We initially told you about Buick’s refreshed 2020 LaCrosse when the sedan leaked in China in November of 2018. But now, the facelifted model has officially made its debut in China – and we have all the details.
The 2020 Buick LaCrosse arrives with two main novelties: a redesigned exterior that aligns the large sedan with Buick’s latest design language, and GM’s latest new propulsion systems.
Aesthetically, the 2020 Buick LaCrosse stands out as the first model to adopt the latest Buick design language. Its renewed front end is more powerful and visually appealing thanks to a larger grille that ditches the traditional waterfall aesthetic in favor of a new dark horizontal pattern. The new grille connects with the redesigned headlights through a chrome-plated piece, significantly improving the visual width of the front end.
The rear end of the 2020 LaCrosse is also completely redesigned. A set of new taillights features a refined design similar to that seen on the 2018 Buick Enclave and 2019 Envision. They are connected by a chrome strip that also incorporates the Buick logo. The setup improves the large sedan’s stance while also giving it greater perceived width. The rear end also includes a reworked bumper and integrated double exhaust outlets. The design of the side goes unchanged.
The 2020 LaCrosse is also the first Buick model to adopt GM’s eighth generation Ecotec engines. The new, turbo-charged 2.0L LSY engine is mated to the new GM 9-speed automatic transmission. The duo delivers 237 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque.
SAIC-GM confirms what we already suspected: the LSY is its first engine that is capable of meeting the upcoming 6B emissions standards that will go into effect in 2020. Later on, the 2020 LaCrosse will be offered with the new, turbo-charged 1.3L L3T engine good for 160 horsepower.

2.0L Turbo LSY I-4 engine (with engine cover for Cadillac XT4)
Unfortunately, the 2020 LaCrosse will not be available in the United States due to GM’s decision to shutter the GM Detroit-Hamtramck plant where the vehicle is made. In other words, the refreshed model will never make it to any North American market, including the U.S, Mexico, and Canada. Instead, the facelift will be a China-only affair, where it will go on sale in the first half of 2019.
Production will take place at the SAIC-GM Jinqiao South plant in Shanghai, the only facility that will produce the midcycle refresh of the third-generation Buick LaCrosse.
Stay tuned to GM Authority as we bring you the latest Buick news and Buick LaCrosse news.
Comments
By the looks of things, Buick in the United States will probably be joining Pontiac and Oldsmobile soon. After GM removed the Oldsmobile name from Oldsmobile vehicles, they were not long for this world. Now Buick is doing the same thing. Sad……
We all know who really messed things up. She sits in the special little chair at GM these days and loves f I r I n g workers at her American-Canadian operations so she can get some cheap labor and brownie points with her globalist buddies.
Just when the car was starting to look good too.
If this idiot stays at the helm for too long, GM will be known as JM- Junior Motors.
This is what we get for bailing GM out……
We know that GM has 2-3 new/redesigned Buicks coming in the next ~two years. Buick is not going anywhere.
I think its sad that GM is only going to build this car for the China market. This SUV craze that the auto makers are forcing on us is sad, there is nothing like a stylish coupe or sedan, but GM doesn’t seem to understand this. Seems like the late 70’s all over again when the American car industry built ugly unreliable cars while allowing Japan to take over as number 1 Wakeup GM, Bring back Pontiac too!!!!
looks awesome. especially rear end
Live to dream.. Buick should skip gas engines given how many states are putting a 40-cent tax on each gallon of gas to pay for education/health/living benefits of illegal citizens; it may be more practical to electrify the LaCrosse with 2 140 hp electric motors.
Excuse Omegatalon, he is suffering from low intelligence.
Looks pretty cool – definitely more striking both front and rear (in a good sense) than 2017-2019 LaCrosse. Too bad it won’t make it to North America (saying this as 2010 2nd gen LaCrosse owner).
A little too late to the party. If Buick would have had this sleeker design sooner, maybe someone in the U.S. would have bought a few more of them. I think this car looks great. And if Buick would have had cars like their 2016 Avista concept car with the performance and cost a little lower than the Audi or BMW cars, then Buick cars might have survived. Now GM needs to up their game in the design area for a number of their remaining vehicles (including the Malibu and their many SUV’s/CUV’s) and make them look more sleek and stylish too. Unfortunately many of the new smaller GM SUV’s I have seen have the same old frumpy look them. And the Malibu has the same boring smiley face family sedan look to it that a lot of other cars have.
that front has more than a little bit of the avista concept. and the back looks pretty good too.
seems like the back end of a car is much harder to design than the front. take a look at the new hyundai sonata that just came out. that back end looks completely derivative and completely out of place.
