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The Buick LaCrosse is a quiet, pleasant-mannered mid-size sedan that handles winding roads better than you might expect. Its styling is sophisticated and modern, yet conservative. Inside is a rich, high-quality cabin with eye-catching woodgrain trim, nicely presented instruments and controls, and available leather seats with attractive gathered stitching.For 2008, the Buick LaCrosse has been updated with fresh styling, including a new hood, grille, and front fascia. The LaCrosse lineup offers a choice of two V6 engines, but for 2008 a powerful V8 joins the line as well: The 2008 Buick LaCrosse Super is powered by a V8 and delivers the quickest 0-60 mph time since the famed Buick Grand National of the 1980s. Buick dug into its past for the Super model name, last used in 1958. The Super is distinguished by Buick's trademark portholes and other styling cues. The LaCrosse CX and CXL offer a soft ride, the kind traditionally associated with Buick, but drivers may be surprised by the sportiness of the CXS and Super, which offer precise steering and a relatively firm suspension with little body lean. A LaCrosse CXS handles quite impressively on winding mountain roads and can carve through a canyon with the best of the midsize sedans. We found the V6 engines motor along smoothly and quietly on the freeway yet offer good power, growling enthusiastically under hard acceleration. The 3.8-liter V6 that comes in the CXL is a reliable, cast-iron, overhead-valve engine that gets an EPA-rated 17/28 mpg and delivers strong low-rpm torque for good acceleration in on crowded, low-revving American roads. The sportier CXS features a double overhead-cam engine that revs more freely and produces more horsepower, making the LaCrosse more fun to drive while rating 17/25 mpg. The new Super V8 turns this Buick into a modern muscle car but is refined and quiet when cruising. The Super is EPA rated at 16/24 mpg. Electronic features abound, making the LaCrosse a safe, all-weather family car with nice conveniences. Among them: a remote starting system that will work from up to 500 feet away, great on cold winter mornings; OnStar, which will dispatch emergency crews to your precise location if you have a wreck and don't respond to operators' calls; XM satellite radio to pick up CNN, Fox News, ESPN, or your favorite music; and StabiliTrak, which can help keep you from skidding off a slippery road. ABS and side-curtain airbags come standard.
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