We rented a 2006 Buick LaCrosse CXS and drove it from Massachusetts to New York.
The features:
The CXS is a 4-door, 5 passenger sedan.
This car had about 30,000 miles on it. It has a 3.6 L V6 engine with a four-speed automatic transmission with front wheel drive.
Some of the standard features on the CXS include front bucket seats; leather seats; power driver seat lumbar adjustment; leather steering wheel; simulated wood center console, dash and door trim and anti-lock brakes.
The CXS is 198.1 inches long by 73 inches wide by 57.4 inches high.
Inside:
I thought the inside of the LaCrosse was very pretty. I noted the simulated wood trim and the beige leather seats.
The specifications on the inside include 39.4 inches of front head room; 55.3 inches of front hip room; 57.2 inches of front shoulder room; and 42.3 inches of front leg room. The back gives you 37.6 inches of rear leg room.
I was comfortable in the front in terms of how much room I had. In order for me to sit behind my husband in the back I was not comfortable. I didn’t sit like this for long I just tried it out. He is not very tall. At about 5 feet 10 inches he doesn’t have to go back that far but for me to be comfortable he would have to be much shorter and move up the seat in the front.
I was physically quite uncomfortable in the passenger’s seat. No matter what angle I put the seat my back bothered me. The seat went down almost flat so sleeping was alright. When I went to drive I realized that the driver’s side has adjustable lumbar positions. This helped a bit. The seats on both sides are heated which is always a nice feature. In addition we each had our own temperature controls.
There were plenty of pockets and cup holders. There is an arm rest in the back making the car a four seater.
It has 16 cubic feet of cargo space. This gave us plenty of room for three large suitcases.
Outside and other information:
The CSX I think is a pretty looking car. It has a sporty look to it making a conservative Buick look less so. I had to follow my husband from the rental place back to our house and noted the back lights that gave it some pizzazz. In addition this car had a sunroof.
We drove platinum metallic sandstone colored LaCrosse. It also comes in black onyx, cardinal red metallic; dark garnet metallic; deep sapphire metallic; glacier blue metallic; slatestone metallic and white opal.
The fuel tank capacity is 17.5 gallons. It gets about 19 mpg in the city and 27 mpg on the highway.
Handling:
This car certainly had great power and pickup. The CXS unlike the other LaCrosse models has continuously variable valve timing produces 240 horsepower.
I found the CSX to be noisy until we got on the highway. Although we were going much faster I heard the outside less. Still it wasn’t the quietest ride I’ve had.
When I looked over and saw that my husband was doing 80 I was surprised. It runs smoothly and took the bumps without bumping me.
However both as a driver and passenger when we hit turns the car rolled a bit too much.
I found the steering to be very responsive and in general found it a nice handling car. It brakes well and hugged the road going from lane to lane on the highway.
Warranty:
The basic warranty is 4 years; 50,000. The drive train has a 4 year; 50,000 mile warranty and there is a 6 year unlimited mile warranty on rust.
How does it fare in a crash?
The NHTSA ratings are as follows: Passenger: Excellent Driver: Excellent Side Impact Front: Average Side Impact Rear: Average Rollover Rating: Good
Meaning that this Buick has a five-star rating (out of a possible five) for its protection of the driver and front passenger in frontal impacts.
My final thoughts:
The Buick LaCrosse CSX is what I call a sensible car for a family with two small children. It is prettier than the Buicks I remember. In the $25,000 price range it is an affordable car though the gas mileage could be better.
If you like a powerful, automatic you will get it with this car. However as a car you’ll put adults in think twice because the back is tight. I’ll call it a sensible car for those who want a car that did well in a crash test and like American cars. My rating is for you, not for me. 3.5 stars rounded to 4.
I could not be a passenger day after day in this car. For that reason alone I would not buy it.
http://www.edmunds.com
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/testing/NCAP/
http://www.hwysafety.org/vehicle_ratings/ratings.htm
If you have any questions about this car, feel free to e-mail me.
Other car reviews I have written include:
How to Buy a Car
2005 Nissen Quest ~
Mazda Miata ~
2004 Mazdaspeed ~
Toyota 4 Runner ~
2003 Toyota MR2 Spyder ~
2003 Ford F150 SuperCrew
2003 BMW325I ~
2000 Nissan Altima ~
2001 Chevy Malibu ~
2002 Chevy Prizm ~
1998 Dodge Ram Van ~
1996 Nissan Sentra ~
2001 Pontiac Sunfire ~
1999 Toyota Camry ~
2001 Hyundai Accent ~
1998 Chevy S-10 Pick Up ~
1999 BMW 323is ~
2002 Subaru Impreza ~
2000 Suzuki Swift ~
2001 Chevy Metro
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