Background: Ahoy mates. Buick's flagship vehicle, the Park Avenue, harkens back to a by-gone 1950s era with three diminutive side fender portholes now enhancing 2003 editions. World War II fighter planes carried these side portholes, and when auto production started up with a vengeance in the late 1940s after the war's end, these nuances began showing up in production cars. The last time these decorations showed up on a large-scale Buick model was the Electra in 1983. When the Buick Cielo concept car first appeared on the auto show circuit in 1999 with these decorative enhancements, public reaction was positive, so much so that the 2003 Ultra now incorporates the circular icons. Buick's front-wheel drive, full-size sedan, which seats up to six riders comfortably, has a loyal following. It's a tempting selection for those looking for room, prestige and V-6 economy with pricing in the $34,000 to $42,000 range. Besides the portholes, 2003 updates include a new grille, three new exterior colors and larger wheels resulting in a sportier ride. In General Motors' scheme of things, its Buick division skews more towards the entry-luxury shopper while the upscale Cadillac division takes aim at higher-end luxury. Park Avenue competitors include the Lincoln Town Car, Mercury Grand Marquis, its pumped up spin-off, the Mercury Marauder, Chrysler Concorde Limited, Lincoln LS and Lexus ES 300. Park Avenue is the largest, most opulent Buick offering. Park Avenue is assembled in Lake Orion, Mich. The 2003 models started production last September. Buick's 2003 line up also includes the mid-size Century and LeSabre sedans, Regal sedan and Rendezvous SUV. Both Buick and Ford Motor Co. celebrate 100 years in business in 2003. Since its inception, Buick has built more than 35 million vehicles.
Engine/trim level: The Park Avenue lineup includes the Park Avenue and top-tier Park Avenue Ultra. The key difference between the two is what lies beneath the hood. The Ultra edition includes the 3.8-liter, Series II 3800 supercharged V-6 engine cranking out 240 horsepower. Buick recommends the 18.5-gallon tank be filled with premium unleaded fuel to enhance the supercharged powertrain. Mileage estimates check in at 18 miles per gallon. city and 28 m.p.g. highway, average for a V-6 supercharged engine. The naturally-aspirated 3.8-liter V-6 engine, standard in the base Park Avenue, cranks out 205 horses and utilizes regular 87-octane gas. Buick's marketing plan is relatively straight forward. Park Avenue and Park Avenue Ultra are sold with a few assorted options and option packages with no trim level designations.
Price: Buick dropped off a Park Avenue Ultra for a week-long test drive. Starting price was $39,145. With options including a heads-up display of instrument panel information ($300), rear parking assist ($295) and luxury package (sunroof, trunk-mounted, multi-disc CD changer -$1,875) the bottom line totaled $41,385 with $770 destination charge factored in. The base Ultra starts at $34,075. Comparing the competition, the Lexus ES 300 starts at $31,625, Mercury Marauder, $34,000 and the Lincoln Town Car begins at $40,470.
Standard equipment: Both base and Ultra editions include: four-speed automatic transmission, intermittent wipers, rear window defogger, power door locks, power windows, power sideview mirrors, cruise control, tilt adjustable steering wheel, power steering, dual zone climate control with air conditioning and AM/FM/cassette stereo. The Ultra edition adds a single-feed compact disc player standard (it's optional in base editions). Optional in both editions are an electric sunroof, engine block heater, heads up front windshield display and rear parking sensors.
