Handsomely styled, the Buick Lucerne would convince as a luxury car were it not for the return of port-holes to the front fenders. This heritage design cue somewhat clutters the Lucerne's clean flanks while instantly identifying it as a Buick. That's too bad, because from the back, some might confuse it with the much more expensive Volkswagen Phaeton.

Inside, a new dashboard features tighter seams and flush surfaces, helping to impart a quality, upscale look and feel. The Buick Lucerne includes QuietTuning, body insulation designed to reduce wind, road, and engine noise in the cabin. The Lucerne also features plenty of room for five passengers.

Standard safety equipment includes a dual-stage driver airbag, a new dual-depth front passenger airbag, side-impact airbags, and side-curtain airbags. The dual-depth airbag design takes occupant seatbelt usage, seating position, and crash severity into account to deploy the front passenger airbag at a shallow depth or a deeper depth to protect the passenger. The 2006 Buick Lucerne is also equipped with OnStar telematics, which includes a notification system that alerts rescue personnel in the event that the airbags deploy. StabiliTrak stability control also comes standard.