Buffed-up Buick must figure it finally washed all the gray from its lineup.

I understand — appearances aside.

Ultra-contemporary Bufords like the Enclave crossover and the sleek LaCrosse and Regal sedans don’t seem to contain a single gene from an old torque-monster Gran Sport or a Wildcat 455 or even a ’65 Riviera.

But the 2012 LaCrosse with eAssist — an economical four-cylinder sedan boosted occasionally by a small electric motor — may stretch Buick’s new stovepipe jeans a bit.

My first thought when I heard the name was: "It comes with a home scooter?"

So if I overshoot the parking lot at the Twilight Palms Retirement Home and bag one of the fake Greco fountains out front, I can just pry my scooter out of the wreckage and quietly putter unnoticed to my room?

Probably not. Despite its geriatric-sounding name, eAssist is a mild hybrid system that maintains a real six-speed automatic transmission and doesn’t rely on large, heavy battery packs.

And yes, I can hear the sneers from Prius purists. But get this: A LaCrosse with the four-banger and eAssist costs about $1,300 more than the base four-cylinder LaCrosse did and is rated at 25 miles per gallon city and 36 highway — a 28 percent improvement in fuel economy.

While I would rather work as a hippety-hoppity music DJ than drive most hybrids daily — just call me LL Cool Box — the LaCrosse struck me as a pretty darn good value.

And much of the time, it is, though with some unexpected irritations that I’ll tell you about in a minute.

The carbon-black LaCrosse I had recently looked generally like one of the stylish V-6-powered models.

A sloping hood flowed gracefully into a raked-back windshield and curvaceous top — strong lines for a car known previously as an over-60s sedan.

The doors were enormous, and the LaCrosse would probably be as slab-sided as a senior recreation center if not for some clever character lines on the side. The best one zips over the front door handle before kicking dramatically over the rear handle, putting a meaty little shoulder over the back wheel.

Speaking of which, I didn’t care much for my car’s smallish 235/50 tires on 17-inch wheels because they gave it a kind of green-weenie look — and it’s really not.

But you still get a decent Buick interior, which most of us expect in a sedan with a $36,880 sticker on the back window.

As you might guess looking at the doors on the LaCrosse, leg- and headroom in back rival those in some cabs.

Moreover, the black interior in mine was nicely detailed.

The plastic on the dash, for instance, looked kind of like black leather, complete with white stitching on its edges.

The hood over the instrument panel was padded, as were the armrests on the door panels — made of the same leather-looking plastic as the dash.

A large center stack dominated much of the dash, and black leather seats with flat-toned surfaces and subtle stitched seams looked classy.

But you can find that sort of content on any mid-level LaCrosse. What makes this car kind of special is its 2.4-liter, 182-horsepower four-cylinder engine paired with a 15-horse electric motor.

A small box containing lithium-ion batteries is mounted in the trunk behind the back seat, consuming about two cubic feet of space, GM says.

It powers an electric motor/generator that is mounted where you normally find a conventional alternator. When summoned to action, it provides a little extra grunt and torque for the gas engine.

Automatic start/stop shuts the engine off when you’re at full rest, and the motor/generator helps get the car rolling again, as well as offering some extra shove in passing situations.

It also recharges the batteries.

At least, that’s how it all works on paper.

With spin from the electric motor — rated at 110 pound-feet of torque — the four-banger under the hood feels smooth and reasonably torquey, revving pretty willingly to 6,500 rpm.

It doesn’t offer much surge — and virtually no snap — but green Robin and Batman will push the LaCrosse to 60 in 9.2 seconds, which is OK for a kind-of hybrid.

But I struggled some with the car’s bad coasting behavior. When I let off the accelerator and the LaCrosse’s torque converter apparently locked, the car was jolted as the speed dropped below 20 mph.

It happened consistently, ranging from a shudder to a sharp bump. But no matter the intensity, it was as irritating as talk radio — especially mired in the Dallas North Crawlway’s bumper-to-bumper traffic.

My car was an early model that probably lacked some polish and refinement, or it might have just contained a gremlin.

Either way, I might spend some time on a test drive before buying an eAssist vehicle.

Otherwise, the Buick performed fairly well. It stepped over bumps with surprising Euro firmness and turned nicely into curves.

Though limited by its econo-spec tires, the LaCrosse offered fairly lively steering, feeling light and quick when I was putting around and growing heavier at speed.

It was a mostly pleasant vehicle with huge potential. And if I absolutely must drive some sort of hybrid to my weekend DJ job in the foreboding, not-so-distant future, please give me one that is still more car than science experiment.

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2012 BUICK LACROSSE:

—Type of vehicle: Front-wheel-drive, five-passenger, four-door sedan

—Base price (including destination charge): $30,170

—Price as tested: $36,880

—Fuel economy: 25 miles per gallon city, 36 highway

—Weight: 3,850 pounds

—Engine: 2.4-liter four-cylinder with 182 horsepower and 172 pound-feet of torque, plus a 15-horsepower electric motor with 110 pound-feet of torque

—Transmission: Six-speed automatic

—Performance: 0 to 60 mph in 9.2 seconds

—Safety rating: Five stars for driver and passenger for frontal crash; five-star front and four-star rear for side crash; four stars for rollover

SOURCES: General Motors; Motor Trend