Buick LaCrosse vs Buick LaCrosse eAssist: which is more reliable?
The Buick LaCrosse and the Buick LaCrosse eAssist are level on the federal record — 80/100 against 83/100 across the years we score. Which one to buy is decided by the model year, not the badge.
The record, side by side
Buick LaCrosse
- 9 model years scored
- 711 owner complaints on record
- about 4 complaints per year on the road
- 31 recall campaigns, 16 safety-critical
- best year 2019 (90/100) · worst 2012 (43/100)
Buick LaCrosse eAssist
- 4 model years scored
- 269 owner complaints on record
- about 6 complaints per year on the road
- 0 recall campaigns, 0 safety-critical
- best year 2015 (91/100) · worst 2013 (64/100)
Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.
Year by year: LaCrosse against LaCrosse eAssist
The comparison that decides the purchase. A nameplate is not one car — a redesign can move the record sixty points inside two years, and the two nameplates rarely move together.
What owners actually complain about
Buick LaCrosse
- Electrical System — 188 complaints
- Engine — 118 complaints
- Suspension — 89 complaints
Buick LaCrosse eAssist
- Electrical System — 73 complaints
- Steering — 58 complaints
- Engine — 32 complaints
Both nameplates have Electrical System as their largest complaint group, so the choice between them is about how often, not about what.
Years to avoid on each
Buick LaCrosse — avoid: 2012.
Buick LaCrosse eAssist: no model year scores below 45; the strongest are 2014, 2015, 2016.
A year scores below 45 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. Every car’s years to avoid.
What each costs today
A recent used Buick LaCrosse prices at about $20,900 and a Buick LaCrosse eAssist at about $15,700 — the Buick LaCrosse eAssist is roughly $5,200 less, and they return 24.0 against 28.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Buick LaCrosse or the Buick LaCrosse eAssist more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Buick LaCrosse eAssist scores 83/100 against the Buick LaCrosse's 80/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The gap is small enough that the model year matters more than the badge.
Which Buick LaCrosse and Buick LaCrosse eAssist years should I avoid?
Buick LaCrosse: 2012. Buick LaCrosse eAssist: no year scores below 45. Each of those scores under 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns.
What goes wrong on the Buick LaCrosse and the Buick LaCrosse eAssist?
The largest complaint group on the Buick LaCrosse is Electrical System (188 complaints); on the Buick LaCrosse eAssist it is Electrical System (73).
Is the Buick LaCrosse or the Buick LaCrosse eAssist cheaper to own?
A recent used Buick LaCrosse prices at about $20,900 and a Buick LaCrosse eAssist at about $15,700, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.