"Wouldn't you really rather have a Buick?"
My answer to that ad line was usually something like "Not especially." But after the seemingly endless parade of trucks and sport-utility vehicles that have come my way lately, I couldn't wait to slide onto the cushy leather seats of the 1997 Buick LeSabre.And it didn't disappoint. My late father-in-law was a Buick man to the core, and my wife and I owned a couple of B-cars when we were first married, including a '68 LeSabre. Then we jumped on the import bandwagon and never looked back. Driving the new LeSabre was something of a sentimental journey.
That's not to say that Buick hasn't changed with the passage of nearly three decades. The front end still wallows a bit, but nothing like the ocean-liner effect that my father-in-law's old Electras used to simulate.
The name is kind of a problem, too. "LeSabre" sounds so Fifties. I wonder if GM shouldn't go through and rename its whole model lineup, maybe use letters and numbers ala BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Names like LeSabre seem as hokey today as leisure suits.
Which is too bad. Because if the image of Buick LeSabre is dated, the car, itself, is not. It rides as smooth as butter on the freeway, seats six across its two bench seats, has a trunk that swallows up four golf bags with room to spare, gets surprisingly decent gas mileage and is priced well below those German and Japanese luxury cars.
LeSabres come in two trim levels, Custom and Limited. The review car was a Limited. Its base price was $26,114. With options and destination charges, the bottom line moved up to $27,966.
For the 1977 model year, Buick made some mild changes in the look of the LeSabre, a redo that Buick spokesman William L. Porter termed "risky" since LeSabre has been the best-selling full-size car in America for the past four years. Which begs the question, if it ain't broke why fix it?
"Our game plan was to reinforce some of the LeSabre's existing design characteristics and to improve the execution wherever possible with late-breaking technology," said Porter. As an example, he points to Buick's first use of a halogen headlamp with a fixed outer lens and an adjustable reflector.
Other changes include blending the grille into the hood and changing the tail lamps and rear body work to provide better access to the trunk.
Powering the '97 LeSabre is a 3.8-liter, 205-horsepower V6 that has to be one of the best engines GM has ever built. I rank it up there with the Nissan/Infiniti V6, my personal benchmark for smooth, powerful six-bangers.
For those who really want to drive a stealth-fighter, a supercharged version is also available. I say go for it.
Buicks are virtually synonymous with the term "gas guzzler" but, again, that's the old image. The '97 LeSabre is rated at an astonishing (for a full-size sedan) 19 mpg city and 30 mpg highway on regular unleaded. Fill the tank for a trip and you can figure on traveling about 540 miles - all the way to Denver or Reno.
As I write this review, it becomes clearer to me why LeSabre is the best-selling full-size car in the country. It has more of what most people want for today's driving: a hefty (3,462 pounds) luxury car that has every convenience item any rational person could want, in a good-looking, ableit conservative, package.
OK, so it doesn't handle like a BMW 540i. Most people don't care. In an era when we are spending more time idling in traffic jams than practising our heel-and-toe racing techniques, high-speed handling is not a top priority. (Cupholders apparently rank higher.)
Besides, a package that includes grand touring suspension, touring tires and traction control is available for a reasonable $512 so you can have your comforts and your handling, too.
What it adds up to is this: LeSabre has virtually none of the status of a BMW or Lexus; if you want to be the envy of your neighbors, you'd best look elsewhere. But if you want a really good luxury car at a price not much higher than you'll pay for a Toyota Camry, then take a long look at LeSabre.
On the standard LeSabre, you get a system that automatically levels the suspension, cornering lights, air conditioning with separate controls for the front passengers and vents for those in back.
Also included are an AM/FM/
cassette stereo system with separate controls on the steering hub. The windows, outside mirrors and locks are all controlled by power switches, and the remote keyless entry activates an alarm system.
Leather upholstery adds a nice luxury touch for only $550 (well below the tab for leather on those German luxury cars), and another $200 gets you an upgraded sound system with tape and CD player. Alas, the Delco radio still can't hold a station very well, especially when stopped under a traffic light.