GM decided to take its first whack at a luxury crossover back when I was studying the internals of the organization for my dissertation. The Board of Directors directed that something be throw together as quickly and as cheaply as possible. Following orders, the product development organization created the Buick Rendezvous by relying heavily on the corporation's minivan platform.

As is usually the case when fast and cheap are the top priorities, the Rendezvous wasn't very good. It looked ungainly, it was slow, and the chassis didn't excel at ride or handling. It did sell fairly well, but only because the post-incentive price was low.

For 2008, Buick has replaced the Rendezvous with the Enclave. This time around, GM has put the priority on creating a best-in-segment product. Have they succeeded? I took an Enclave for a test drive to find out. I would have preferred to test a loaded leather-trimmed all-wheel-drive CXL, but the initial production run appears to be composed almost entirely of the front-wheel-drive cloth-upholstered CX. So that's what I drove.

Styling

The Rendezvous's styling suffered from having to use as much of the donor minivan's structure as possible. This time around, GM started with a clean sheet of paper, and it shows. Not only does the ovular Enclave look totally different from the much more square GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook, but all three vehicles look so good that people who usually wouldn't consider a GM vehicle are giving them serious consideration.

The proportions are pretty much perfect, with a long wheelbase and tight overhangs. (You can't say the same about most competitors, which have shorter wheelbases.) The hood is very short, but this isn't evident because of how the front fender arches extend well past the touch down of the A-pillar--the automotive equivalent of French-cut panties. The boldly arched fenders and tall streamlined front end give the Enclave an appearance that is at once aggressive, upscale, and pretty. As a result of this styling, the buzz surrounding the Enclave has been tremendous, especially considering that this is a domestic people mover, not a sports car.

All this praise notwithstanding, the exterior styling is not perfect. One problem is fairly easily solved: the 18-inch wheels standard on the base CX trim are too small for those big bold fenders. The seven-spoke 19s optional on the CXL are a must for anyone who cares about the appearance.

A second issue is less easy to fix, but I suspect some people will fix it nonetheless. Just the other day I noticed that the C-pillar is body color rather than blacked-out. This is much more obvious on some colors than others. The problem with the body color pillar is that the Enclave was clearly designed for the pillar to be blacked out. A band of trim runs the circumference of the side window outline, visually separating the pillar from the roof above it and the rear fender below it. Usually when such trim is employed the pillar is blacked out.

I suspect GM planned to black out the pillar, then decided not to late in the design process. Perhaps with the pillar blacked out many styling clinic participants thought the Enclave looked like a minivan?

The interior of the Buick Enclave also differs greatly from the relatively truck-like interiors in the GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook. As with the exterior, the Buick employs round, organic forms while the others are more rectilinear. The HUGE brochure highlights these forms in close-up photos of the upper part of the center stack and the center console. Scads of fake wood and fake chrome suggest elegance, even opulence. Based on the photos, reactions to the interior styling have also been very positive.

Problem is, the "wood" and "chrome" only suggest luxury rather than deliver it, as their appearance is too obviously fake. The abundant fake wood doesn't match the real stuff on the steering wheel, curves in ways real wood rarely if ever does, and simply has the look and feel of the hard plastic it is. I especially don't care for how it is used to form the inner section of the door pull you'll grab every time you enter the Enclave. Similarly, no one will think the vinyl upholstery on the doors could be leather. Materials quality is about the same as in the Acadia and Outlook. Problem is, the Enclave's fancy interior styling suggests a much more luxurious vehicle than the styling in the other two, so similar materials simply don't cut it. Also, as in the other two the shifter feels cheap and clunky, and the door pulls lack solidity. The styling promises more than the materials and engineering can deliver.

GM wants to position the Enclave against the Acura MDX and Lexus RX 350, but such a mission requires a higher spec interior. As is, it's a pretender rather than the real thing. Fine for the price, but with two siblings at its price point the Buick could have had a nicer interior and been priced higher accordingly.

One detail I do like: the thumbwheels on the air vents are encircled in nice-to-the-touch rubber. They could have simply been hard plastic.

Accommodations

As with its sibs, the Enclave's largest-in-class exterior dimensions (these suckers are BIG) translate into an unusually roomy interior. When the Enclave concept was first unveiled GM talked about sacrificing interior volume for the sake of exterior styling, so I figured that the Enclave would be tighter inside than the GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook. It turns out that the Enclave is tighter inside, but the differences are so small that it takes a tape measure to notice them.

Up front, the driving position is very good. The windshield isn't raked too far back, and you don't sit so high above the instrument panel that you feel like you're driving a minivan. Instead, the driving position is much like that in an SUV, high enough for good visibility, but not too high. The pillars are somewhat thick, but I've encountered worse.

The front seats provide decent comfort, and might be a smidge cushier than those in the GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook. But the seats in GM's large conventional SUVs are considerably better. Lateral support in the Enclave is marginal. Lumbar support is good with the CX I drove, but is bound to be better in the CXL, which has a four-way power lumbar adjustment.

The second row seats are the most disappointing. As in past GM people haulers, they're positioned too low to the floor to provide anything resembling thigh support. For a sharp contrast, check out the Ford Taurus X (nee Freestyle).

The second-row seats main claim to fame is that they collapse to provide an extremely wide walk-through to the third row. This feature won't work with a child seat installed, though. So if you'll be employing child seats, best stick with the standard captains chairs rather than the bench, which is a credit option.

