Buick Enclave Takes Aim at Acura, Lexus Buyers

Automotive News

By Rick Kranz

Nov. 27, 2006

Buick's 2008 Enclave crossover is targeted at Acura MDX and Lexus RX 330 buyers.

While the Enclave will be larger, Buick's crossover will carry a "lower price than those vehicles," said Steve Shannon, Buick general manager. The Enclave will debut this week at the Los Angeles auto show.

The Enclave is one of three new mid-sized crossovers General Motors is developing on the automaker's new front-drive Lambda vehicle architecture. All-wheel drive is available. The vehicles can seat seven or eight, depending on seat configuration.

The 2007 Saturn Outlook and 2007 GMC Acadia precede the Buick version. Enclave sales are to begin in late spring. It has unique styling and does not share its greenhouse and exterior panels with the Saturn and GMC models.

"This class of vehicles, these Lambdas, are the biggest car-based (crossovers) out there. So to that extent, it is a little bit uncharted waters," said Shannon. "We will probably get more people out of vans than come out of mid-sized utes."

Shannon was interviewed at an Enclave preview earlier this month at GM's proving grounds in Milford, Mich.

The Lambda-based crossovers have a long wheelbase for a mid-sized crossover - 118.9 inches. The wheelbase enhances second-row legroom. Power comes from GM's 3.6-liter V-6 engine, mated to the automaker's new six-speed automatic.

Shannon said the Lucerne and the Enclave are re-establishing Buick around several key fundamentals. Among them: quality, interior refinement and craftsmanship, technology that is powerful yet simple to use, and what Shannon says is an interior with "a library kind of quietness. Intense engineering is done to get us quiet tuning."

Shannon said the Enclave "has a gorgeous outside shape, is elegant, has a lot of jewelry. This is basically a luxury car that just happens to seat seven or eight."

When I saw the Enclave at the Dallas New Car Show, April 2006, it continues the Buick heritage of "curves and contours" that are both stylish and muscular, refined and powerful. The darker bronzemist color accented those perfectly, rather than the silver that generally has been on other GM show cars at that show.

The model on display was the "top of the line", so it was all leather'd up. It was a great two-tone "tan/cashmere" trim code. Although I was about 15 feet from it, it was obvious that it was "very high luxury" in orientation. Very impressive! There were also many questions as to when it would be on sale.

Although it was placed near the Saturn display, on the "back wall", it was getting a good deal of traffic. The general demographics of those present was more 30-somethings with kids who had some knowledge of Buicks (I suspect) from when they were growing up--generally not what a "typical Buick owner" might be, but a potential new generation of Buick owner that knew of the Buick heritage in luxury vehicles.

With respect to the Acura and Lexus "targets" . . . when I did a ride/drive with those vehicles placed against a Cadillac SRX, the real "guts" of the Acura and Lexus became very apparent. Each of them were credible vehicles in that class, but more appliance than anything else. The side-by-side comparisons revealed the Cadillac to be a clear winner in almost every category of consideration.

On the handling course, the Acura and Lexus left a LOT to be desired. Anything past a "normal" speed left them sliding around "in pain", whereas the SRX just hauled right on around things with vigor. At the starting line, when the Lexus was "punched", the engine sounded very anemic and like it would have liked a less-energetic throttle application. Some might counter that the Acura and Lexus were not rear wheel drive (as the Cadillac and BMW X5), but that does not dismiss the fact that body lean and tire choice could have kept them from doing better on the handling course.

Whether or not the Enclave will crack into the traditional Acura or Lexus markets remains to be seen, but for those that will shop and compare, I suspect the Buick Enclave will be a clear winner in many areas--especially style, luxury, and accomodations. I feel like it will be a worthy replacement for Rendezvous and Rainier, with all due respect.

Without a doubt, the Buick Enclave will put some style into that market segment!

Enjoy!

NTX5467

Here is a link with more than 80 hi-res pics of the Enclave, it sure is nice looking !

http://www.autoblog.com/2006/11/28/la-auto-show-meet-the-2008-buick-enclave/

I have only one question. Where will it be built? I just read in the paper,It will be built in Lansing,Mich.

Be certain to read the press release that follows the photos at the link that B.Goode has provided. The car's standard and available features are truly impressive.

I'd love to replace my wife's '99 GMC Safari with one of these, but I might have to wait a few more years.

ah yes and be certain to also read the comments in the above mentioned blog, I have followed a lot of these car news blogs (so I have no life <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />), and every time a Buick is mentioned, it is followed by cruel remarks about the car and especially the type of people that buy them <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />. The Enclave is altogether different, I can't recall that I in the last couple of years have read the remark "It's a homerun" attached to a new Buick !!

Watch Wagoneer and Woods do the intro of the Enclave last night in L.A., right here ---> http://gmtv.feedroom.com/?fr_story=FEEDROOM166203