2009 Buick Enclave CXL Road Test Video

By Edmunds Video Productions | Published October 14, 2009

3:17 min

2008 Buick Enclave Full Test Get behind the wheel of the new Buick Enclave and you�re forced to rethink what it means to drive a Buick. Roomy and comfortable, the Enclave dispatches family road trips and the morning commute with luxury and ease. Buick�s new Enclave comes in two flavors, CX and CXL. Our top-shelf CXL features a long list of luxury appointments, including 20-inch wheels, leather seating and power four-way lumbar adjustment for the front seats. Both trim levels seat seven with fold-flat second and third row seats, as well as a very generous 18.9 cubic feet of cargo space. An optional second-row bench brings seating capacity to eight. With its luxurious lines and chrome trim, the Enclave is often compared to the Acura MDX and Lexus RX 350. But the Enclave is less expensive and roomier than either of those SUVs, so its value is hard to ignore. Still, the Enclave�s interior is luxurious. Features like soft leather upholstery, wood and leather trim on the steering wheel and cool-blue instrumentation, give it an expensive look and feel. Its not without its shortcomings, however, as the climate controls are clunky and the front cupholders are not user-friendly. Also, the running boards seemed unnecessary to us given its moderate ride height. On the plus side, Buick makes safety a priority. Standard equipment includes a full complement of airbags with rollover protection for all three rows, stability and traction control, and antilock brakes. But the most important safety feature might be the Enclave's confident handling. It weaved through our slalom without any drama at 60 mph and managed a respectable 0.77g of grip on our skid pad. The softly sprung ride is extremely agreeable, as you'd expect in a vehicle that's nearly 17 feet long. It smoothes out rough pavement, and does so without feeling like it's floating down the road. Unfortunately, the brake pedal feels soft -- not good in a 5,000 lb SUV. And it showed at the track as the Enclave took an average 136 feet to stop from 60 mph. The standard engine is a 275-horsepower, 3.6-liter V6. It gets the Enclave to 60 in 8.8 seconds. That�s not exactly brisk but not a deal breaker for most shopping in this category. Through the quarter-mile, the Enclave does the job in 16.8 seconds at 83.4 mph, slower than a Chevy Tahoe V8. So it's not much of a track star, we didn't expect that. What we did expect was a roomy, comfortable interior, easy to drive demeanor and above average amenities. The Enclave delivers all three and does so in a stylish package that's as good looking as any vehicle in its class. With an as tested price of just over $41,000, we expected a lot from this Buick, and after a couple weeks behind the wheel, it proved to be worthy of its price -- and the consideration of any buyer looking for a well rounded luxury crossover.