Seating & Cargo

The standard eight-way power driver's seat offers plenty of adjustment range, so spouses of wide-ranging sizes should have no trouble finding their fit. If you're much taller than 6 feet, avoid the optional dual-pane moonroof, as it cuts headroom significantly. At 5-foot-11, I found the driver's seat roomy enough, and the optional leather seats have enough side bolstering to provide un-Buick-like levels of curvy-road support without being so sculpted that it's hard to slide into the car. On the flip side, I found the driver's seat had too much lumbar support even with it dialed back to zero, and a vertical seam in the backrest kept digging into my spine. The cloth seats in the LaCrosse CX don't have these issues, and they're exceptionally comfortable. They're less expensive, too.

Less comfortable is the backseat: Legroom and headroom are good, but the seat sits too low to the ground to provide adult-sized thigh support. It's a more generous setup than small luxury cars like the Acura TSX or BMW 3 Series, but others in this price range — particularly the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord — have roomier confines.

The trunk has a narrow opening, made narrower on both sides by trunklid supports. At any rate, it's not particularly roomy: Overall volume, at 13.3 cubic feet in the CX and CXL, leads the TL (13.1 cubic feet) but trails the ES 350 (14.7) and MKZ (16.5). Subwoofers for the upgraded stereo, which is standard on the CXS, reduce volume to 12.8 cubic feet.

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