The 2009 Buick Enclave is a luxury crossover vehicle that seats seven or eight people, offers enough shipping space, and benefits from smart fuel economy and functionality thanks to a modern V6 engine. As a giant mid-size crossover, it’s about the size of a pickup truck-based SUV, but it’s built on a car-like unibody structure.
The Buick Enclave shares its base platform with the Saturn Outlook, GMC Acadia, and Chevy Traverse, but it’s as different from them as chalk is from cheese. The Enclave caters to the top end of the crossover segment, with competitors like the Acura MDX, Lexus RX 350, and Mercedes-Benz R 350. The taste of the Enclave is absolutely different from that of its brethren.
But what sets the Enclave apart is its modern interior, with sleek lighting, crisp graphics, genuine wood trim, and excellent leather. Seating is comfortable and can be ordered with a second-row bench or sumptuous captain’s chairs, depending on whether seven or eight passengers need to be accommodated. There’s plenty of convenient garage space and the Enclave offers 115 cubic feet of shipping area with all seats folded down.
Equipped with GM’s 3. 6-liter V6 engine, the Enclave offers intelligent acceleration functionality while achieving an EPA-estimated 16/22 mpg city/highway (AWD) fuel economy (AWD) under new, stricter verification procedures. The Enclave is designed to tow up to 4500 pounds. Smooth and practical, we think this could possibly be the most productive vehicle Buick has ever built, although there are some lovely vintage models that we actually wouldn’t mind having.
The Enclave was introduced for the 2008 style year. For 2009, the Enclave will receive engine and equipment upgrades. The 3. 6-liter V6 engine adds direct injection, expanding horsepower from 275 to 288 and torque from 251 to 270 lb-ft. New features for 2009 include a popular Bluetooth wireless phone link, real-time traffic data for the available navigation system, available heated and cooled front seats and a 110-volt outlet that comes with all entertainment packages. Also new is a reversing camera that projects its symbol onto the rearview mirror.
The 2009 Buick Enclave is available in CX and CXL models, each with front-wheel drive (2WD) or all-wheel drive (AWD). Both are supplied with the 3. 6-liter V6 engine with 24 valves and variable valve timing. Right now, there are no hybrid, diesel, or V8 editions on the horizon.
The Enclave CX ($35,070) and CX AWD ($37,070) are popular with cloth upholstery, tri-zone automatic climate with rear seats, leather-wrapped tilt-and-telescoping steering wheel with audio systems, cruiseArray, a 6-way power driver’s seat and lumbar support. . force adjustable, 2-way forced front passenger seats, second-row captain’s chairs, third-row two-piece fold-down seat, OnStar assist, forced windows, forced locks, heated forced mirrors and turn signals, remote keyless entry, stereo AM/FM/CD with XM satellite radio and auxiliary input jack, Bluetooth mobile phone connectivity, auto-dimming rearview mirror, compass, outside temperature gauge, forced tailgate, automatic bi-xenon headlights, fog lights, roof rails and P255/65R18 wheels on alloy wheels.
The CXL ($37,380) and CXL AWD ($39,380) include leather upholstery, heated seats, an 8-way power driver’s seat, a 4-way forced passenger seat, memory for the driver’s seat and mirrors, and P255/60R19 tires.
Options are plentiful, adding a lineup of four entertainment packages that build on each other: Package 1 ($860) comes with 10 Bose speakers, rear audio controls, and a 110-volt power outlet; Package 2 ($2,155) adds a rear-seat DVD entertainment package; Package 3 ($2,750) adds a touchscreen navigation formula with voice recognition and real-time traffic information, as well as a rearview camera; and the Four Package ($4. 0four5) come with a Bose surround sound formula. The Luxury Package ($750) comes with force-folding outside mirrors, an auto-dimming driver’s side mirror, guide-linked headlights, and a force-tilt/telescoping guide column; The Driver Confidence Package ($920) comes with remote engine start, ultrasonic rear park assist, and heated windshield washer fluid. Other features include 19-inch chrome aluminum wheels ($1,495), second-row center console ($300), heated and cooled front seats ($650), forced sunroof with second-row skylight ($1,400), Panasonic DVD player . entertainment formula with dual screens ($2,010), towing package ($500 CX, $425 CXL) and rear shipping top ($130). A second-row bench seat for three passengers has a $495 credit.
