Buick's Privileged Enclave

The new Buick Enclave is stylish and well-designed—but does this fuel-conscious market need another luxury SUV?

by Thane Peterson

Editor's Rating:

The Good: Styling, classy interior, versatility

The Bad: Sluggish acceleration, fuel economy

The Bottom Line: A domestic crossover that's as tasteful and well-made as its European and Japanese competition

Reader Reviews

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Up Front

Being one of the best sport-utility vehicles on the market today is like being the most advanced species of woolly mammoth as the Ice Age looms—which sums up the position in which General Motors (GM) finds itself with its terrific new '08 Buick Enclave.

Of course, GM doesn't describe the Enclave as an SUV because that would be the kiss of death in marketing terms. SUVs are so unpopular with consumers these days that Buick is dropping two of them (the Rendezvous and Rainier) from its lineup and replacing them with the Enclave, which the company is marketing as a "luxury crossover vehicle." But as one of my editors used to say, if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck….

From the outside, the Enclave looks like a stylish SUV, and on the inside its cavernous cabin has more cargo space than such behemoth gas-guzzlers as the Chevy Tahoe and Ford Expedition. The Enclave is smaller than the Tahoe and Expedition but more than eight inches longer and more than five inches wider than a Ford Explorer. It's also almost exactly the same height and weight as the Explorer (both weigh nearly 5,000 lbs.) and has about the same ground clearance.

The big difference is that the Enclave is based on GM's Lambda platform (which it shares with the Saturn Outlook and GMC Acadia), and it has a more car-like ride and upscale interior than traditional SUVs. Buick says it is intended to compete with imports such as the Acura MDX, the Lexus RX 350 from Toyota Motor (TM) and the Volvo XC90 from Ford Motor (F).

That's a stretch in my opinion, especially when it comes to the MDX (my favorite among those three competitors). But if you're looking for a wonderfully designed, American-style, family vehicle and don't want to drive a minivan, the Enclave is right up there with the Volvo XC90.

Exterior styling harkens back to earlier Buick designs. It's a bit garish for my taste—I definitely wouldn't spend extra for the expensive, over-the-top, 19-in. chrome wheels you can get on high-end versions. But the curvy contours, the chrome, and the bold grille-work perfectly reflect the Enclave's overall tone. This is an unabashedly American vehicle that seeks to be as tasteful and well-made as its European and Japanese competition.

The Enclave holds up to seven passengers if you go with the roomy captain's chair seats in the second row, or eight if you go with the optional (at no extra cost) bench-style second row. The third-row seats are roomy and accessible enough for a full-size adult to get into and out of. There's even enough legroom that an adult doesn't have to risk deep-vein thrombosis by sitting in them during long rides. Headroom is tight, and shoulder room is too limited for three adults to be comfortable, but these third-row seats may be the most practical I've tested.

The Enclave comes in two trim levels: the CX, which starts at $32,790, and the CXL, which starts at $34,990. Add $2,000 for all-wheel drive.

The CX comes with standard gear that includes a telescoping leather- and wood-trimmed steering wheel, xenon headlamps, satellite radio, OnStar, a CD/MP3 player, full power accessories, and a power liftgate and driver's seat. The CLX adds leather upholstery, heated front seats, a power passenger seat, and bigger wheels.

The only available engine on the Enclave is the same one that's in the Acadia and Outlook: a 275-horsepower, 3.6-liter V6 coupled with a six-speed automatic transmission.