2009 Buick Enclave

The Enclave is Buick's latest crossover offering, replacing the aging Rainier, Rendezvous, and Terraza. It is the most expensive vehicle built on GM's Lambda platform, which also underpins the Saturn Outlook and GMC Acadia. Three rows of seating provide room for seven occupants.

"Enclave is the new face of Buick and everything we want in future Buicks," said General Manager Steve Shannon. "It's an absolutely stunning, high-quality crossover SUV that delivers all the product attributes that define the new Buick - a confident ride, relevant technologies, more luxury features, elegant design and a quiet, comfortable and well-crafted interior. These are the hallmark traits of future Buicks."

Enclave will be available in CX and CXL trim levels, with eight exterior and three interior colors, front-wheel or all-wheel drive, a new 275-horsepower V6 powertrain featuring variable valve timing (VVT) and mated to Buick's first six-speed automatic transmission. The 3.6 liter V6 VVT is a sophisticated dual-overhead camshaft engine based on GM's global V6 architecture.

Riding on a 119-inch wheelbase, the production Enclave appears virtually identical to the concept car shown at the 2006 North American International Auto Show in January. Like the concept, the crossover sports signature Buick cues include a waterfall grille -- with "tri-shield" emblem -- and portholes. The portholes, which are similar in design to the new Lucerne sedan, are mounted on the trailing edges of the hood, which forms a distinct "V" shape.

Inside, the interior retains many of the design elements of the concept, with a slightly more practical implementation. GM insists the craftsmanship that made Enclave concept popular is carried over to the production model.