How does the 2006 Buick Lucerne’s warranty rate against the competition?
The 2006 Buick Lucerne is covered by a four-year/50,000-mile basic and powertrain warranty, while rust protection spans six years or 100,000 miles. In contrast, the outgoing 2005 Buick LeSabre offered only three years or 36,000 miles of basic and powertrain coverage. In regard to competitors, the 2006 Lexus ES 330 provides better powertrain protection (six years or 70,000 miles), though the 2006 Chrysler 300 offers only three years or 36,000 miles of basic and powertrain coverage and only five years or 100,000 miles of rust protection.

Where can the 2006 Buick Lucerne be improved?
From a styling perspective, everything looks good except for the headlights – some personality could definitely be injected into those shiny, emotion-less lenses. There are no complaints with the powertrain, though making the Magnetic Ride Control and Magnasteer available across the lineup might spice up life with V6 models. Finally, the interior is one of the best to come out of GM in recent years, but there’s still too much hard plastic.

Does the front-wheel-drive platform hurt the 2006 Buick Lucerne?
No. Driving enthusiasts may not relish the thought of a large, V8-powered sedan without rear-wheel drive, but engineers have blessed the 2006 Buick Lucerne with a good balance of weight and handling, not to mention little torque-steer. Also, the majority of the Lucerne’s competitors are front-wheel drive, the Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300 being the notable exceptions.