Today, I went to my city's Auto Show. As in most Auto Shows, there were different test drive events. One of them was GM's, and GM's test drive event was the only one my father and I participated in. In both cases, I was the passenger (I'm still far from being driving age). Both test drives were short jaunts around busy streets in the city. Here are my notes about the Chevrolet Traverse and Buick LaCrosse.
2013 Chevrolet Traverse LTZ
This car has garnered much praise from automotive journalists. However, I wasn't particularly impressed by it.
First of all, the two captain's chairs in the second row had little padding. Plus, there were kind of small. Along those lines, the armrests were too short, and they left half of my arm hanging. A nice touch was that the door panels were padded and stitched even in the second row. On the other hand, the wood trim was obviously fake. It didn't even try to hide its plastic texture. Also, the sunshade for the dual moonroofs weren't particularly shady. They were a mesh material.
Another thing that annoyed me was the fact that the side windows in the third row were nearly useless. They were no more than little slivers of glass way up high.
A surprise was how rough the engine was. I could feel the vibrations of the engine in my seat, particularly when the car was idling. The ride is well-dampened, but the suspension doesn't absorb impacts well. That may be attributable to the large wheels on the test car.
2013 Buick LaCrosse Touring
My first impressions of this car were not good. The windows were extremely short (though I got used to it fairly quickly) and the start-up of this car shook the entire vehicle.
Once we got moving, I could feel the texture of the road. Impact harshness is actually well-muted, but the actual surface of the pavement got translated pretty well into the cabin as a near-constant vibration in the floor that only stops when the car stops.
Same as the Traverse, the moonroofs' shades weren't all that useful. The wood trim is strikingly fake, and cheap plastics were not used sparingly around the doors and lower door panels. Those plastics were acceptable in the Traverse, but I prefer my luxury car to be a luxury car through and through.
On a good note, the Harman/Kardon stereo provided clear, powerful sound. The 3.6-liter V-6 also moved the LaCrosse out of its own way very well, at least on city streets. The cabin was also notably quiet. And I also appreciated the leather-lined front seatbacks.
Both vehicles are very roomy.
2013 Chevrolet Traverse LTZ
This car has garnered much praise from automotive journalists. However, I wasn't particularly impressed by it.
First of all, the two captain's chairs in the second row had little padding. Plus, there were kind of small. Along those lines, the armrests were too short, and they left half of my arm hanging. A nice touch was that the door panels were padded and stitched even in the second row. On the other hand, the wood trim was obviously fake. It didn't even try to hide its plastic texture. Also, the sunshade for the dual moonroofs weren't particularly shady. They were a mesh material.
Another thing that annoyed me was the fact that the side windows in the third row were nearly useless. They were no more than little slivers of glass way up high.
A surprise was how rough the engine was. I could feel the vibrations of the engine in my seat, particularly when the car was idling. The ride is well-dampened, but the suspension doesn't absorb impacts well. That may be attributable to the large wheels on the test car.
2013 Buick LaCrosse Touring
My first impressions of this car were not good. The windows were extremely short (though I got used to it fairly quickly) and the start-up of this car shook the entire vehicle.
Once we got moving, I could feel the texture of the road. Impact harshness is actually well-muted, but the actual surface of the pavement got translated pretty well into the cabin as a near-constant vibration in the floor that only stops when the car stops.
Same as the Traverse, the moonroofs' shades weren't all that useful. The wood trim is strikingly fake, and cheap plastics were not used sparingly around the doors and lower door panels. Those plastics were acceptable in the Traverse, but I prefer my luxury car to be a luxury car through and through.
On a good note, the Harman/Kardon stereo provided clear, powerful sound. The 3.6-liter V-6 also moved the LaCrosse out of its own way very well, at least on city streets. The cabin was also notably quiet. And I also appreciated the leather-lined front seatbacks.
Both vehicles are very roomy.
Comments
Post a Comment