I flipped on the lights of our 2008 Buick Enclave CX just before I began an evening trip back to Los Angeles from Pahrump, Nevada.
"The Enclave has HID headlamps?" shouted a colleague who was standing just in front.
Yep. Even the entry-level CX comes standard with HID Xenon headlamps...
They got a real workout on the 100-odd miles from Pahrump, Nevada to Shoshone to Baker, California, a narrow desert two-lane with no paved shoulder on which I saw less than a dozen other cars. It was dark. I was driving... fast enough. I had no problem seeing a long ways off and to the sides.
An added bonus was the fuel economy I achieved. At a pace that was far from economical, the Enclave went 400.1 miles on 19. 2 gallons of unleaded. That's 21 mpg and that tank included a bit of notorious Las Vegas city traffic. At a more relaxed cruising pace, the 24 mpg highway rating for our FWD Enclave seems attainable. And the resultant 450 mile range will be more than a match for the bladders of my Oregon co-conspirators.
Dan Edmunds, Director of Vehicle Testing @ 6,328 miles
banhugh says:
05:04 AM, 12/ 6/07
Unless the plastic rings around the projector beam bulbs match the exterior color of the car, they are weird.
Buick advertises the car as a blue eyed. What's next? Blond roof and red front bumpers? How about a full front bra?
dragonflight says:
06:41 AM, 12/ 6/07
I find it funny how none of the bloggers will write their speeds on the posts anymore, after the traffic court incident...
willin58 says:
06:54 AM, 12/ 6/07
Too bad you didn't get the option package with the articulating headlights. Pretty cool option...not new to the industry, I know; but new for Buick.
actualsize says:
08:52 AM, 12/ 6/07
Yeah, the blue rings do seem a bit cheesy. I could certainly do without them.
Personally, I've had enough of the chromed, rocket-nozzle styling of modern composite lamps. No subtlety at all.
z479 says:
10:19 AM, 12/ 6/07
I like how no one has made a comment on the gas mileage...21 is pretty amazing for a vehicle this big, especially when a Honda Accord with VCM and all those other acronyms in the engine only gets 22mpg.
crowb says:
11:11 AM, 12/ 6/07
z479, that 22mpg was earned doing stop and go city driving in LA while house hunting.
The Enclave got 21 mpg on mostly flat highway cruising.
Not knocking the enclave mileage or making excuses for the Honda, I'm just saying those are two different driving environments.
stovt001 says:
12:51 PM, 12/ 6/07
Yeah the conditions were different, but still for a vehicle this size the fuel economy is indeed pretty good.
stephen987 says:
12:55 PM, 12/ 6/07
The MPG is easily as good as you'd get from an MDX or Pilot under comparable conditions.
actualsize says:
01:19 PM, 12/ 6/07
Yes. But remember, this is the two-wheel drive Enclave we're talking about - something the Honda/Acura utes don't offer. It should be better. Still, the fuel economy looks promising for a legitimate seven-seater.
jr1m90 says:
01:29 PM, 12/ 6/07
Actually, Honda started offering the Pilot in FWD for 2006 (I think) and with the VCM system. The EPA rates it at 22 mpg for FWD and 20 for the AWD on the highway, which seems low, considering we consistently beat 22 mpg on the highway in our 05 AWD Pilot.
billt9 says:
06:12 PM, 12/ 6/07
The fuel economy on this is great. 16/24 for a full sized vehicle. That's unbeatable.
The Pilot has a ladder frame. It's a truck.
daytona_500 says:
06:26 PM, 12/ 6/07
21mpg is awesome! Who needs a Tahoe!
firstwagon says:
06:31 PM, 12/ 6/07
The Pilot is a unibody, it's based on the Odyssey. It's an all wheel drive minivan with regular doors.
You are right about the mileage though. Honda or GM, thats great mileage for such a large powerful vehicle.
estreka says:
10:40 PM, 12/ 6/07
HIDs are so nice. Too bad they blind other drivers.
actualsize says:
11:29 PM, 12/ 6/07
Actually, these HIDS seemed to have a reasonable cut-off point on low beam. None of the dozen oncoming cars I met on the two-lane flashed me and no one on the heavily travelled freeway I joined after Baker gave me the finger, so that's something.
bimmerjay says:
11:36 PM, 12/ 6/07
"HIDs are so nice. Too bad they blind other drivers."
My HIDs are adaptive/self-leveling. They do a cool up/down cycle every time I start the car... but basically they're always in perfect alignment regardless of the load in the vehicle. So I'd argue that self-leveling HIDs at least are actually better at not blinding oncoming drivers.
estreka says:
12:42 AM, 12/ 7/07
Hmm. Perhaps it's a car vs. SUV thing. Mine are angled properly on my car but I do get flashed every once in a while.
banhugh says:
07:13 AM, 12/ 7/07
estreka has a point. I always got blinded by SUVs behind me even without HID (I had a low ride MX6)
stovt001 says:
10:19 AM, 12/ 7/07
bimmerjay I think is right. I've noticed HIDs sometimes actually seem better on oncoming cars if they're adjusted right. Of course it is the worst when I'm in my little Cobalt and the HIDs belong to a massive SUV, but that's the case even with normal headlights on SUVs.
roar02ram says:
10:42 AM, 12/ 7/07
I haven't heard anybody complain about similar ringlets on recent BMWs. Where's 1487 when you need him, sheesh!
boxermike says:
11:36 AM, 12/ 7/07
The 'ringlet' on BMWs are actual lights...the blue bits here are just blue plastic in front of the lights.
Still, I dig 'em.
bimmerjay says:
01:57 PM, 12/ 7/07
Yes, the 'ringlets', a.k.a. "angel eyes" are actually a separate element powered by a distinct fiber optic light source. There is now a higher intensity version that doubles as the DRLs on several new BMW designs (X5, 3-coupe/convertible). Oh, and they're definitely not toothpaste blue.
vic_pe says:
08:35 AM, 12/ 8/07
Those angel eyes in daytime on that 3 Coupe are just so damn sexy. You see it from far away and can tell it's one nice ride coming through. Rawr!
1487 says:
07:36 AM, 12/10/07
"I haven't heard anybody complain about similar ringlets on recent BMWs. Where's 1487 when you need him, sheesh!"
I was thinking the same thing. Its the same overall concept and I like it on the Buick. The fancier the headlights are the better in my book.