Standard protective features include dual frontal airbags, front side airbags, side curtain airbags with rollover deployment, OnStar emergency communications (with turn-by-turn navigation), tire tension monitor, antilock brakes, traction and StabiliTrak electronics. Stability with rollover mitigation. The Enclave is rated by the government as a five-star coverage vehicle in the event of a frontal collision, five stars in the event of a side collision and four stars in the event of a rollover.
The Buick Enclave’s external design is sleeker and more subtle than that of the GMC Acadia, which intentionally resembles a pickup truck, and the Saturn Outlook, which carries the Saturn’s new front trim and grille design and falls far short of the Enclave’s diversity.
The Enclave features Buick’s newest design language. The grille with protruding vertical bars and vestigial windows on the hood let you know it’s a Buick. This grille’s evolving design and sculpted sides are reflected in the upcoming 2010 Buick LaCrosse.
The long structure is anything but square, with curvy, curved, and sexy shapes from each and every angle. All front lighting elements use clear lenses, and many other elements please the eye and remove darkness from the road. Everything underneath the bumper remains undeniable and blank to draw attention to that large grille. Popular tires are 18-inch fat tires on seven-spoke alloy wheels, with optional 19-inch tires and 20-inch tires available from your dealership, and indeed add to the Enclave’s visual impact. The roof and side windows feature a sleek front-to-back sloping line, accented by shiny steel roof bars that adhere perfectly to the curvature of the roof from front to rear.
At the rear, the top-hinged tailgate with the popular forced and end opening is a work of art, with the rear window extending beyond the sheet steel to the rear opening. The rear window is giant and convex in shape, and sits just above the three-shield Buick logo and above the giant-screen taillights. Underneath the rear bumper is a diffuser panel and dual exhausts with bright tips, making it one of the tastiest rear remedies in the crossover segment.
The interior is what sets the Buick Enclave apart from other seven- and eight-passenger crossovers. From the dual-wave dashboard and tool panel to the rear shipping floor, it’s as fashionable as it is today and as functional as a Swiss Army knife.
The tools and analog clock rotated in black-on-white chrome are very elegant, with comfortable blue-green lighting (repeated around the perimeter of the lighthouse) and a halo of illumination at night. The graphics are large and transparent and the wood is real. In the CXL version, the idler is made of leather and mahogany, with 10 switches and controls fixed for ease of use. The design is familiar to GM, with a large, bright navigation screen that’s low enough to have shade and tall enough to be noticed without distractions. The dead pedal on the far left of the floor is the first one we know of that is designed in particular to be worn by women dressed in high-heeled shoes.
New for 2009 is a rearview camera that projects into the rearview mirror when buyers opt for the camera with no navigation formula. During a messy winter in Chicago, the camera lens was splattered with dirt and salt, making the symbol hard to see in the rearview mirror. A larger symbol on the navigation screen would have been less difficult to see and more useful. Our advice is to go for the full-size screen navigation formula.
Seating is available for seven and 8 passengers: The popular seven-passenger seating system, 2-2-3, uses second-row captain’s chairs with a feature called Smart Slide that allows easy access to the third row by folding the seats forward and sliding them out. outside. them from front to back; It can also be ordered with a second-stage garage console and a 12-volt power supply. Or there’s a second-row bench seat that allows for a 2-3-3 seating arrangement for a total of 8 passengers.
In any case, the driver and front passenger benefit from the electric bucket seats. The third row is for toddlers only. The third row offers enough headroom for adults, and legroom is smart for toddlers and just right for adults. Three children will pass through it, but three adults will find it cramped. However, only young children will prefer the comfort of the third row for long journeys, as the rear of the seats is too low to offer support for the thighs.
The Enclave gets high marks for storage space and flexibility. There’s 23.2 cubic feet of cargo room just inside the power tailgate behind the third row, 67.5 cubic feet with the third row seats down, and 115.3 cubic feet with both rows folded. Another 4 cubic feet of storage space is found under the rear cargo floor. And if you need to, you can flop the passenger seat over as well for extra-long cargo. Up front, the Enclave has storage on top of the dash for sunglasses, iPods, and cell phones. Buick says the Enclave has 24 storage areas, counting door pockets, under-seat areas, and built-in storage. The Buick Enclave has more cargo volume than the Acura MDX, the Lexus RX, Volvo XC90, and Audi Q7 do.
