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SUVs Buick Enclave Buick Enclave Owners Give Us Your Report
226 messages, Last post on Dec 02, 2009 at 5:46 PM
You are in the Buick Enclave Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & tidester
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I was lucky to be one of the first Enclave owners way back in Aug '07. Nine months and 13k later, I am ready to weigh in with my experiences. I have a 2WD CXL w/ent pkg 2, 2+2+3 seating, and nearly every other option. I live in NE Ohio and have taken it to NYC in the dead of winter and Washington DC this past March. Here's the Pro's and Con's: Pro: Visual Appeal. This is one of the nicest looking cars, inside and out, on the market today. Con: The seats are poorly executed. The bottom cushion tilt travel acts like a dump truck to spill you onto the front floor, but does not go nearly far enough in the opposite direction. Seats are way too soft. Bonus Con: Passenger seat bottom tilts toward the front. Wife complains she is always bracing herself with her feet to keep from sliding forward. No passenger power tilting seat in a $45k car? Are there no passengers working at GM? Pro: Everything works. The memory seats, memory mirror setting, bi-xenon articulating headlamps, wireless DVD, auto-dimming outside mirror, etc. All the interior goodies I wanted function as advertised. Interior lighting is superior. The dashboard at night rivals any Cessna I've ever been in, and if you drop something on the floor the interior lights illuminate like a prison with the siren going off. Con: Poor steering wheel articulation forces me to choose which part of the dash I won't be able to see while driving. Wheel down, I can't read my speed if it is under 45-50 mph because the wheel obscures the speedometer. Move the wheel up to see the speedo and I can't see the Driver Information Center or signal light indicators. Con Reducer: When you can see the dash, it is stunningly beautiful. Even more so at night. Pro: Gas Mileage.I boosted my city mileage by accelerating like a snail. Now I'm getting 17-18 city mpg. At first, I was only getting 20-21mpg on the highway, cruising  69-74 mph. Over the last month I eased back and would set the cruise at 4mph over the limit, and mileage has jumped to 24-25 mpg. Our terrain is rolling-to-moderate hills, so I could possibly attain that magical 26 mpg-rating on a nice flat road. Con: Now, at $3.49 a gallon, I'm only driving 4 mph over the posted speed limit on the highway, and at 95 mph this baby really shines. Around town, I'm easy to find (and catch). Pro: Ventilation is outstanding. Auxiliary vents really help to heat/cool the kiddies in the back, and they worked very well to keep the rear side windows fog-free all winter long. Con: All these great aerodynamics make for serious wind thumping when the wrong combination of windows are open. You have to find the right combination of windows and sky roof to stop it. Pro: Strong Engine. I won't win any drag races, but I have all the torque I need to pass on the highway, merge into traffic, and accelerate with confidence. Con: Brakes are only fair. Driving dynamics are not "inspiring". So there you have it. I have a couple of minor squeaks that I'll have the dealer address at my next oil change, and yesterday the button on the rear hatch that lowers the rear hatch decided to give up the ghost. My overall rating would be an 8.0. The car is amazingly quiet at any speed. It idles so smoothly, on more than one occasion at the car wash I've had to rev the engine to see the tach move to make sure it was still on. I have a small 5x8 trailer I use to haul light loads, and I really appreciate the hitch cover integrated into the bumper (until you try to put it back on in January with the temperature hovering near zero and you can't locate the darn hole to..well, you get the idea). The kids (7 and 10) love the rear entertainment. My wife and I like it because we can listen to XM Comedy without worrying about the kids hearing naughty language because they are watching and laughing to Shrek in their wireless headphones. The ingress/egress to the third row is a snap. We have a boxer who loves to go back and forth between the 2nd row captain's chairs to check out the driver, make sure everything is ok, then saunter back to the rear. Over and over. Storage, cup holders, even the gear-shift knob just fall nicely into your hands. I am very pleased with the fit and finish. Gap tolerances inside and out are excellent, though maybe a quarter-step below a Lexus. But hey, this is a Buick, right? For a GM product to be that close is amazing and welcome. My only trips to the dealer were for scheduled maintenance and an emergency run when I poured the washer fluid into the coolant reservoir. I did spring for nitrogen gas in the tires, and they really hold their pressure evenly. Finally, I can proudly say my car turns heads, drives nicely, works properly and can haul a ton of stuff home from Costco while still getting respectable gas mileage.
