2014 Buick Lacrosse: Can A Sedan Compete with an SUV?

A Girls Guide to Cars | 2014 Buick Lacrosse: Can A Sedan Compete with an SUV? - AGirlsGuideToCars LogoType Color Web TransparentBG 1

Will a roadtripping SUV-driving family be comfortable in a car?

We are a family of roadtrippers. And living in Texas with a family of five, we drive nothing smaller than a minivan or SUV – something with 3 rows.  My kids are used to their space and this momma likes having lots of room for luggage.

So recently, when we took a quick, 3-hour road trip to Houston for a few days, we were asked to try a road trip with a 2014 Buick Lacrosse.

A car? YES!

I had my doubts that it could be as comfortable as my SUV, but I was pleasantly surprised that is was just as spacious and comfortable as a bigger car and came with some pretty great features that made road tripping even better.

Buick Lacrosse

It’s got to be spacious

The first concern I always have when road tripping is will my family fit comfortably?  We are a family of 5, but on our trip, it was just me and the kids in the Buick.  My teenager sat in the front where she helped control the music selections and my two boys (12 & 5) sat in back.  All of us felt we had plenty of room for the long drive. If my husband had come, it would have been a little crowded in the back seat for the kids. But it was perfect for us.

The trunk was huge.  We each had a bag and there was still plenty of space left.  I like that it had a cargo net to use.  That would be helpful while grocery shopping to keep everything from rolling around.

Buick Lacrosse

Buick Intellilink & navigation

When traveling to a new area, I rely heavily on my iPhone to give me directions as it is more updated than my navigational system in my SUV.  When driving the Buick Lacrosse, we wanted to test out the fancy nav system, even if I really did know the way.

Like most systems, it provided me with a map and estimated time of arrival to Houston. But what surprised me the most was the real-time traffic information it used to re-route us to our hotel in downtown Houston.

We were due to arrive at 5:15 pm, and as you can expect traffic in Houston at 5 pm is horrific. The Intellilink “saw” the traffic when we were still 30 minutes away from downtown and re-routed us. I went with the new directions, even as it took us off the highway and we arrived at the hotel even earlier than predicted using only surface streets downtown. I never could have done that with my phone and would have spent hours in that traffic.

The Intellilink Infotainment System is a color touchscreen that provides voice-recognition commands, hands-free phone calls, SiriusXM, Pandora Radio, and much more. My teenager really got to know it on our travels and had it figured out within half an hour.

It’s easy to use and if you are a music lover, you will love some of the special features, such as Gracenote – which tags songs you like and will find more like it for you.

Adaptive Cruise

I tend to rely on cruise control when driving on long trips. I immediately put the Lacrosse on cruise when we got to an open highway but it kept changing the speed on me – as if it was driving on its own. Reluctantly, I turned it off and it wasn’t untilI was reading more about the car when we got to the hotel that I learned my Lacrosse had Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC).

ACC allows the car to automatically slow down or speed up to keep the pace of the car in front of you. I will admit, that it takes some getting used to as it’s hard to let go of control of the car, but I was amazed at how well this worked.

Buick Lacrosse

When in the right lane, when I came upon a car, we would slow down when we were at least two full car lengths away. As soon as I switched into the left hand lane, it would speed back up to the speed I had designated.

So besides this being a really cool feature, why would you want this? It’s a great feature to have if you make long car trips navigating traffic.

Everything at Your Fingertips

Many of our road trips are just me and kids, so safety is an utmost concern when driving. I really enjoyed having controls for everything in the steering wheel.

From the radio to the cruise to my phone, I could keep both hands on the wheel at all times. I also really enjoyed the Head-Up display, where my speed, navigational directions, and even music was projected out in front of me, like this:

I didn’t have to look anywhere but forward while driving.

So was the Buick Lacrosse a good road-tripping vehicle?

Yes, for a family of four or smaller, it was very comfortable and has some incredible features to help you get to your destination safely and efficiently.

What We Loved

  • Remote Keyless Entry
  • 8 Multi-color Driver Information Display
  • SiriusXM Satellite Radio (subscription required)
  • 2 Auxiliary Power Outlets
  • Bluetooth for Phone & Music
  • USB Port
  • Remote Start
  • 8 Color Touch Radio with Buick Intellilink & Navigation
  • Leather Package (Standard)
  • Heated & Air Conditioned Front Seats
  • Head-Up Display (additional cost)
  • Adaptive Cruise Control (additional cost)

What You Need to Know

  • 4 year/ 50,000 mile bumper-to-bumper warranty
  • Fuel Economy – 21 MPG combined city/highway
  • Rear Parking Assist
  • Rear Vision Camera
  • Driver Confidence Package (additional cost) – Forward Collision Alert, Rear Cross Traffic Alert, Side Blind Zone Alert with Lane Departure Warning
  • Standard Vehicle Price = $39,755.00

Disclosure: The Buick Lacrosse was provided to me for this review; I was not compensated for this review and opinions expressed are all my own.

Rebecca Darling, momma of 3 sassy Texas kiddos, writes a blog dedicated to family travel at R We There ... More about Rebecca Darling
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