Buick Cascada Quick Drive: Charming, But Flawed

It’s not sporty, but it sure is safe, usually…

The Sport Touring trim affords the Cascada a lot of safety tech as standard. Buick calls it the “Driver Confidence Package,” and it comes with forward collision alert, lane departure warning, front and rear park assist, rain-sensing wipers, and automatic headlights.

The good news is that it all works. The bad news is that they don’t work all of the time. On the freeway, the Cascada did a pretty admirable job of loudly beeping at me when it sensed impending doom: Whether that meant toeing the line between lanes, or getting too close to another car. However, at lower speeds, around town and in traffic, both the collision alert and lane departure warnings were seemingly triggered at random. Or, and I don’t recommend you trying this at home, upon getting too close to a car in front, not at all. These systems are best switched off at low speed, and especially in traffic. Otherwise you risk possible headache from the constant beeps and electronic wailing warning you of the accident you’re aware isn’t happening.

Though, I must add: The full-screen back up camera and parking assist works beautifully.

The sticking point is that even if you wanted this safety tech, it is a $3,000 jump from the base Cascada, to at least the Premium trim to get it. The highest trim, Sport Touring, has it as standard. That’s a big ask for half-baked safety promises.

The Cascada has one big problem

No one is buying them, as a recent report from USA Today indicates. Sales of the Cascada have been tepid since it’s inception, but even still, they are trending downwards from there. The average Cascada sits on a dealer’s lot for almost 6-months before being sold. Why?

It’s expensive for a toy.

The Cascada starts at $33,990 for the 1SV trim. The biggest difference from it and the higher trim levels are appearance upgrades and the safety tech. Stop there and it’s a large, but achievable ask for people looking for a convertible. The loaded Sport Touring Cascada rings in at $37,990. This isn’t a nearly-$40,000 driving experience, and makes me question who a loaded Cascada is for.

For drop top fun, it’s hard to beat the much less expensive and more fun Mazda MX-5 Miata. If the Miata is too spartan, the Cascada Sport Touring comes dangerously close to the asking price of a BMW 230i convertible. For just $2760 more, the 230i offers rear-wheel drive to the Cascada’s front-wheel drive, a much more powerful engine, notably better fuel efficiency, and, debatably, more curb appeal.

I think the Buick Cascada is a good, but flawed car missing a market. Buick currently has no two-door vehicles other than the Cascada. A less expensive coupe variant would, on paper, sound like a stronger option. It would retain the sharp looks, and, crucially, be lighter on its feet than the convertible, improving driving pleasure.

Right now, the Cascada straddles an odd spot in the market, in terms of pricing and intent. It will inevitably be compared against the cars mentioned above, and others, as well, which makes it a hard sell for many. Whether or not it makes the cut depends on you.