Buick LaCrosse will become a great weapon

One day before the official test drive, Shanghai GM arranged a detailed explanation of LaCrosse products. Mr. Sun Xiaodong, Executive Director of Marketing Department, explained the breakthrough of LaCrosse's brand positioning. Various innovations in LaCrosse technology. This is the third time I have heard the detailed explanation of LaCrosse on different occasions. Why does the manufacturer pay so much attention to the explanation of LaCrosse? Because there's more to the back of this car than you can see.

Shanghai GM has a lot to say about the LaCrosse product, and these words are worth conveying to everyone. For example, in terms of positioning, LaCrosse brings the connotation of "modernity, technology and taste" to the Buick brand for the first time; in terms of development, it is the first new car developed by Shanghai GM inside and out; The integration and utilization of international resources has reached an unprecedented level... These explain why I used more than 2,000 words to write the LaCrosse press conference (see the last issue of "De Dao", page 108 of the comprehensive edition), because only those who understand LaCrosse Development background, you can understand the ideas it conveys when you test drive it in the field.

The factory's many explanations have aroused my eager anticipation for LaCrosse. So I flipped through its introduction materials, circled the links that needed personal verification one by one, and reminded myself to verify each item during the field test. Categorized, there are three main parts to be actually verified: handling, power and carriage.

Buick flagship that can go into the mountains

There is a sentence in LaCrosse's explanation that touches people's hearts, that is, when introducing LaCrosse's excellent platform technology, Mr. Liu Yuehai said, "LaCrosse's control adjustment Based on the Saab 9-5." God, the Saab 9-5 is one of my favorite handling cars! After listening to this sentence, the picture in my mind about the test drive of the LaCrosse turned out to be a scene of cornering on a mountain road. So the next day, we got up early in the morning, found a mountain road with many bends in the GPS map of LaCrosse, and then set off in the direction of the mountain. Driving a Buick sedan and actively looking for a mountain road is probably something that was never imagined before.

The LaCrosse 2.4 Elite Edition I drove did not disappoint on the dozens of kilometers of mountain roads in the Mogan Mountains, northwest of Hangzhou. It has a good "horse stance", the body roll, nods and head-up are very well restrained, and the body action is more stable than expected when cornering, braking and accelerating. One of the strongest evidence is that after a morning of torture on the mountain road, the two passengers in the car did not suffer from vicious motion sickness (a little motion sickness is inevitable, but the guy driving the car is testing the car).

Suddenly thought that if it was replaced by Regal, it is estimated that everyone in the car would have "turned the clouds over the rain". In addition to the stable feeling of the car body, the LaCrosse's suspension is also very compliant to the road surface. The wide and thick tires (size 225/60R16) provide sufficient grip and shock filtering performance, continuously sweeping through various radians, The tires and suspension can maintain stable and accurate tracking in corners of various terrains, and while being firm, there will be no allergic jumping due to uneven road surfaces.

Another important aspect that affects the fun of cornering is the coordination of power. It was a wise decision for us to choose a 2.4-liter LaCrosse, because this 2.4-liter engine has a very modern performance, a wide power range, and the automatic transmission responds very quickly. It is also very smooth and natural to attack bends in D gear without fatigue. Or dullness, it can be seen that the power matching of this 2.4 is quite good. First seen in the manual mode on domestic Buick models, the up-and-down gear compliance is very high, and the shifting smoothness is also first-class. There is no suffocation in the drag gear before cornering, and the shift button on the steering wheel can keep your hands from the disc. Quickly up and down gears, it can be said to be handy when attacking corners.

In the process of cornering, the LaCrosse's ability to enter the corner is often stronger than we expected. I thought it was going to push the head. As a result, the turning radius can be narrowed with the twist of the steering wheel; I thought it was going to rattle the tire, but the result was Only a slight "swish" sound was heard and it bit the ground and passed. Gradually, the feeling of driving the LaCrosse became more and more flexible, and the confidence became stronger and stronger. The only thing that makes people unhappy is its steering. Although the empty position and speed ratio are much better than those of the Regal, the steering wheel's road feel and return force are still very weak. Confidence in cornering, as you slowly explore the cornering potential of its chassis, you will slowly build up mutual trust with it, so as to exert the proper cornering speed.

