Buick has announced that its new 2010 Buick LaCrosse four-door sedan will receive a fuel-efficient direct-injection 182-horsepower 2.4-liter Ecotec four-cylinder engine. The new Ecotec engine will have an output of 182 horsepower (136 kW) and 172 lb-ft (233 Nm) of torque. In addition, the new engine is expected to return 20 mpg in the city and 30 mpg on the highway. Like the V6s, the 182 hp engine will be paired up with a 6-speed automatic transmission although the four will use the smaller 6T40 while the sixes use the larger 6T70.

It should be noted that when LaCrosse was first presented to the public in January, it was powered by 3.0-liter and 3.6-liter direct injected V6s. At that time the LaCrosse’s 255 hp 3.0-liter V6 and 280 hp 3.6-liter V6 average an estimated 17 mpg city and 27 mpg highway.

GM points out that the main competitors of the vehicle are the Lincoln MKZ and Acura TL. However they are not available with four cylinder engines.

Buick LaCrosse to be offered later this year though it is unclear how the four-cylinder will affect the LaCrosse’s base price, which had been set at $27,085 before destination.