Ken Nelson Auto Group

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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. 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 handled with aplomb, exhibiting no wallowing or causing any untoward moments. A rigid chassis is the key to balancing sharp handling with a smooth ride, and 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 electric current to the particles, a computer continuously adjusts the fluid's viscosity 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 unique version of the 4.6-liter Northstar V8, rated 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 2009 Lucerne CX and CXL models are motivated 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. It replaces last year's 3.8-liter fixed-timing V6, which was rated 197 horsepower and 227 pound-feet. Yet the new engine also achieves a slight improvement in fuel economy, with an EPA rating of 17/26 mpg city/highway ( Even with the increase in available horsepower, the new engine offers an estimated one-mile-per-gallon fuel economy improvement in both city and highway driving, vs. 16/25 for the 3.8. The new V6 is also FlexFuel 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 13/20 mpg, city/highway.

With the lighter V6, we found the Lucerne felt more agile on twisty roads. The front end felt a bit lighter.

The V8 engine comes with GM's electronically controlled Hydra-Matic 4T80 four-speed automatic transaxle, where the V6 uses the lighter-duty 4T65 four-speed. Both Lucerne engines feature electronic throttle control.

The new 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 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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