2012 Buick LaCrosse with eAssist: First Drive

The 2012 Buick LaCrosse will be the first model to receive GM's eAssist mild-hybrid system, a new take on a design used in past cars like the Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid and Green Line versions of the Saturn Aura and Vue. Regrettably, those cars delivered maximum public-relations pain for their mileage gain: They failed to provide the efficiency of the day's full hybrids, and critics thought GM was disingenuous to use the hybrid term. The newly named eAssist boasts up to 25% better mileage than the current four-cylinder LaCrosse, and it drives well, too.

Joe Wiesenfelder

June 6, 2011