2016 Buick Cascada
Buick hasn’t offered very many convertibles in the past several decades. In fact the last one was the short-lived Reatta that went away 25 years ago. Open-air Buick driving is finally back thanks to the fact that the brand is now sharing most of its lineup with Opel, General Motors’ European division. The Opel Cascada launched on the continent in 2013 and Buick dealers have been selling them since early this year. I got a chance to spend a week with the Buick Cascada during a mid-summer Michigan heat wave.
Cars like the Cascada are more of a fashion statement than a sports car and the design definitely works for this purpose. The Cascada is based on GM’s previous generation global compact car platform that spawned the original Chevy Cruze and Volt and the Buick Verano/Opel Astra. Size-wise it’s very similar to the now departed Volkswagen EOS, but thankfully GM opted to go with a fabric folding top rather than the increasingly undesirable multi-piece retractable hardtop.
2016 Buick Cascada
While the hardtops are great for creating an all-weather convertible, they also induce some very unfortunate proportions in cars with more than two seats. Since hardtops take more space to store, four seaters tend to end up with ungainly looking long rear decks.
The 2016 Buick Cascada looks good with top up or down although visibility is limited with the top up
The design team that crafted the Cascada used their time and the decision to go soft to great effect. This is a very handsome machine that no driver should be embarrassed to be seen in. While the last Astra was an attractive compact, the Cascada shares no sheet metal with it. The windshield has a far more aggressive rake and the raised top includes a nearly fastback profile. The rising beltline is taller than its fixed roof siblings but not so high as to give you a feeling of being submerged in a bathtub while sitting inside.
With the top stowed away beneath the hard tonneau, this is a sharp-looking cruiser. The standard 20-inch alloy wheels combine with the profile to give the Cascada a surprisingly hunkered down, athletic stance. I’ll get back to those wheels later.
2016 Buick Cascada
Inside, the materials are generally of a good if not great level of quality. The leathers are excellent, but many of the plastic surfaces are hard, although the matte finish used helps to keep them from looking cheap. As you would expect of any smaller convertible, the back seat is tight for anyone over about five-foot-four-inches. The front seats are comfy and supportive.
The top is fully power operated and emerges or disappears within about 20 seconds at speeds up to 30 mph. The interior is fully lined and seals out even the hardest rain which we found out when we got our first significant downpour in several weeks. As with most convertibles, the rear window is comparatively small, limiting visibility to the rear and over the shoulders. Frankly I didn’t find that a problem, because it gave me an excuse to keep the top down at every opportunity.
There’s not a lot of cargo space in the 2016 Buick Cascada
Of course, if you’re not going to stack the top above the rear deck, it needs somewhere to go and that means trunk space is limited to what is quoted as 9 cubic feet, but I think that number is very optimistic. If you’re a golfer (which I’m not) don’t even think about putting your clubs in there, it’s just not happening. Go ahead and drop them top and stash them in the back seat like I did with an inflatable standup paddle board.
One thing you will find in the trunk is a wind blocker that can be installed across the back seats. I never bothered to install it and frankly you might want to just leave it in the garage to free up that bit of cargo space. The GM aerodynamicists have done such a great job on this car that with the top down and side windows up, there is so little buffeting you probably won’t be bothered by it all. If the amount of wind you experience in a Cascada does upset you or your hairstylist, you probably shouldn’t be driving a convertible anyway.
First world problems, you don’t find many new cars with an actual key anymore but you’ll need to fish one out of your pocket to drive the 2016 Buick Cascada
The body structure of the Cascada does generally feel very robust and there were no noticeable squeaks, rattles or groans which is particularly impressive given the suspension setup of this car. On rougher pavement you will experience a little bit of quiver in the windshield header, but it’s no worse than most modern convertibles. What is there is likely exacerbated by the the stiff ride which is no doubt made worse by the aforementioned 20-inch rolling stock.
All Buick-badged Cascadas have alloy wheels wrapped in 245/40R20 all-season tires and while they look really good, they have little or no compliance. On smooth, fresh pavement, this setup works great. On many (if not most) Michigan roads, you’ll be wishing for smaller diameter wheels with more sidewall rubber. Considering this isn’t meant to be a sports car, I think GM should perhaps rethink this configuration and offer an 18-inch wheel package. The Cascada doesn’t need to be plush, nor does it need to be quite so hard.
20-inch wheels are standard on the 2016 Buick Cascada, perhaps they should offer some 18s for people that live in regions with less than perfect roads
I also had one other complaint about the cabin, the deeply recessed touchscreen for the Buick Intellilink infotainment system. The Cascada is based on a platform designed before GM started putting a touchscreen audio system and it still has the original version of this system that debuted in 2011. Trying to hit the buttons across the bottom of the screen is a real pain and if GM intends to keep the Cascada around for a few more years, they should really rework the area around the screen. Since this an older system, it also doesn’t have support for Android Auto or Apple Carplay like most other current GM vehicles. It does have Siri eyes-free support if you use an iPhone and the OnStar system has a 4G LTE radio for data.
Under the hood, all U.S.-market Cascadas get a 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder with a six-speed automatic transmission. The direct-injected powerplant generates 200-horsepower and 207 lb.-ft. of torque which give adequate if not eye-popping performance in these nearly 4,000-pound car. That mass contributes to EPA fuel economy ratings of 20 mpg city, 27 mpg highway and 23 mpg combined and my week with the Cascada saw it deliver about 24 mpg.
The 7-inch touchscreen of the 2016 Buick Cascada is deeply recessed, making it very hard to use
If you’re considering a replacement for a worn-out Honda S2000, head to your local Mazda dealer and get a Miata. On the other hand if you’re looking for a stylish top-down cruiser that you won’t mess up your hair too much, give the Cascada a shot, especially if you live somewhere with smooth roads. There aren’t a lot of convertibles available anymore and at a starting MSRP of $33,990 that includes leather and those big wheels, the Cascada isn’t a bad alternative to a base TT or BMW 228. The loaded Premium I drove with collision alert, lane departure warning, unnecessary wind blocker and a few other features priced out to $37,385 including delivery.
Click here for full specifications of the 2016 Buick Cascada
