To create the Lucerne CXL V8, which is the brand's first full-size, front-wheel-drive, V8-powered luxury sedan, Buick essentially rebodied the Cadillac DTS and shaved a few grand off the sticker price.
Sound idea. Buick needed to replace its long-in-tooth Park Avenue, and the new model would have a V8 engine, a novelty for its class. Problem is, the DTS isn't exactly a spring chicken. The bulk of its hardware has been around since the late 1990s and it's all showing its age.
Even the 4.6-liter Northstar V8 is graying around its temples. In the Lucerne, it's rated at 275 horsepower at 5,600 rpm and 290 pound-feet of torque at 4,400 rpm. Impressive numbers five or six years ago, but the much smaller V6 engines in the 2006 Hyundai Azera and 2006 Toyota Avalon nearly match that output. In fact, the 3.5-liter V6 in the Toyota is rated at 280 hp.
At 3,869 pounds the Lucerne is also heavy for its class, and to make matters worse, Buick backs the V8 with a four-speed automatic transmission, which is about as cutting edge as a cassette deck. It shifts smoothly enough for a luxury car, but its gear ratios are too tall to give the Lucerne an alert, ready-when-you-are feel.
As expected, the Buick's acceleration times aren't really any better than the times posted by its V6-powered competition. The Lucerne isn't slow, but it isn't the banker's hot rod its V8 would lead you to believe. At the test track 0-60 mph took 7.7 seconds and the quarter-mile was completed in 15.5 seconds at 92 mph.
On the same day at the same strip we tested an Azera and it ran from zero to 60 mph in 7.2 seconds and matched the Lucerne's quarter-mile performance. The last Avalon we tested was even quicker. Buy a Lucerne with the standard V6 and you should expect to be shut down by the ice cream truck.
Of course the V6 Hyundai and Toyota are without the Lucerne's throaty V8 soundtrack, which is certainly worth something, but they're much more fuel-efficient than the Buick. We averaged less than 14 mpg during our week in the Lucerne, 21 mpg in the Avalon and 17.7 mpg in the Azera.