What a huge slap in the face! Now that they finally got the best look possible they give up and pull out and don’t even want to compete. Maybe if the CEO of Gm spent less time firing everybody and actually paying attention to the product instead of “profits above all else” Wall street consumers would recognize a nice product and have confidence in buying it.
160 HP to move around a 3600 LB sedan. That is going to be one severely underpowered car!
Now that is a sexy Buick. Never thought I’d say that before.
We had a ’16. A great vehicle. The LaCrosse got better looking every year. This one looks awesome. Now this and we can’t get another one. And one more model going to 4 cylinders. Let China deal with it. I’m kinda seeing Buick joining Oldsmobile, too. What a shame.
Make it a convertible!!!
It’s pointless to say this but that’s the best-looking production Buick I’ve seen in a very long time.
Once upon a time a Buick looking like this would have roared out of US showrooms. Now it’s the Chinese who have the good fortune to buy this cookie. Blame it on inept GM management – the humiliation of bankruptcy a decade ago has plainly been forgotten – the contemporary lust for CUVs, and the damaging American preference for the products of Japanese and German companies.
Things are really off the rails at GM (or any other car maker) when they introduce new vehicles, inform their U.S. customer base they will not be made available or sold in the U.S. and then turn around and irub our nose in it a little more with the release of publicity photos over here. At the same time they deliver constant announcements of more of the same, or vehicles that will be discontinued completely.
outstanding lines too bad we will not see any in AMERICA , myself driving a 2010 ,93k with no repairs, not even brakes , oil change & tires yes ,, damn good .. The Lacrosse was a poorly advertised model , most GM marketing is poor . I hope when GM needs to be bailed out again CHINA will help because the US shouldn’t
Has anybody at GM ever thought that if their cars all looked more like this and inspired a little passion about driving that people might buy more of them?
I didn’t think so either….. great looking car!
This is a really beautiful car. I hope this will put Buick back on the map.
Oh, it’ll put “Buick back on the map”, alright. About 7000 miles west of the U. S.
Beautiful car, indeed. But I wouldn’t consider buying one, with only 160 hp 4 cyl engine powering it. The severe under-powering, plus stop/start technology that can’t be overridden would kill my instincts to buy one even if the Lacrosse were to be offered in the U.S. Guess I’ll be keeping my 2012 Lacrosse until the wheels fall off.
I own a 2017 Buick La Crosse Premium with the 3.6 V-6 and the start/stop tech. The Car is powerful and great. The start/stop tech takes some getting used to but is not a big deal given the size, power, and luxury this vehicle brings to the table
I also own a 2014 Buick Regal Turbo and a 2004 Buick Le Sabre. I am the original owner of all of them
I disagree with GM not keeping this car in the US whether through being imported from China or built here some how.
GM failed to market this car, and current GM Management has made a judgement error in thinking that the Chinese Car Market is long term favorable for foreign makes.
I also agree that in the US the smallest motor this car should have is a V-6 not even the 2.0 turbo that produces up to 268 hp
The correct strategy for Buick is to be heavy on Cars and compete with Acura, Mercedes and Audi, while using GMC brand to bolster SUV line up
As I said before current GM management has been significantly criticized all around and has demonstrated poor leadership and management skill set. It would have been better to sell Opel after making it profitable or better yet not pay Peugot $10 billion to take it ( and yes it went down like that)
One would hope that Senior GM Management would read some of the well written comments on this blog concerning the 20′ Buick Lacrosse. Companies who take their core customers for granted and ignore their passions end up on Wall Street’s takeover or junk bond pile. GM’s Asian and European competitors have already sharpened their knives in the vital crossover market.
What I find disappointing is that Buick debuts all of these stunning concept cars–like the Avista–and never puts them into production. If it did, I expect that the buying public would see them in them as part of the luxury market and its sales would be much higher than they are. But, what they do put into production seem so plain vanilla compared to their concept cars that you just shake your head. It’s as if Buick knows it could produce great products, but chooses to produce mediocre products. I’m going to buy a Chevy Blazer and see if the Buick Enspire is worth trading up for a year later.
