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2017 Buick LaCrosse Falls Short Of IIHS TSP+ Rating, Headlights Are To Blame

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has its ways of determining how safe a car is in a crash situation. But beyond crashworthiness, the IIHS also pays attention to the headlights.
2017 Buick LaCrosse safety ratings 6 photos
Photo: IIHS
2017 Buick LaCrosse crash test2017 Buick LaCrosse crash test2017 Buick LaCrosse crash test2017 Buick LaCrosse crash test2017 Buick LaCrosse safety ratings
The independent nonprofit organization awards the range-topping Top Safety Pick+ award only if the vehicle aces all crashworthiness tests, the front crash prevention test, and only if the headlights are rated “good” or “acceptable.” In the 2017 Buick LaCrosse’s case, it’s the lighting system that brought the overall score down to Top Safety Pick without the “+” appendix.

In essence, the luxury sedan is equipped with “poor” headlights based on the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s testing procedures. The IIHS highlights that the visibility of the low beams “was inadequate on both sides of the road,” and the high beams offered inadequate visibility on the left side.

The ease of use of the child seat anchors is another bad point of the 2017 Buick LaCrosse, having earned a “marginal” rating from the IIHS. But that’s about all that’s wrong with the LaCrosse in the institute’s eyes. In all other tests (small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength, head restraints & seats, front crash prevention), GM’s sedan earned top marks.

Priced from $32,065 and rated 5 stars overall by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the 2017 Buick LaCrosse rides on an all-new platform dubbed P2XX. Essentially a longer variant of the E2XX used in the Chevrolet Malibu, the P2XX will be employed by the next-generation Chevrolet Impala. The all-new model is expected to hit the market in the model year 2018.

The LaCrosse, meanwhile, is the plushest sedan the Buick brand has to offer for the time being. Four trim levels are available, as is a choice between front- and all-wheel-drive. At $44,190 before destination, the LaCrosse AWD Premium features all the bits and bobs expected from this type of vehicle, including a heated steering wheel, massage front seats, head-up display, and a direct-injected 3.6-liter V6 with 310 horsepower and 282 lb-ft.

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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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