The third row seat, while also fairly low to the floor (they all are in this segment), is actually more comfortable than the second row. Small side bolsters extend out from the seat when it is deployed, and they effectively avoid the "park bench" feel of most third-row seats.

Rear seat passengers do enjoy good amenities. Vents dot the ceiling back there, promising effective heating and cooling. The optional sunroof includes a large fixed glass panel over the second row. And a DVD-based entertainment system can be ordered in addition to all of the above. We're talking one very complicated ceiling.

A top priority for GM was providing class-leading cargo room behind the third row, and in this they succeeded. The cargo volume is substantially greater than that of any competitor, and there's also a roomy storage compartment beneath the rear floor. Both the second and third rows fold flat without removing any headrests to further extend the cargo area. The only shortcoming: no folding front passenger seat to carry extremely long objects (the Taurus X offers one).

On the Road

Like the GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook, the Buick Enclave is initially available with only one powertrain: a 275-horsepower 3.6-liter DOHC V6 hitched to a manually-shiftable six-speed automatic. (The base Saturn gets by with five fewer horses, but I'm not ready to count such a small difference as a second powertrain.) Good thing the transmission contains a wide range of ratios, because the Enclave tips the scales at 4,800 pounds even in front-drive CX form. No surprise: they're bigger than the competition, so they're bound to weigh more. End result: while acceleration isn't sprightly, it is easily adequate, and thus a vast improvement over that of the Rendezvous.

I'm pretty much alone in liking the shift-knob-mounted rocker switch used to manually select gears. If find this switch more intuitive than moving the entire lever back and forth or side to side. Most people don't care for it, though. That said, the transmission reacts sluggishly to most inputs from this rocker switch. It's no DSG.

Handling feels confident and intuitive in high-speed sweepers. Driven casually, the Enclave simply feels right, as if it's an extension of the driver. Body motions are well-controlled, and transitions are fluid. It's an achievement to make such a large vehicle handle as well as this one does. Push the Enclave through some tighter twisties, though, and it does feel cumbersome and out of its element. The amount of lean is reasonable; the Enclave simply feels large, bulky, and recalcitrant. This is the price that must be paid for their class-topping size and mass.

The 19-inch Eagle RS-As optional on the GMC and Saturn do provide considerably more grip than the 18-inch Goodyear Fortera SUV tires standard on all three. (The Enclave CXL comes with a different model of 19-inch tire.) But at least the Forteras don't scream loudly as they approach their limits, where understeer builds rapidly. And how often will owners push such a vehicle near even these low limits, anyway? If you do want your large crossover to perform like a sport sedan, you'll want the Acadia (or Outlook) with the RS-As, or at least different tires on the Buick.

I drove an Acadia right after driving the Enclave, and true to GM's claims the Buick is substantially quieter. All three sources of noise--engine, wind, and road--produce less of it here. The GMC is quiet, but the Buick is extremely so. Even at 80 miles-per-hour the interior is hushed. Buick might truly have the competition beat in this respect.

The Buick also seemed to ride more smoothly than the Acadia. But the suspension tuning is the same, so the difference must be chalked up to the performance rubber on the GMC and the Buick's quieter ride. Sound levels tend to affect perceptions of ride smoothness. Whatever the cause, the Enclave has about the best ride quality you'll find in a large crossover, with a minimum of head toss and jitters despite the moderately high center of gravity.

Buick Enclave Price Comparisons and Pricing

The Buick Enclave starts $4,000 above the Saturn Outlook and $2,000 above the GMC Acadia, but a higher level of standard equipment accounts for virtually the entire difference. So, despite initial expectations, it's priced no higher than the other two.

Compared to the Mazda CX-9 and Acura MDX, the Enclave costs a grand or two more than the former and the same amount less than the latter after adjusting for feature differences.

Prices change frequently, and differences will vary based on feature level. To quickly generate these and other comparisons with the specific features you want, visit my Web site, www.truedelta.com. (It's the only site that provides true "apples-to-apples" price comparisons.)

TrueDelta's page for the Buick Enclave:

http://www.truedelta.com/models/Enclave.php

Last Words

The exterior styling, interior roominess, and sound levels are excellent, and could well be enough to make the Enclave the hottest Buick in living memory. Especially the styling.

Unfortunately, all is not perfect. The Enclave is too large and softly suspended to compete with the Mazda CX-9 and Acura MDX in terms of handling. The seats could be more comfortable. And the interior materials aren't up to the fancy interior styling.

Overall, a very good, even a surprisingly good effort from GM, but not a thoroughly outstanding product.

A Note on Buick Enclave Reliability

I cannot practically cover reliability within the context of this review. However, many people are interested in such information, so I've started collecting my own data. Results, once they are available, will be posted to my site, www.truedelta.com, with updates every three months.

Unlike other sources, TrueDelta will clearly identify what difference it will make if you buy an Enclave rather than another vehicle by providing "times in the shop" and "days in the shop" stats (among others). You will be able to specify the number of years, annual miles, and types of repairs to include in Buick Enclave reliability comparisons.

Before I can report results, I need reliability data on all cars--not just the Enclave--from people like you. To encourage participation, those who help provide the data will receive free access to the site's reliability information. Non-participants will have to pay an access fee.

I'll have initial results for the GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook in August.

For the details, and to sign up, visit www.truedelta.com.

A link to this website and alphabetized links to my other vehicle reviews can be found on my profile page.

Some of my reviews of related vehicles:
Acura MDX review
Ford Freestyle review
Honda Pilot review
Mazda CX-9 review
Subaru B9 Tribeca review
Amount Paid (US$): 33000
Model Year: 2008