Buick Enclave shows what’s right about American cars

• By STEVE WHEELER
• Advocate WHEELS editor
• Published: Feb 27, 2009 - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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The 2009 Buick Enclave is a solid, stylish, sophisticated and safe vehicle that can carry up to eight people, deliver 288 horsepower and give you 24 miles per gallon on the highway and 17 mpg in the city.

At a time when all the news seems to be about what’s wrong with American car makers, the Enclave is a look at what’s right about American cars.

Fortunately, the anti-American car sentiment is slowly changing. 

And for those of you who haven’t changed their minds about American cars, all I can say is take an Enclave for a test drive and you might become a believer like me.

For 2009, the Enclave is available in CX and CXL models with either front-wheel or all-wheel drive. The 3.6-liter direct injection V-6 engine delivers 270 lb.-ft. of torque from 2,500 rpm to more than 6,000 rpm. That makes this V-6 similar to some other V-8s. The bonus is the Enclave’s V-6 runs on regular unleaded gasoline.

The transmission is an electronically controlled 6-speed automatic that offers precise shift control. When properly equipped, the Enclave can tow up to 4,500 pounds.

It’s pretty evident then, that the Enclave has the power to transport you, your crew and everybody’s gear to your destination. But the Enclave can also do it in style and comfort.

My test Enclave was the CXL front-wheel drive version, configured to seat seven people. The second row had captain’s chairs, but a bench seat is available, meaning that eight can ride in the Enclave. Premium cloth seats are standard, but my test Enclave had heated and cooled leather seats. 

The Enclave offers nearly 116 cubic feet of space behind the front seat when all the other seats are folded flat. 

And the ride is smooth, comfortable and library-quiet, thanks to Quiet Tuning, Buick’s engineering process that reduces, blocks and absorbs unwanted noise. The interior is like a private jet, without the noise.

Assembled in Lansing, Mich., the Enclave’s standard safety features include two dual-stage frontal airbags, two seat-mounted side-impact airbags in the first row and two roof rail airbags that cover all three seating rows. The Enclave garners five stars in government safety tests for the driver and passenger in frontal crashes, as well as five stars for all passengers in side crashes. The Enclave gets four stars in rollover protection.

Convenience features include a power liftgate, high-intensity discharge headlamps, power everything, heated mirrors, leather seats, totally comfortable 8-way power seats with memory and power lumbar support, AM/FM/CD, Bluetooth, XM Satellite Radio and ONSTAR. All this is available — along with 19-inch machined aluminum wheels — for the base price of $37,380.

My test Enclave also had a $920 driver confidence package that added a back-up camera, rear parking assist and remote start. The $750 luxury package added power heated mirrors, articulating headlamps, a power tilting and telescoping steering wheel. Another $650 added heated and cooled seats. The bottom line on the test Enclave, which was totally loaded, was $40,435.