After communicating with the manufacturer, it is confirmed that the steering design of LaCrosse is still based on the comfort and lightness of daily driving, and does not use the speed-sensitive power assist that will increase the cost, which explains why the steering wheel feels heavy when cornering insufficient. Going back to the verification goal of "taking Saab 9-5 as a reference", I think LaCrosse's chassis performance is really pleasant, but the steering feel is far from pure as Saab. The manufacturer explained that LaCrosse is a "civilian aircraft" and Not a "fighter" (and Saab is indeed a fighter), I guess that explanation is acceptable.

To sum up the handling performance, we drove the LaCrosse 2.4 on the mountain road for nearly 100 kilometers and hundreds of corners, most of which were devoted to driving with the mentality of attacking corners. This is not all for the needs of the test drive, but the LaCrosse does give people confidence and makes you willing to put in to feel its cornering performance. Compared with the "big Buicks" of the past, this new Buick flagship offers unprecedented control pleasure. Perhaps the vast majority of Buick owners are accustomed to driving gently, but it is actually a very manly behavior to occasionally devote yourself to the control of the car.

The power is "modern"

The power system of the LaCrosse is the second link to be verified, the most important of which is the new 2.4-liter engine. This engine developed and manufactured by GM Powertrain, which is technically a close relative to Opel, adopts many new technologies in the same class, including all-aluminum cylinder block, VVT variable valve timing system, variable intake air Manifolds, dual reverse balance shafts, adjustment-free pulleys and more, four front-speed automatic transmission with manual mode and steering wheel shifting.

After the actual test drive, we affirmed the advanced and perfection of this engine. Its matching with the gearbox is particularly commendable. The performance of cornering in the mountains is the best proof, and on the daily road, it can respond quickly to the throttle, the force is even, and the sound at 5000rpm is also very good. Solid and sounding. On the highway, the LaCrosse 2.4 I drove quietly reached 160km/h. At this time, I could switch between the 3rd and 4th gears smoothly through the buttons on the steering wheel. The top speed announced by the manufacturer was 200km/h. I believe it is as real as the 50% revocation of the driver's license for speeding stipulated by the traffic police.

In addition to the new 2.4 engine, the 3.0 engine originally used on the Regal has also been transplanted to the LaCrosse (the Regal 3.0 has been discontinued), but several new technologies have been added, such as the DoD (Diaplcement on Demand) variable displacement system and transmission manual shift mode. DoD technology turns off the ignition of one cylinder when the engine is under low load (such as cruise control), thereby burning less gasoline. In actual driving, the switching between 6-cylinder and 3-cylinder driving is completely imperceptible, and there is no sense of unevenness, and the overall effect is to save 5% of gasoline.

Because the main structure of the engine has not changed, the dynamic characteristics still retain the American style - quiet and peaceful, abundant low torque, and weak high rotation. Driving the LaCrosse 3.0 in the urban area, you can get enough power by pressing the accelerator, and it feels obviously more calm and generous than the 2.4. However, due to the lack of stamina above 3000rpm, on mountain roads and highways, the driving feeling of 3.0 is not as dynamic as that of 2.4.

Summarizing the power system of LaCrosse, the main force 2.4 feels very modern, and the 3.0 with new technology also gets rid of the old feeling. In the introduction this time, the manufacturer emphasized the acceleration time, top speed and fuel consumption figures of the two LaCrosse models, showing a kind of confidence in performance that was rarely seen in Buicks in the past.

Dazzling carriages

The third thing to verify is the carriages. I have heard a lot of introductions about LaCrosse's cabin design and equipment, but the cabin is in direct contact with the human body, and its quality must be determined through personal experience. For example, the Harman/Kardon audio set has only Your own ears can judge whether it sounds good or not.