Re: Buick and their beautiful concept cars that never make production… Remind you of anyone?? Cadillac perhaps??? Two of General Motors’ greatest marques in their death throes crying out… While forced to produce clown cars like the Encore and XT5. Sad days these…
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Consider the BUICK heritage and pedigree seemingly about to follow Pontiac and Oldsmobile into oblivion:
Regal GNX
Skylark GS
Roadmaster Skylark Convertible
GSX
Y-Job
Century GS Stage 1 455
RIVIERA
If GM’s Senior Management had the foresight to produce 3,600 2020 Lacrosse Avenirs in America equipped with 3.6Ltr SHO TTC 398HP & 380TRQ V-6’s they would immediately sell out in all regions of the country. The 2020 Lacrosse is a very desirable vehicle with the right powertrain. Unfortunately today’s GM Senior Management must have attended the “Ron Zarella” School of Sales & Marketing.
Buick: Build /sell the 2020 redesigned LaCrosse in the US!
Buick should be GM’s high-performance luxury brand: Period. Develop their own version of the Blackwing and put it an AWD LaCrosse with magnetic suspension, Brembo, the works. Then offer a lower trim with the equivalent of the Ford Ecoboost 300+ hp v-6 in f150 and Mustang. And make it in USA for crying out loud! They’ll sell. If it’s made in China or anywhere else except Canada, they’re handcuffing it right out of the gate. I would not buy it.
Another Reason That GM Is STRUGGLING & Can’t Sell Vehicles GM Suffers From Poor Decision Making & It Won’t Get Any Better Anytime Soon I Been Gave Up On GM A Long Time Ago Every Single Time That They Have A Vehicle That Can Potentially Pull Them Out Of The Quicksand They Do Something Idiotic & Stupid Like toyota
Since GM’s Senior Management and Wall Street are totally sold on China, EV’s, and AV’s and are adverse to ICE vehicles, let’s divide GM into two companies. Give Mary Barra, and her legion of overbearing bean counters China, Korea, Europe, South America, EV’s and AV’s and name the new company GM Global. Matter of fact they can have their elite HQ in Shanghei or Bejing.
Take the remaining assets along with select ICE vehicles that GM’s customers actually desire, and rename it GM North America. Start designing, developing and retailing outstanding vehicles that have handling, style, and performance under the watchful eye of a small cadre of professional ICE managers and watch customers pull out their checkbooks. Just imagine seeing a beautiful, sexy 2020/21 Buick Lacrosse Avenir with a TTC SHO V6 on your local GM dealer’s lot. One that finally appeals to customers who still desire a GM performance sedan instead of a KIA, Hyundai, or Audi.
Better yet, show Barra and her clueless minions the door and get people in GM that will offer the customer the vehicles they want.
Excellent post Nick. It makes perfect sense, sounds like it would work, and is well thought out…. That’s why GM would never consider it or even understand it. You might as well have written in Klingon. (except the part about the global headquarters re-location to the Far East… they’ll like that idea). There is a trend that has been building for the last 10 years or so: Americans willing to pay a premium for things built in the United States. Obviously General Motors is either oblivious to it or just considers it a passing fad.
I own the first generation of the initial Lacrosse redesign, a car that I purchased in the fall of 2009 and am still driving today. I was eagerly awaiting this redesigned Lacrosse to be released in the US so I could purchase it this fall. My current Lacrosse is by far the best vehicle that I have ever owned and not releasing this vehicle in the US is a big mistake but it figures, leave it to GM to really mess up a good thing.
I have a 2012 Verano, and likewise one of best Buicks I have ever owned. It’s extremely quiet, decent power, nice euro type ride. Lot’s of stuff for a car under $24k at the time: 7″ touchscreen remote start, dual-zone climate control, power heated mirrors, auto defog and rear defrost, power seats, 18″ aluminum wheels, NICE interior with soft-touch panels, fog lamps, leather steering wheel and shift, ambient lighting, USB, Bluetooth etc etc. Just when its at a time for an update (AWD and maybe a longer wheelbase for better interior room and a better engine? )… GM kills it. If Buick was allowed to build some of these concepts we’ve seen in the size of a 7 series Beemer with AWD and 300 hp under the hood, they would sell.