2016 Buick Cascada: New convertible has up-level amenities for an affordable price

There aren’t a lot of options out there for car buyers when it comes to 4-seat convertibles. Lexus, Volvo, Volkswagen and Toyota have all gotten out of the segment. That leaves you with the teeny-tiny Fiat 500 Cabrio or Mini Cooper Convertible, the sporty Ford Mustang or Chevrolet Camaro convertibles or something pricier from BMW, Audi or Mercedes.

But now we also have a really good in-between option from Buick: The 2016 Cascada.

During a recent test week, I had the chance to spend some QT with the new convertible – and have the tan lines to prove it. I found it to be a very capable, comfortable and affordable option in the 4-seat convertible space.

Design

I have to admit, I find the design of the Cascada to be a bit boring. It’s not flashy or edgy in any way. But that somehow doesn’t bother me. It’s not unattractive, and it definitely falls in line with the new direction of Buick, but upon initial inspection it doesn’t seem like anything special. Except that it is.

Again, there really isn’t anything quite like the Cascada currently on the market. You can go micro, sporty or ultra luxury. But Cascada is solidly in the middle, which makes its streamlined design somewhat extraordinary.

The rear strong horizontal chrome bar dipping into the taillights is a particularly strong design element, and the taillights that seem to wink at you are quite attractive.

The interior is a mix of luxury and clutter that I found a tad dizzying. I truly loved the standard leather seats. They were both comfy and attractive – and very supportive for long highway drives. I got stuck in some lengthy stop and go traffic, and didn’t feel like my back suffered the ill effects, even after two hours.

What lost me was the center stack with its mind-numbing barrage of buttons. I’m sure the longer you live with the vehicle the easier it gets to digest, but for a weeklong test it was visual clutter that left me cross-eyed every time I looked at it.

Ride & Handling

During the test week, I got several people who asked me if the Cascada was underpowered. And I’m going to answer with no.

It is equipped with a 1.6-liter , 4-cylinder engine that delivers 200 horsepower and 207 pound-feet of torque. While you don’t get the instantaneous vroom of a Mustang or BMW, the Cascada had a solid acceleration that is more luxurious than sporty. I thought it was competent and acceptable. It did exactly what I wanted when I wanted it to – from hard passing maneuvers to quick off-the-start accelerations.

However, I will point out that it also leaves room for an up-level GS model with a little more power and -- dare I suggest? -- a manual transmission.

The Cascada is solid and quiet on the highway with the top up, and it handles the curves and turns quite well. I drove through rain during the test week as well, and I’d like to point out that the canvas top stayed relatively quiet, without echoing the sound of pattering rain through the cabin.

Fuel economy

EPA estimates that you should get 20 mpg in the city and 27 mpg on the highway with a combined mileage of 23 mpg.

I’ll tell you now, I didn’t come close to that.

This is the one disappointment I had with the Cascada. During about 150 miles on the road, I spent about 100 of them on the highway. Which means I should have edged closer to the EPA highway estimates. Yet I found myself below the city estimates. My average for the test week was 19.9 mpg.

Tech & gadgets

Though the Cascada comes standard with luxury items such as leather seats, Bluetooth phone pairing, heated front seats, navigation and 4G LTE Wi-Fi connectivity, that’s about all that’s standard. The Premium trim adds forward collision warning and lane departure warning, but there is no blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert or forward collision mitigation available at any level.

Trims

Buick only has two trims for front-wheel-drive Cascada, and both come equipped with the same 1.6-liter, 4-cylinder engine and the 6-seed automatic transmission. Additionally, each trim is kind of a WYSIWYG with no package options and minimal available accessories.

1SV: This base trim is well equipped with a lot of great standard up-level features such as leather seats, heated front seats, heated steering wheel, remote start, navigation, 4G LTE Wi-Fi and Bluetooth phone pairing. It should be noted this trim only has two exterior color choices – one of which is a $395 option – and one interior color choice. Base price is $33,990.

Premium: This trim adds a lot of the gadgets via the standard Driver Confidence Package. This includes forward collision alert, lane departure warning, front and rear park assist, rain-sensing wipers and automatic on/of headlamps with tunnel detection. It also adds front and rear seat air deflectors. This trim has two interior colors and six exterior color choices; however, all but one (white) are available for a $395 upcharge. Base price is $36,990.

Safety

Standard safety features include automated rollover pop-up bars, daytime running lights, OnStar Basic plan for 5 years, rear park assist, rearview camera, dual stage front and knee airbags for driver and front passenger, seat-mounted side-impact air bags for front seating positions and tire pressure monitoring. Available features include forward collision alert, lane departure warning and front park assist.

Neither the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration nor the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety have rated the crashworthiness of the Cascada. But with all the standard safety equipment and available features, it does have the potential to get top marks from both organizations.

Not sure what the safety ratings mean? We break it down for you here.

New for 2016

The Cascada is all-new for the 2016 model year, and it’s the first convertible Buick in 25 years. Vehicle highlights include navigation, a 4G LTE Wi-Fi hot spot, heated seats and steering wheel, leather seating surfaces and dual-zone climate control – all of which are standard -- unlike some of its pricier competitors.

A few of my favorite things

The seats, hands down, are a huge favorite in the Cascada. They are comfortable and supportive for long drives, and I found them highly adjustable for my small frame. I will also point out that the heated front seats worked really well.

Cargo space is also really good in the Cascada. We were able to fit three cases of sparkling water, a case of regular water bottles and several sacks of groceries in the trunk.

Another huge fave: The all-in pricing. Cascada doesn’t waste time nickel and diming you with options and extras. What you see is what you get, and you don’t have to ante up for things like leather seats or navigation.

What I can leave

The fuel economy is a huge negative for the Cascada. Highway speed limits during the test week were 70 mph, which can certainly effect fuel economy. But with more than 100 miles of highway driving, I would not expect my combined economy to hit below city fuel economy.

I would also like to point out that the Bluetooth connectivity kind of stinks. I called my husband from the car with the top up on the highway, and he said that he heard a lot of background noise. When I asked him to rate it from 1 to 10, with 10 being perfectly clear, he gave it a 5.

A few other things that bothered me on the Cascada include the fact that the 1SV trim only has two color options (one of which is a $395 option), there is no push-button start available at all, and the center console is a sea of buttons and dials.

The bottom line

Though there are other 4-seat convertibles in the market, there’s nothing quite like the Cascada. It has a touch of luxury while at the same time being affordable. While I would like to see things like push-button start and blind-spot monitoring available on the Cascada, I don’t know that either of those things are a deal breaker.

Cascada is a great convertible option that has a nice ride and is comfortable for long drives. Plus there’s plenty of space in the trunk for road-trip luggage for two.

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