LOS ANGELES — Buick is pulling the wraps off its 2012 LaCrosse Hybrid at the 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show, the latest entrant in a rapidly expanding premium-hybrid segment that includes the Lexus HS 250h and the Lincoln MKZ Hybrid.
While the 2012 LaCrosse Hybrid, at around $30,000, will be considerably less expensive than the MKZ Hybrid, which retails for just over $35,000, it falls well short of the Lincoln's EPA city fuel-economy rating while just nudging it in highway fuel economy.
Buick said the LaCrosse Hybrid's eAssist system will mate a 182-horsepower 2.4-liter Ecotec four-cylinder gasoline direct-injection engine with an electric motor/generator that can deliver an additional burst of up to 15 hp during acceleration. In comparison, the 2011 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid couples a 156-hp 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine with an electric motor for a combined output of 191 hp. The LaCrosse Hybrid employs a revised six-speed automatic transmissi
on, while the MKZ Hybrid uses a continuously variable automatic.
In addition to this mild hybrid technology, Buick also equipped the 2012 LaCrosse with Start-Stop engine technology, which seamlessly powers down the engine at idle to conserve fuel, despite current EPA regulations failing to reflect savings in fuel economy ratings. Rounding out the changes that make these fuel economy figures possible is a six-speed automatic transmission, underbody aerodynamic tweaking and low-rolling resistance tires.
Power for the LaCrosse eAssist is provided by a 2.4-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine with direct-injection. It gains an efficiency boost through the addition of a 115V lithium-ion battery pack, which allows the fuel system to take a nap during certain conditions. These two power systems working together, along with the six-speed automatic transmission, allow the Buick LaCrosse eAssist to achieve 25 miles per gallon in the city and 37 mpg on the highway – a 25% percent improvement compared to the 2.4-liter flying solo. Consider this the reinvention of GM's long lost mild hybrid system.
Pricing for the 2012 Buick LaCrosse eAssist is expected to start around $30,000. What's more, the hybrid system will be fitted standard to all LaCrosse models equipped with the 2.4-liter Ecotec engine.
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