Battle of the Barges: Avalon vs. Lucerne

[Jesda]

I'll return later with my comments.

[I~LUV~Caddys8792]

Lucerne.

[davesdeville]

The Lucerne, other than a slight case of bugeye, is actually a nice looking car. The Avalon is blah. The Lucerne wins in power with the Northstar, the Avalon wins in fuel economy. Build quality is supposedly quite good for both. I'd definately give the overall win to the Lucerne though.

[Lord Cadillac]

The Toyota Avalon has noticibly more power than even the Northstar version of the Buick Lucerne... 0-60 in about 7.6 for the Lucerne as opposed to the Avalon's 0-60 in about 6.6. A full second. The Avalon costs about $2000.00 less...

Now let's give a fairer picture comparison, as Jesda pictures the top model Lucerne's interior vs a lesser Avalon competitor...

Toyota Avalon:


Buick Lucerne:


And better exterior shots...

Toyota Avalon:



Buick Lucerne:

[90Brougham350]

I like the interior pix of the Avalon better than I like the Lucerne, but I think the Buick takes the cake on the outside; the Toyota is just boring to look at.

Brian

[1fastSTS]

The avalon woodgrain interior is awful, its so bright and cheesy looking. looks like some guy put aftermarket stick on crap. terrible in my book. the lucernes seats are by far better than the avalons flatlook, i like thye lucernes layout much better than the avalon. although the avalon does appear more spacious in the front. the lucernes layout is much nicer. excellent choice on buicks part to mimic the STS woograin and console area...the only part that annoys me is they should have complimented it with the woodgrain shifter and steering wheel.but i can def see the lucerne interior is solid and put together nicely, buick def. upped thier status with this one.
lucerne by far is much mroe attractive car. you guys are right, the avalon is just plain, looks similar to every other car on the road, i love the lucernes large chrome rims, attractive front and new style portholes that compliments its lines on the side. good job buick!

now isnt the avalon a v6? to buicks V8. the only dissapointment is, hey buick if your gonna give it a V8...atleast give it the 300hp northstar! but then again doesnt the lucerne offer a V6 as standard! Smart move! the only thing that surprises me is the fact buick used the 4.6.although i love this engine usually car companies stay consistant with their use of engine. the buick rainer has a 5.3L vortec engine, ud think theyd slap that engine in the lucerne for the new V8...maybe it coulda got the 303Hp like it should have!
reguardless im seeing lots of lucernes and lacrosses in Florida!, they are selling excellent.

[Lord Cadillac]

If you don't like the light-colored wood of the Avalon up top, it comes in a darker shade as well... Unfortunately, the leather in the Avalon is softer and the wood grain is actually real. Whether it looks cheesy or not, the Lucerne didn't even get REAL wood... And yes, the Avalon is a V6...

[1fastSTS]

wow then buick is making some pretty damn good plastic looking wood, lol

[annie]

I have always thought the buick was atactive and the avalon was bland but the avolon's interior is a little better looking than the buicks. Also the wood on the steering wheel and shifter is something I think GM wanted to leave for the DTS since the buick's interior looks very similer to the DTS's. As far as the engines go if GM was only going to put 275 bhp in a 4000lb 2006 car they should have found a way to sqeeze 20 more bhp out of the CTS's 255bhp 3.6L and kept the prestiges northstare out of a slow buick that can't keep up with a 268bhp 3.5L v6 powered car. Also even though the avolon is only 3600lb it is only a little smaller than the buick inside and out. Last but not lest that one second faster car that has an MSRP $1000 less when fully louded gets 22 city and 31 highway compared to the portly buicks 17 city and 25 highway. These cars are in the same class and I think the bland looking avolon has all the right pros vs its cons.

[Lord Cadillac]

I agree, Annie.. All that, and consider many people don't find the Avalon boring at all.. I've actually stopped to take pictures of one... When the new Avalon and Camry came out, half the people thought it looked classy and half the people thought it looked boring.. Now, half of that half who originally thought the designs looked boring - are coming around.. Whenever Toyota comes out with a new vehicle, people automatically say it's boring - like the new Lexus LS460. It's like mouth-muscle memory...

[davesdeville]

The Lucerne is just plain bigger than the Avalon. Almost 400lbs difference, Lucerne is 6" longer, an inch narrower, and it's got about an inch more interior room in every dimension. The Avalon is faster; this does not mean it has more power. A locomotive has like 4000hp, but is it gonna be faster than an STS with only 320? I'm not sure the Lucerne's published 0-60 and 1/4 mile (which I think it more useful info than 0-60 anyway) times are giving it all the credit it deserves, if we have an SLS weighing the same with the same powertrain how is the Lucerne .6 slower in the 1/4??

[1fastSTS]

I thought the lucerne was lighter by about 200lbs than the STS.

[Lord Cadillac]

Right. The Avalon is a mid-size sedan and the Lucerne is a large sedan. I didn't even realize there was a difference..

[Jesda]

Plastic covers suck. They're so cheesy. If youre afraid of seeing your controls, you probably shouldnt be driving.

The Avalon interior you posted is identical to the one I posted. I saw it myself at the St Louis auto show.

I love the space, hate the styling chosen for the body and interior. Inside, it feels like a laboratory. The neutral colors of the buttons and switches look sterile, while the wood goes with absolutely nothing, since none of the remaining interior colors come close to looking like something from nature.

Outside, it looks like something that should have a Maytag badge. The awkwardly shaped headlights, "lets just stick a line there" beltline creases, and the hideously tall rear end that makes the rear wheels look small. The car, as a result, looks fat and slow, while the bigger Lucerne looks lean by comparison.

The last Avalons were MUCH better looking.

"TIME LOVE AND TENDERNESS!"

[Lord Cadillac]

Okay, so your pictures served better as a comparison.

I don't get the "cover" either, honestly... Anyway. If you don't like the car, you don't like it. I'm not going to try and convince you otherwise...