I LOVE the 2017 Buick Lacrosse, everything about it, the price, the interior, the exterior, everything. I am just worried about the reliability. I know the GM makes a pretty crappy prouduct nowa days but Lacrosse doesn't seem to really have any issues, the drive train also seems to be not that bad.
The transmission is a Toyota derived Aisin 8 speed automatic, which should be reliable, and the engine is a simple 3.6 v6 without any turbos. I know that the 3.6 had issues in the past when it released in the late 2000s, but by now these issue probably have been fixed. I heard that the later revisions of the 3.6 V6's can actually be pretty reliable.
Also this vehicle isnt built in china or korea like the other Buicks, its actually made right in the USA which should make it have better quality.
This vehicle doesnt seem that bad, could it last?
The reason that I'm not looking at the Avalon or the Lexus ES is because the Buick simply drives better. Its lighter, quicker, quieter, and smoother on the road. I REALLY dont like these vehicles.
Buick Lacrosse
It's just an improved Opel Insignia.
The transmission is a Toyota derived Aisin 8 speed automatic
At this point that doesn't seem to be a good thing - it's not Aisin's finest.
https://carkiller.com/scottykilmer/qa/is-there-a-transmission-problem-with-2019-toyota-camry-models
https://carkiller.com/scottykilmer/qa/2021-toyota-rav4-limited-with-8at-transmission-shift-problems
The first one to adopt that transmission were Volvo and Peugeot, Toyota began using only recently.
the engine is a simple 3.6 v6 without any turbos
It's not simple, we are talking about a GDi engine, with VVT on both cams, cylinder deactivation, stop-start and more.
Typical GM engineering, there's a big market for remanufactured (improved) units because the original one fails.
https://www.jasperengines.com/gm-36l-gdi
"The original 3.6L GDI engine is susceptible to issues that include: oil consumption, dry start-up, piston scuffing, cylinder bore wear, head gasket failure and leaks, camshaft noise, VVT failure, low oil pressure/knocking, valve guide wear, spun reluctor wheel/timing, fuel leaks, and runability."
This vehicle doesnt seem that bad, could it last?
125k miles or 10 years - probably without any major issues.
But that's not very long term, after that it's bound to have some issues.
the Buick simply drives better. Its lighter, quicker, quieter, and smoother on the road
Are you sure? I was interested in a LaCrosse / Impala but it drove exactly like an Opel Insignia.
It's not very sporty, not agile, I personally was disappointed - It really lacks handling and agility.
(that being said, I generally don't like cars that have 0 "drama" when driving so your experience may differ)
Consider a Mazda6, it's very posh and the naturally aspirated version is solid.
the interior, the exterior
Are you sure? I mean the LaCrosse was facelifted pretty much immediately, in 2018 it got styling upgrades, in 2019 a full facelift for the 2020 model year, and then canceled for the US market.
It doesn't look bad, but not as harmonic and inviting as competitors. I think the Implata (same car different badge) looked better.
One thing I would like to add. 2017 was the first model year of the 3rd generation, meaning there might be problems that were solved in later model years.
@dan Thank you so much for the mechanical in depth analysis. I don’t understand why you said this is a rebadged opel insignia. Its not. The buick regal is a rebadged opel, not the lacrosse. The lacrosse is its own entity. I also have another question, if the 8 speed is not very reliable, what about the GM 9 speed? The 2017 lacrosse used the 8 speed but they quickly switched up in 2018 & 2019 to the new GM 9 speed, would that be a better buy?
GM's entire car and small-suv lineup was designed by Opel engineers.
The LaCrosse still sits on the same "moderately updated version of Epsilon 2 platform" as does the Opel Insignia, and depending on the market even the entire powertrain - as the "GM 3.6 GDi" was developed, at least partially by Opel engineers.
It's just a stretched and improved Opel insignia, a plusher nicer Buick Regal.
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That's not just the Opel Regal and LaCrosse, the Buick Encore is an Opel Mokka, and most new and old GM sedan/small-SUV models are just Opels in disguise - pretty much all of them use either a GM-Opel platform or an Opel engine (such as the Opel B-series, called "SGE" by GM)
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But since PSA's (Peugeot-Citroën) take over of Opel, Opel engineers responsible for designing these cars are been mostly fired and new Opel cars share parts and platforms with PSA cars - new GM sedans/Small-SUVs will be different.
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By the signs of things they'll be Chinese or Korean as the first post GM-Opel all new small SUV (the Buick Encore GX) is either built by Korean "GM Korea" (aka. Daewoo) or Chinese "SAIC motor"
Please do a search on our forum since others have asked about it:
https://carkiller.com/scottykilmer/qa/2017-2019-buick-lacrosse/#post-132529
https://carkiller.com/scottykilmer/qa/thoughts-on-2017-buick-lacrosse/#post-215754
https://carkiller.com/scottykilmer/?wpfs=Buick+LaCrosse
