Avis Buick Lucerne - Mini Review
Sep 11, 2007, 6:31 pm
#1
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Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: Boston, MA
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Avis Buick Lucerne - Mini Review
Just returned a brand-new 2007 Buick Lucerne CXL after a month-long rental. The car was used mostly on the streets of Boston and Cambridge with very little highway mileage.
The Lucerne line has lost a trim level - the 2008 model website shows only three: low-, mid-, and high-level trims, so while they're essentially the same car, 2008's look to have more standard equipment in the mid-level CXL including On-Star. This had XM, rather than Sirrius, radio (no Howard Stern or the woman who talks to the dead pets. I missed her.) and a single-disc CD player.
Basically, I loved the car for the use I put it to. It's geared to feel faster than 198 hp ought to feel pushing 4000 lbs. And that's fine for city driving: there's nowhere I could go where the limit is over 45 mph most of the time anyway. Mileage averaged about 18-19 mpg which I found amazing for a car that had 115 miles on it when I took it out and 830 when I brought it back. It's better than their EPA estimate.
The backseat is huge - anyone sitting back there loved it. The seats - leather, reclining, but w/o adjustable lumbar support, were comfortable. Seat belts were easy on and off, and all the controls were logical with the possible exception of large round control buttons for the radio and climate control which are close to each other. The radio button is for volume only; the climate control knob manages both the various functions radially and the a/c itself by tapping it in and out. This means, despite temp controls for both driver and passenger, you can inadvertently turn off the a/c without noticing until you wonder, "Why is it so damn warm in here? I have the a/c on." Except, of course, you don't.
Ride and handling - again, based mostly on city use - were superb: it just absorbs most of the impact from rough pavement w/o much "floaty-boaty" body movement that used to be a feature of US land-yachts. And still is, on Crown Vickies, Lincolns and Gran Marquis'. The body was solid w/o any rattling or much road noise, and the fit and finish was tops. Much better, for instance, than the Chrysler 300 I'd had the month before.
The color was a monochromatic silver outside and light grey leather, dash, trim, and carpet inside which I suspect made a big car interior look even bigger. I liked the lines, one of GMs best efforts lately, I think, and especially the blacked-out grille: the chromed version is too reminiscent of Buick's 1950's "chromium smile" for my tastes. Likewise straight out of the 50's are 3 or 4 chrome inlets on each side of the front fenders denoting the engine size: 3 plus 3 means a 6-cylinder car; 4 plus 4 a V-8. They don't call them "Cruiserline Venti-ports" anymore, though. Which is too bad.
All in all this is one of the best rental cars I've had this year. My second choice lately is the Chrysler 300 in an upmarket trim (the strippo, bare-bones, entry-level 300 is pretty crude for a premium car) but the Buick feels like deluxe without screaming: more "Lexus" than "Lincoln Connie." And as it was offered in lieu of the mid-sized Pontiac G-6 "or similar" I'd reserved, it was a real bargain too: $950 all-in for 31 days.
For a ride like this at a busy time of year in a tourist-intensive market (Boston's the air gateway to New England) and with all the add-on taxes and fees at Logan, thirty bucks a day and change is a real deal.
The Lucerne line has lost a trim level - the 2008 model website shows only three: low-, mid-, and high-level trims, so while they're essentially the same car, 2008's look to have more standard equipment in the mid-level CXL including On-Star. This had XM, rather than Sirrius, radio (no Howard Stern or the woman who talks to the dead pets. I missed her.) and a single-disc CD player.
Basically, I loved the car for the use I put it to. It's geared to feel faster than 198 hp ought to feel pushing 4000 lbs. And that's fine for city driving: there's nowhere I could go where the limit is over 45 mph most of the time anyway. Mileage averaged about 18-19 mpg which I found amazing for a car that had 115 miles on it when I took it out and 830 when I brought it back. It's better than their EPA estimate.
The backseat is huge - anyone sitting back there loved it. The seats - leather, reclining, but w/o adjustable lumbar support, were comfortable. Seat belts were easy on and off, and all the controls were logical with the possible exception of large round control buttons for the radio and climate control which are close to each other. The radio button is for volume only; the climate control knob manages both the various functions radially and the a/c itself by tapping it in and out. This means, despite temp controls for both driver and passenger, you can inadvertently turn off the a/c without noticing until you wonder, "Why is it so damn warm in here? I have the a/c on." Except, of course, you don't.
Ride and handling - again, based mostly on city use - were superb: it just absorbs most of the impact from rough pavement w/o much "floaty-boaty" body movement that used to be a feature of US land-yachts. And still is, on Crown Vickies, Lincolns and Gran Marquis'. The body was solid w/o any rattling or much road noise, and the fit and finish was tops. Much better, for instance, than the Chrysler 300 I'd had the month before.
The color was a monochromatic silver outside and light grey leather, dash, trim, and carpet inside which I suspect made a big car interior look even bigger. I liked the lines, one of GMs best efforts lately, I think, and especially the blacked-out grille: the chromed version is too reminiscent of Buick's 1950's "chromium smile" for my tastes. Likewise straight out of the 50's are 3 or 4 chrome inlets on each side of the front fenders denoting the engine size: 3 plus 3 means a 6-cylinder car; 4 plus 4 a V-8. They don't call them "Cruiserline Venti-ports" anymore, though. Which is too bad.
All in all this is one of the best rental cars I've had this year. My second choice lately is the Chrysler 300 in an upmarket trim (the strippo, bare-bones, entry-level 300 is pretty crude for a premium car) but the Buick feels like deluxe without screaming: more "Lexus" than "Lincoln Connie." And as it was offered in lieu of the mid-sized Pontiac G-6 "or similar" I'd reserved, it was a real bargain too: $950 all-in for 31 days.
For a ride like this at a busy time of year in a tourist-intensive market (Boston's the air gateway to New England) and with all the add-on taxes and fees at Logan, thirty bucks a day and change is a real deal.
Last edited by Bostom; Sep 11, 2007 at 8:25 pm
Sep 7, 2008, 8:37 pm
#3
Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 1
mini review
Very nice exterior styling, decent list of standard features, good engine options, roomy, quiet and comfortable interior, very safe. The Lucerne is a great looking American made sedan, offering a well designed, nicely appointed, safe and very plush ride. Power: Available V-8 where most of the competition offers V6.
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