Inside: Leather surfaces come standard. Five-passenger seating with a center console between front bucket seats is optional only in the Ultra edition; otherwise six-seats come standard. Park Avenue's full-size status means three adults can fit comfortably in back. A fold-down center arm rest opens the way to a pass-through window to the trunk. Since Park Avenue is a front-wheel drive car, no large front-to-back center floor hump compromises leg room in front or back. Up front, the dashboard is straight across, not the cockpit type that wraps around the driver's area. Polished walnut wood trim runs from one end to the other merging onto the front doors and is also on the steering wheel. Passengers have a temperature slide control on the far right of the dash monitoring their zone. Power window, locks and outside mirror controls are on the driver's door. The fuel door and trunk release buttons are on the far left side of the dash, a much more convenient location than the floor where many competitors have them. Both the five and six seaters have the gear shift up on the steering column's right side above the ignition cylinder, not the floor. The turn signal stalk on the steering column's left side also is home to the cruise control and front windshield wipers. In between the bucket seats of our test model were a couple of flip-top covers housing dual cup holders and storage areas. The stereo system is near the top of the center dash with the rectangular ventilation system below. The radio station frequency display window shares time with the digital clock, all with very large, green illumination. Buttons monitor fan speed, direction and temperature, not dials. The instrument panel incorporates a flat design with four analog gauges with white backlighting at night. A small rectangular window along the bottom features a horizontal gear shift indicator and information window displaying fuel-to-empty readouts. Those Park Avenues ordered with the optional heads-up projection system find on-off controls near the map light and sunroof control on the ceiling near the rear view mirror. Secondary stereo and temperature controls are mounted on the front of the steering wheel. A temporary spare tire situates under the large, flat, 19.1 cubic-foot trunk floor. Unfortunately, the curved hinges helping to open and close the lid are exposed metal and can crunch cargo and boxes when situated in the wrong place.
Exterior: Park Avenue continues with its tradition of domestically conservative elegance. The rear window is squared off, not round. Thin A (the pillar between the windshield and front side window) and C pillars (between the rear and back side windows) create a look with more glass window and less metal. Thin horizontal band headlights that wrap around to the fenders flank the new vertical bar front chrome grille with Buick's circular tri-star logo in the center. Three new exterior colors for 2003 include Cabernet Red Metallic, Jade Green Metallic and Silver Blue Ice Metallic. Both the flush-mounded door handles and fold-in side-view mirrors are body colored. The locking, round fuel door is on the left-hand side, rear fender. With a length of 206.8 inches, Park Avenue Ultra is longer than the Lexus ES 300 (191.1 inches) and Lincoln LS (193.9 inches) but shorter that the Mercury Grand Marquee (211.9 inches), Chrysler Concorde Limited ( 207.7 inches) and Lincoln Town car (215.4 inches).
Dimensions:
Wheelbase: 113.8 inches
Overall length: 206.8 inches
Overall width: 74.7 inches
Overall height: 57.4 inches
Curb weight: 3,907 pounds
Safety: As with many entry-luxury vehicles, the Park Avenue Ultra comes equipped with many safety nuances including: driver and front passenger air bags, side-impact air bags, battery rundown protection, daytime running lights, remote anti-theft alarm system, interior trunk release pull latch, four-wheel anti-lock disc brakes, traction control, and remote keyless entry. Standard in Ultra only is OnStar, GM's satellite-linked navigation system placing occupants in contact with a 24-hour-a-day manned center. Traction control and OnStar are not standard in base models. Our Ultra model also had another simple but nifty feature, arrow lights built into the side-view mirrors that blinked along with other indicators. Anytime future intentions can be conveyed more effectively to those around, the safer it is for everyone on the road. A rear-sensing system which beeps when traveling at low reverse speeds and detecting an object in its path, is optional. So too is a heads-up windshield display projecting digital vehicle speed, and turn signal indications just above the steering wheel.
Warranty: General Motors' warranty remains at three years or 36,000 miles (whichever comes first) for both the powertrain and basic warranties. Corrosion coverage is good for six year/100,000 miles
Final thoughts: Traditional American luxury best describes the Park Avenue Ultra. The full-size Park Avenue continues featuring front-wheel drive, very effective on snow-laden roads, while many counterparts, including the Lincoln LS and Mercury Grand Marquis choose rear-wheel drive which presents a different type of handling characteristic. Keep in mind that Park Avenue is a full-size car with V-6 power which may lack the extra punch some V-8 shoppers desire. Interior room is plentiful while the overall design screams conservative. The average age of a Park Avenue buyer is 67. |