Lucerne Gas Milage

[Guest norb]

Drove my 6 cyl. Lucerne to Indy & back yesterday.Kept up with the traffic and got 31.17 MPG. I thought it was reasonable for a very comfortable car.However a tank of gas is 66.51 bucks.

[Guest my3buicks]

Newer Buicks actually don't do to badly on gas do they. My 2004 Rendezvous will get 24 and sometimes squeek out 25 on a trip which I think is extremely good for this type vehicle and the comfort level I enjoy. I thought (not to hard mind you) about getting something more fuel efficient, but even the tiny SUV's don't really do any better than the mileage the Rendezvous is currently giving me, and they would have far less space and comfort. Not ready to jump on the hybrid bandwagon yet, I can buy a lot of fuel for what it would cost me to trade in the Rendezvous and get something new. What I reallly need/want is an AWD Lucerne/Invicta station wagon, but somehow I don't think that's in the works at Buick.

[variablepitch]

We just finished a trip in our Lucerne V6 of 1023 miles. We drove to Long Beach on the Washington coast via White Pass and down to Cannon Beach and Tillamook Oregon. It was a short vacation that brought us back home through Portland and up the Columbia and back to eastern Washington. Lots of short trip driving and sightseeing, etc.

Our best mileage I think was our fastest from the Dalles Oregon to Spokane. As soon as we crossed the Columbia, I drove a touch over 70 and still got 27.7. Our trunk was full as usual. It's a fine car for trips like we took last week.

LeeB

[pphil]

my dad just drove from green bay wi. back to nashville tn

in my 2005 colorado got 31 mpg at about 68 mph......

and to make this buick related i followed him in my 1970 wildcat and got 19 mpg (really not kidding)692.1 miles on 36.4 gallons

scott

[Centurion]

Scott, I've heard of others who achieved close to 20-mpg at highway speeds with the high-compression Buick 455 in their 1970 Electra 225's.

[Dave@Moon]

Lucerne Super Road Test from this weekend's Motorweek

(Note that the gas mileage is buried in the third from the last paragraph in this otherwise glowing review. Apparently the V8 is <span style="text-decoration: underline">way</span> thirstier than the V6, out drinking many SUVs.)

[Guest Reatta1]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Centurion</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Scott, I've heard of others who achieved close to 20-mpg at highway speeds with the high-compression Buick 455 in their 1970 Electra 225's. </div></div>

That is very true. I had a 70 Estate Wagon with the 455 and consistently got 20 to 21 mpg on trips with it.

[NTX5467]

Well, the V-8 in the LaCrosse Super is the "Chevy" 5.3L V-8 and the Lucerne Super is the "Cadillac" NorthStar V-8.

The Impala SSs I've rented, with the 5.3L V-8 have BOTH topped 30mpg on the highway, with the cruise at 65mph. The similar Grand Prix GXP didn't quite make it to that level, though, but still better on the highway than the SC3800s I've rented in Grand Prix GTs and GTPs. As the LaCrosse is pretty much a "cross" between the Impala and Grand Prix V-8 models, I suspect it would be similar to the Impala SS. BUT if you use the performance potential of the 5.3L V-8, the mpg will be appropriately lower. If you drive it to not let the variable displacement feature "work", then mpg will be for "all 8" instead.

A co-worker recently went to Las Vegas from the DFW area in his DeVille (a three year old one, if I remember correctly). Average mpg was 27mpg+, with the NorthStar V-8.

The current EPA highway ratings were factored downward mid-year in the 2007 model year to allegedly better reflect real world mpg. Interestingly, the prior mileage ratings were pretty much what I got with the vehicles I've rented, so to me, the prior ratings were highly "real world". Perhaps the old "driving style" issue again? As for the highway mpg ratings, even the prior to that system was accurate for what the mpg the rent cars would get.

Just my own experiences . . . yours may vary.

NTX5467

[Guest BJM]

My mom and stepdad own a fully trimmed V8 Lucerne and are mad about the gas mileage, even taking it back to the dealer. They traded a 2004 Lesabre with the venerable 3.8L, which of course got 26 mpg.

[NTX5467]

BMJ, have them set the Driver Information Center's Trip Computer to "Instant Fuel Economy" and then take it out on the Interstate, set the cruise, and see what it does on flat-level roadway (which is much more scarce than you might suspect, but the Instant Fuel Economy readout will indicate where the slight inclines and declines are). If it doesn't have that capability, then use the "Average Fuel Economy" readout to gauge driving style and "stop" time (at a red light or in a drive-thru line, for example).

If there are no codes stored in the computer, it is presumed that everything is "as designed". Plus, they are now feeding more horses under the hood, even if they don't need them.

Regards,

NTX5467

[MarkV]

Well, My mustang costs about 60 to fill up! So, a Buick is much nicer! And luxurious! That is why I am going to buy the '89 Lesabre 2 dr. from my Uncle, because, according to everyone on here it gets around 25-30 with the v-6 in good condition! My stang gets about 20-22 with a 6 and it does not even have close to the build quality of a Buick!