The Buick Enclave delivers spirited acceleration performance. Buick claims a time of 0. 60 in the low eight-second range, not bad for 5,000 pounds. Its 3. 6-liter V6 engine features a special intake formula for added power and, for 2009, it benefits from direct injection, which adds thirteen horsepower and 19 lb-ft of torque. The extra strength makes the Enclave a little more responsive. Because the Enclave is lighter than a pickup truck-based SUV, a V8 engine isn’t missed.
The Enclave’s six-speed automatic transmission benefits from special gearing that provides an overall ratio of 14. 2 in first gear for immediate acceleration and a 2. 33:1 ratio in sixth overdrive to keep the engine turning at very comfortable rpm at interstate cruising speeds. . So, you get fast acceleration functionality to jump to the top, but with peace of mind, cruising with your long legs at top speeds.
The Enclave also offers frugal fuel economy for its size. You get an EPA-estimated fuel economy of 17/24 mpg city/highway with front-wheel drive and 16/22 with all-wheel drive. In comparison, the Cadillac Escalade with all-wheel drive has a fuel consumption of 12/18 mpg. The Enclave weighs 800 pounds less than the Escalade and its V6 is more fuel-efficient than the Escalade’s V8.
For a few years now, Buicks have been living their life as drivers in splendid isolation, and that’s true with this big empty box called the Enclave, the hardest type of vehicle to calm down. The folks at Buick took dozens of long and expensive steps to mute the engine, transmission, all-wheel-drive formula and tires, isolate the front and rear suspension and cockpit guidance and wrap up the sound formula. floor, pillars and doors, all under the title Quiet Ride. In lab testing, the Buick Enclave is quieter than competing Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, and Acura, and in our highway driving experience in Missouri, it was incredibly quiet. Conversations between the occupants of the first and third rows at more than 70 mph were heard and understood in general voices, and music from the XM satellite was played loud and transparent at moderate volumes.
The Enclave’s suspension is much more sophisticated, much more exact in terms of handling, and much smoother and more comfortable than we expected from this elegance of vehicles. The rear suspension is complex and expensive, designed to work well with or without the rear-wheel-drive portion of the all-wheel-drive system, and employs elaborate aluminum H-arms to pull the wheels as far as possible into corners and allow for wide, flat shipping terrain above.
Flying down the two-lane roads of Ozark Mountain or whizzing down I-44 and I-64 in St. Petersburg. Louis and its surroundings, the Enclave demonstrated driving and handling. It had a quiet, docile ride and very, very quiet handling. It looks a lot more like a car than any large SUV from GM, with a lot less lean in corners. Drivers will notice that it appears much smaller than its abundant size. The guide is accurate, if a bit insensitive.
The all-wheel-drive formula works full-time at all times, automatically adapting to the speed of the road, the throttle position and the relative speed of each of the four tires, dry or rainy. We think the all-wheel drive is worth the extra money. Normally, this is a skewed 90/10 front/rear torque split, which runs between 40/60 and 60/40 on maximum lines, but you can divert one hundred percent of the available torque to the rear wheels if necessary. No yet, no lifts, no problems, just traction.
With all due respect to vintage Buicks like the 1956 Century, the ’63 and ’66 Rivieras, and the sidewalk-shredding GS 455 Stage II of the muscle car era, we’re passing out with a short, strong limb and call the ‘Enclave the most productive Buick ever built and the most complete Buick we’ve ever driven. If you’re looking for a sumptuous family transport vehicle, take a hard look at this one. This makes a lot more sense than a heavier, more expensive truck-based SUV for anyone who doesn’t want to tow a heavy load.
NewCarTestDrive. com correspondent Jim McCraw directed the Enclave toward the Ozarks. Correspondent Kirk Bell reported from Chicago.
Buick Enclave CX ($32,790); CX AWD ($34,790); CXL ($34,990); CXL with all-wheel drive ($36,990).
Lansing, Michigan.
Entertainment Package 4 ($4. 045) with navigation formula with voice recognition and real-time traffic information, rearview camera, Bose Surround Sound audio formula, rear radio controls, entertainment formula with DVD and 110-volt power outlet; Driver Confidence Package ($920) with Rear Park Assist, Remote Engine Start and Heated Windshield Wiper Fluid; Deluxe Package ($750) with memory-forced telescopic/tilt-wheel with auto-folding mirrors and adaptive headlights; Chrome alloy wheels ($1,495).