Harman/Kardon is a master brand in the world's audio industry. Mercedes-Benz, Land Rover, and Rolls-Royce all use its products. LaCrosse's 7+2 audio system is tailor-made for it by Harman/Kardon. This trademark alone It has been shown that it is not much worse. In fact, its sound quality and sound field positioning have a high level that is rarely seen in domestic cars. When you listen to it, you can feel that it is a high-end product. Although some discerning peers say that it has not been able to compare with the audio of a million-dollar luxury car, it is indeed the best among the original cars under 300,000. I believe that most Buick buyers will be extremely satisfied. We drove the LaCrosse sound for most of the test drive, including cornering on mountain roads, to see how flattering it was.

Sit in the car, another thing to verify is the driving experience, which you can't observe in a static state. The driving performance of the LaCrosse is exactly the same as the atmosphere of its car, both of which pursue coordination and harmony, and the quietness and smoothness within the daily speed are all of the high level of Buick. The moving car is really quiet, even at 140km/h, you can still talk in a low voice. What is even more rare is that although the chassis of the LaCrosse is slightly harder to improve the handling, the suspension is still very smooth and quiet when driving on Chinese-style roads, and it can also absorb and resolve sudden road bumps and depressions calmly. It is worth mentioning that the driving comfort of the LaCrosse 2.4 is higher than that of the 3.0, because the former uses 16-inch tires, and the sidewall is thicker than the latter's 17-inch tires, which can filter the subtle vibrations of the road more efficiently. It has bigger and better looking rims, but when driving in the city, the chassis has a crumbly vibration that the "big Buick" has never had.

Finally, let me tell you about the equipment experience of LaCrosse. It has a lot of equipment, and it is easier to list what it has than to count what it does not have. In fact, equipment is one of LaCrosse's strongest selling points, and no matter which of the three models you choose (239,800, 269,800, and 329,800 respectively), the equipment level is the most abundant and complete in the same class and price. of.

Among the many devices, the most useful one is the GPS satellite navigation launched by Shanghai GM for the first time. It has a very user-friendly menu and is the only one with a 3D perspective among the many original car navigations in China. The actual navigation is also very accurate. Combined with the HUD head-up display on the 3.0 version, the upcoming direction and distance will be projected directly in front of the driver. This design is very convenient and safe.

Other things I like include parking sensors that can indicate the distance between four corners on the rear-view mirror, a key to start the engine early from the outside of the car, a head-up display with an improved projection position on the 3.0, and a remote control. And the rear seat DVD audio-visual system of cordless headphones, etc. However, the massage function of the seat is a bit exaggerated. Its roller structure claims to be very different from the general car massage seat, but the actual "massage" feeling is also the same, it is a dispensable equipment. However, there are very few such equipment in general. The overall equipment of LaCrosse is well-targeted, and there are not many things that are really boring or a waste of money.

Continue the "metaphysical" road

Buick's strength has always been in the "metaphysical" aspect, this time Miss Li Zhenghui from Shanghai GM's public relations department said to me when she saw me: You should take a serious look this time, LaCrosse's "metaphysical" "Well done too! After personal verification, I also agree with Miss Li's statement that LaCrosse has indeed performed strongly in "metaphysical" this time; but then again, it is "metaphysical" that impresses me the most - from LaCrosse's release to technical explanations to During the field test, I felt a consistent and clear product concept.

This point was revealed again when Mr. Sun Xiaodong answered questions from reporters after the test drive: many reporters asked why LaCrosse did not have equipment such as reversing cameras and assistant seat massages. It can be increased”; and when referring to the mechanical orientation problems such as the lack of movement in the steering and the general performance of the 3.0 engine at high revs, his answer is generally “the positioning of LaCrosse is not in this direction”.

His answer is actually a "idea" around the idea of the product - this idea is a circle, the size and position of this circle have been clearly defined by the depot, and then carefully and carefully in this circle Painted with exquisite patterns. Now they are most concerned about how many points they can get in this circle. As for things outside the circle, it does not affect the overall situation, nor is it in their plans and goals. This is what I said, LaCrosse is still guided by "metaphysical" research and development thinking. With planning, goals, actions, and results, it is difficult to fail to do something in this way.