The all-new LaCrosse made an early appearance at the end of last year when revealing images of the exterior showed up on China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) website. Fast forward to April 2023, the sedan has yet to be officially revealed, but the debut is inching closer. Buick has initiated the teaser campaign for its new upmarket sedan by showing the posh interior with a large display and cozy LED ambient lighting.
Images published by Chinese website Autohome show the fourth-generation LaCrosse with a dashboard layout similar to the Buick Electra E5's. Assuming it uses the same driver's display and infotainment, you're looking at a continuous 30-inch OLED curved display with a crisp 6K resolution. Other details worth mentioning include boomerang-shaped door handles, leather-wrapped dashboard, and a "floating" center console with a built-in wireless charging pad for a smartphone.
Despite the large screen, Buick hasn't completely given up on buttons. Much like in the Electra E5, there seem to be some touch-sensitive shortcuts to often-used functions pertaining to the climate settings. In addition, there are plenty of traditional buttons (plus electric seat adjustment) on the door as well as a few more the left of the dashboard.
Stepping outside, the images published on the MIIT website showed a fairly generic design with Toyota Mirai and/or Avalon similarities. The new sedan will ride on an evolution of the E2 platform and will be 30 mm (1.18 in) shorter than the model it replaces, at 4996 millimeters (196.7 inches) long. Width stays the same at 1866 mm (73.5 in), and so does the wheelbase at 2905 mm (114.4 in). Height increases by 10 mm (0.4 in) to 1472 mm (57.9 in).
Mild-hybrid, plug-in hybrid, or electric versions of the new LaCrosse are apparently not planned, with customers having no other way but to get the large sedan with a turbocharged 2.0-liter gasoline engine rated at 237 hp or 10 hp less than before. It'll weigh nearly 2,100 kilograms (4,630 pounds) and offer 18- or 19-inch wheels.
The LaCrosse left the US market after the 2019 model year and we wouldn't count on it returning.
