Not so long ago, a typical Buick buyer was the sort of oldster likely to bend your ear about what it was like to grow up in the Golden Age of Radio. Today, Buick is successfully targeting a generation whose members don’t remember life before the internet. In the seven years leading into 2013—a short time in the car industry, just a single product cycle—the Buick customer’s average age dropped from 64 to 59. But this is not a complete reversal of fortune; Buick still sells plenty of plush sedans to the “there’s no such thing as a free lunch” crowd even as it pushes potato-shaped crossovers on those who believe that “information wants to be free.” Which is why the completely redesigned Buick LaCrosse is actually two very different cars at once.

The Buick of Yesterday

The first is the standard LaCrosse, a large, five-passenger sedan with an ample back seat. A base model starts at just $32,990; a throwback to the black-and-white era, the LaCrosse is available only in those two non-colors without paying an upcharge and is mostly devoid of premium content or options. Kudos to the marketing team for calling out its “seatback map pockets” in the online configurator, which has us wondering: Do those who still use paper maps also use online configurators? An extra $4000 for Preferred trim nets you, ahem, a cargo net, a power-adjustable steering column, satellite radio, and shinier wheels but not the ability to have your LaCrosse with even the most remedial luxury amenities. Leather upholstery and heated seats are restricted to the next-higher trim level, the $39,590 Essence, as are the optional sunroof and the blind-spot and rear cross-traffic alerts. More advanced sensor-based safety equipment such as adaptive cruise control and automated braking are a $1690 option available only on the top Premium trim at $41,990. If you want the nice Buick, you’re not going to get it for the nice price.

The Buick of Tomorrow

But even a LaCrosse Premium needs some help to become that second, better LaCrosse that we prefer. This comes by fitting a $1625 package that includes 20-inch wheels and tires, an adaptive suspension, and GM’s HiPer Strut front suspension. (This package is also available on the Essence model.) Order the 20s and you turn the geriatric Buick into the LaCrosse of the future, a smooth-riding, nice-handling machine that isn’t afraid of twisty roads. If you prefer Jimmy Fallon to Johnny Carson, this is the LaCrosse for you.

We cannot overstate the improvement in handling of the car with the larger wheels and revised suspension. The handling of the Buick that floats along on 235/50R-18 tires might be best described as effortless. Its steering is extremely light, which makes the car feel imprecise, and the softness of the suspension doesn’t help. Buick uses a multilink rear suspension in all LaCrosse models and the structure feels stiff, but the standard tuning allows lots of up-and-down body motion. The HiPer Strut suspension with 20-inch wheels shod with 245/40R-20 tires creates a wholly different experience, especially when the driver pushes the Sport button on the dash, firming up the suspension and switching to a tauter steering program. Body control improved enough that we were able to remove the Sea-Bands that Buick had so generously provided for our drive.

Buick also offers an all-wheel-drive model, but only with Premium trim at a substantial $2200 price increase. We did not have the opportunity to drive that car, although we’re anxious to experience the changes to the LaCrosse’s on-road behavior brought on by its torque-vectoring rear axle that is similar to the setup used in the Cadillac XT5 crossover.

Single Six

All LaCrosse variants are powered by the same 3.6-liter V-6 making 310 horsepower and 282 lb-ft of torque. The six’s output is well matched to the 3700-pound car, with the eight-speed automatic transaxle going about its business almost imperceptibly. Sometimes too much so, as there is no separate shift programming when in Sport mode, although changing gears via the standard steering-wheel-mounted paddles somewhat ameliorates this need. The V-6 design features direct injection, auto stop/start, and active fuel management, which lets the engine switch seamlessly into four-cylinder mode to save fuel. These improvements and a claimed 300-pound weight reduction from last year’s LaCrosse yield a 3-mpg improvement in the EPA combined estimate, which is now 25 mpg.

The powertrain also features a new shifter, shared with the XT5 and promised to soon proliferate throughout the General Motors portfolio. Like other carmakers, GM has reinvented the decades-old PRNDL pattern because electronics that banish the physical linkage between the shifter and the transmission allow it to do so. Putting the LaCrosse into drive requires the lever to be pulled back with an accompanying side-button press, while reverse involves a push up through neutral and to the left. Park has its own button. Adopting such a design is a curious choice, one likely to challenge old and young alike and especially those driving the vehicle for the first time. See Chrysler’s woes with a similar shifter design—and let the confusion and low-speed crashes commence.

Inside and Out

We have no complaints, however, with Buick adopting the de facto standard for infotainment; Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard equipment. An 8.0-inch frameless touchscreen dominates the dashboard and runs the smartphone system alongside a version of GM’s modern corporate infotainment software. This is a marked improvement over the older system with seas of inscrutable buttons and tiny, low-resolution screens that still plagues some Buicks. The rest of the interior, too, is hugely improved from the last-generation LaCrosse, with much nicer materials including more soft-touch surfaces and real wood on pricier models.

It’s the outside of the car, however, that is likely to capture the most attention. With a 2.7-inch wheelbase stretch and a 1.6-inch lower roofline, the LaCrosse looks longer and lower even as it maintains its overall length, 197.5 inches. It’s a good-looking car—not great, but undeniably more elegant than its archrival Lexus ES, scarred as that car is with its aggressive and, some might say, inappropriate grille. The LaCrosse, by contrast, is nothing if not fancy. Chrome is served up in abundance, including a horizontal wing on its own new grille, flanking the Buick tri-shield badge.

In a nod to Buick’s heritage, the red, white, and blue colors have been restored to the traditional badge. It’s a perfect illustration of the brand’s refusal to abandon its longtime customers while it courts their children and grandchildren with credible products—like this much-improved LaCrosse.

Specifications VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, front- or 4-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan

BASE PRICE: LaCrosse, $32,990;

Preferred, $36,990;

Essence, $39,590;

Premium, $41,990

ENGINE TYPE: DOHC 24-valve V-6, aluminum block and heads, direct fuel injection

Displacement: 223 cu in, 3649 cc

Power: 310 hp @ 6800 rpm

Torque: 282 lb-ft @ 5200 rpm

TRANSMISSION: 8-speed automatic with manual shifting mode

DIMENSIONS:

Wheelbase: 114.4 in

Length: 197.5 in

Width: 73.5 in Height: 57.5 in

Passenger volume: 103 cu ft

Cargo volume: 15 cu ft

Curb weight (C/D est): 3700-4000 lb

PERFORMANCE (C/D EST):

Zero to 60 mph: 6.0-6.2 sec

Zero to 100 mph: 15.5-15.7 sec

Standing ¼-mile: 14.8-15.0 sec

Top speed: 145 mph

FUEL ECONOMY:

EPA city/highway driving: 20-21/29-31 mpg

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