. Buick isn't giving exact numbers yet, but saying the eAssist LaCrosse will toll about $30,000, upwardly from nearly $28,000 for the current, unassisted car. That same base price will be applied to the V-6 LaCrosse, with both models getting more than content for 2012. It seems Buick is taking a folio from Lincoln, which charges the same for an MKZ 5-6 or MKZ hybrid with matching levels of equipment—never heed that the MKZ is a full hybrid and the LaCrosse is not. Buick will offer eAssist on the 2012 Imperial, although the base unassisted four-cylinder model will remain in that motorcar's lineup.

Engineers say eAssist can be practical to a variety of powertrains and platforms since the electrical assistance doesn't have to scale directly with vehicle size and weight. Our short drive showed the system has come up a long way since its days in the Malibu and Aura, so our next stride is verifying the economy claims. Buick won't capture the hybrid proud with this one—at that place are no external badges or differentiators calling attention to the fuel-saving tech—but information technology might succeed in winning buyers based on the economy numbers alone, whether or not those customers know or care how the car is achieving them.

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Source: https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a15125371/2012-buick-lacrosse-eassist-first-drive-review/