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Replying to: tinyelvis (Apr 20, 2008 7:49 pm) High gas prices may save you from some speeding tickets.  I bet an upholstery shop could add or replace some foam in those seat bottoms for not too much money. The thumping helicopter noise is all too common on most new cars nowadays. |
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Replying to: tinyelvis (Apr 20, 2008 7:49 pm) thanks.... Millie 
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I picked up my enclave 2 weeks ago and am having an issue the dealer claims is a "new one". Just wondering if anyone else has had this issue. Got entertainment package 2 for the kids to listen to their CD's in the back on their headsets. They love it! Only problem is that when they are listening to that and I am listening to my radio in the front, their music is feeding back into my stereo system. It's at a lower volume, but it is still there, and it's starting to drive me crazy! They tried putting in a new radio, but that didn't help. I still have my car while they are working on the problem. Said they found an Acadia on the lot that is doing the same thing. Anyone else dealing with this issue? Wondering how long it will be until they find a solution.
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Replying to: tinyelvis (Apr 20, 2008 7:49 pm) Yes the mileage is not what I'd like (15.8 mpg in city driving so far), but I'm glad they didn't put in a bigger engine or this would have been a deal breaker on mileage. While it doesn't take off like a rocket (owned an Audi A4 manual with 2.8 liter for 10 years prior) it has PLENTY of power when needed. I'm glad mine is running fine, especially after reading the problems people are writing about here! |
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Replying to: amblake (Apr 22, 2008 4:32 am) 
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Replying to: nunzi (Apr 23, 2008 3:52 pm) |
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| After comparing and contrasting various crossover models,, I could not be happier with my choice of Buick Enclave. If this vehicle does not bring back those who have long abandoned domestics, I'm not sure what will. The quality, fit and finish is outstanding. The ride is as comfortable and quiet as the Cadillac DTS we have. Even though we only get 23-24 mpg on the highway, I feel safe and secure- with the size and safety features galore. Here is one satisfied customer who sincerely hopes GM can continue putting out vehicles like the Enclave, Cadillac CTS, and Malibu- if GM would only rev up production to have more of these vehicles in stock on dealer lots ( especially the CTS and Enclave).. | |
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Per my previous comment about the sloppy seat bottoms on my CXL, I found an automotive upholstery shop that put real (read: firm) foam in my two front seats. He also built up the front of the passenger side seat so it wouldn't feel like a sliding board dumping you on to the front floor. cost: $150.00 He showed me the crappy OEM foam, explained how nearly everyone used it, then showed me his industrial-strength foam. Best $150 I've spent on the car so far! |
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After driving imported cars/vans for over 25 years (Honda's and VW's), I have to say I was very cautious to even think about buying a GM. My experience with GM products wasn't good (which is what sent me to imports over 25 years ago) and in rental fleets where I'd basically laugh at the crap the General tried foisting off on the North American public and wondering why they were still in business. I attended the autoshow last year and saw the new Chevy Malibu and came away VERY impressed. It was close to the fit and finish of my VW Passat GLX (which has to be one of the best interiors in the business) and finally GM had things right like direct lines of site to the gauges versus having to bend your head to see important gauges like the SPEEDO in previous versions I'd rented. This caused me to wander over to the SUV section to see if they had anything... and I fell in love with the Enclave. I was about ready to purchase a Mercede's R320 (my number 2 was a LEXUS RX400) when I saw it. I loved the looks of the thing (I got the chocolate CXL fully loaded with AWD) and thought the interior was the best of all of them. We call it the magic school bus as it's WAY bigger than it looks - you find out when you try to park it - do NOT buy it without the rear backup camera! We have put over 15000 miles on it in fairly rough service (we live out in the country on some pretty bumpy roads and tow a 4000 boat a fair bit) and have had NO issues on it at all. This is the first car we've had that I haven't taken 5-10 things into the dealer at the first maintenance check. My last Honda (Odyessy), I'd replaced the tranny by now (the first of 3 times). On the Passat - the most reliable of the cars I'd ever owned, I'd had it in for lots of minor trim issues - just factory QA. The Buick was perfect. Now, there are two things that I don't like... The lack of Rain Sensor wipers - apparently the gal who is the product owner hates them and decided that customers wouldn't get a choice. Someone needs to tell her who she really works for! The other is that the tranny shifts around a bit much. I think it's because the 3.6 is a bit light for this heavy vehicle and they have put a 6 speed in it so it's going to shift down on steep hills or when passing. I can certainly live with it but it does bug my wife a bit. It isn't great on gas (especially if you drive it at 80mph) but if you keep the speed down, it's better than both my old Passat and the Odyssey. I heartily recommend this vehice and if they put a good torquey VW/Mercedes blue tech style Diesel in it, it would be just about perfect. It's SO quiet it is a joy to drive. Well done General - now if you can fix the rest of the crap in your line up you might actually have a chance of hauling yourself back from the brink. |
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