2010 BUICK ENCLAVE

This week I am having the pleasure of driving the brand new 2010 Buick Enclave. The reason that I am driving this vehicle is because my Sequoia is in the shop. A little boy in the neighborhood became angry with me when I told him that he could no longer play with children or come to my house because he was using foul language. In return this 6 year old little boy decided to key my truck. So now it is in the shop being repainted from bumper to bumper. Thank God we have GREAT insurance.

Now, back to the review. Enterprise car rental gave me a Buick Enclave because it was the only vehicle they had that was comparable to my SUV. At first glance this cross-over vehicle is eye-catching and sporty. The shape of it is appealing if you like the "bubble" shape in the rear. The interior is nice but the leather does not appeal to me. The leather in this vehicle is a little "cheap" looking. There is wood grain inside and power everything.

The features are what you will fall in love with in this vehicle if you are a "gadget junky". The model that I have has remote ignition starting, automatic rear cargo door opening, power driver and passenger seats with heating, individual climate control and so much more. The leather wrapped steering wheel has controls for the stereo system and wood grain. The are so many buttons on the console that you could get confused if you do not read the manual. can you imagine having to read the manual for a rental car????? You can program the seat position, you can check your tire pressure, the outdoor temperature, and your gas and oil level while sitting in the driveway. It's all digital and all you have to do is push a button.

I really have enjoyed the past 3 days that I have been driving the Enclave, it has a smooth ride, it turns on a dime and you "Take Off" when you hit the gas. Keep in mind that this is a brand new vehicle and I am the first person to rent it from this particular Enterprise location. Buick is living up to its reputation of being a mid priced luxury vehicle with this cross-over.

There are some cons that I have found with the vehicle. The biggest problem that I have is that there is a blind spot when you are turning created by the side view mirrors. I am accustomed to driving an SUV that sits up high and it has a shorter windshield. The Enclave is more car like in that the wind shield is long and low so even though you can move the driver seat up and down yo still have an area that is "blind"to you when driving because of the length of the windscreen and the position of the mirror. Maybe I have been driving an SUV too long but this is a problem for me because I am not sure how wide I have to make my turns. Another thing that is troublesome is that it took me 2 days to get the seat adjusted properly. Because of the windscreen and side view mirror placement the seat is hard for me to adjust because I keep trying to get situated to where I can see above the side view mirror like I can in my SUV.

I am not sure what the price is on this vehicle with all the amenities that it has but this is not something that I would but for myself. I think that there are some improvements that can be made to it to make it a lot better. Aesthetically this car is very appealing but once you have driven it you may wish that you had rented it before you bought it.