2008 Buick Enclave: Racking Up The Miles Fast

I've been happily impressed with the Enclave. Good for Buick. But why does the digital readout in the photo above seem about ten years outdated?
 
Oh well. If that's all there is to complain about, things are looking up at GM's "other" luxury division.

you took this picture @ 70mph???
 
for shame! posting a picture that isn't safe...

That's half the miles of the Jeep Compass right there.

dragonflight, you "ain't seen nothing" yet. :o)
 
http://66.160.188.111/roadtests/1605
 
That shot was obviously taken by a professional driver on a closed course. Hehehe

The lawyers at Edmunds must be pulling their hair out.
 
I happen to think the digital readout looks clean and simple, but that's just my opinion. But agreed, if that's the only complaint so far, things look up indeed.

That dash looks really chintzy, with the obviously fake plastic chrome and obviously fake plastic wood. Plus, why is GM still using 1980's-style blue-green VFD display technology? Buick and Cadillac as luxury brands shouldn't have information displays that resemble a cheap VCR.

I agree, that dash doesn't stand up to close scrutiny. It does look good from a distance, though. Seems like GM has been using those Apple II hues in its displays for a very long time now, perhaps time to move onto something more modern?

You can't take a dusty up-close picture of some trim THAT seriously...
 
I scrutinize as much as the next, and have driven all models of the Acadia, Outlook, Enclave, and others...and if you're in one, real-world, the materials and fits are fantastic, the wood, even faux, looks great, and the teal lighting (Buick specific) looks fabulous at night.
 
Or, think of it this way. If anything, even small, as far as the finish and materials were far off...the Edmunds editors would definitely have picked it out thus far, in a sentence starting something like "But you know, compared to a Toyota...". They haven't.
 
Perfect, no. But try real world before making generalized comments based on a quick snap...

@SubyTrojan
 
Man, I totally forgot about that post (and that mini-controversy). But was there really any point/need in taking this odo reading at 70mph?
 
 I tend to take mine at a blistering 0mph ;)

TjBeck --
 
What chrome pieces aren't plastic nowadays?
 
Plasti-wood has been around for a while too. Some are better than others. There are some that are better than the Buick's and some quite a bit worse. But I cannot make a judgment from such a small sampling. I kind of like the wood and chrome look around the instruments....old school and luxurious.
 
As for the information display: It's not fancy, and it might be cheap, but it's readable and gives you a couple lines of text.

"But you know, compared to a Toyota..." it's awesome. Toyota's interior quality is plummeting.

The question is: does this make Buick a viable company? Could this, instead, be marketed as a Caddy?

estreka...it's ONE product, that has infused new life into Buick--and it is EXACTLY what Buick wants every one of their vehicles to be. It just happened to be the first. Next up is the 100% new Lacrosse, which needs to be the "Enclave of sedans" so to speak...with the best level of styling, fit & finish, refinement, quality, etc. for a terrific price.
 
The Enclave is perfect for Buick, and exactly what the brand is meant to be--it's just taken a while to get to it. It would not be a Cadillac, a brand which is meant to be the highest of luxury+sport with edgy styling and performance. Buick is, still, meant to be the domestic/GM Lexus...at which the Enclave does beautifully. It's a bit softer, with very voluptuous and curved lines, etc...so terrific luxury, but not the sport and knife-cut design for Cadillac.
 
It's just maintaining the momentum from here, hoping that the new Lacrosse is everything hoped to be, followed by Lucerne, and other all new Buick models.

Y'all complain that the layout looks dated, but it's very readable. Considering that Buick's average customer is probably still over 60, that's a priority.

Yes, I believe there is still room for Buick in the GM lineup. As noted above, Cadillac is the top tier of luxury, high tech, and sportiness. It does everything, and really I think they could justify higher prices if the rest of their lineup is updated to the standards set by the new CTS.
 
Buick, on the other hand, is not quite 100% top tier in performance, luxury, and high tech. It is more simple and elegant. The buyers aren't going to care as much if it was developed on the Nurburgring or has an infotainment system that puts all others to shame. They'll want a nice car that is comfortable to drive and looks classy, which I believe the Enclave represents. Maybe the readouts aren't cutting edge, but if they work well and are easy to use, that might be better for the target customer.
 
Here's hoping the next Lacrosse and Lucerne are every bit as good as the Enclave.

altimadude00 --
 
Yea, all chrome pieces are plastic nowadays, but there is a difference in a small, 1/8 inch ring of chrome and a 1/4 inch thick, 1-inch deep three-ring pit (possibly designed by the same guy who did the cupholders?). Nothing made of actual chrome was shaped even remotely like that. That makes it look like plastic.
 
Likewise, proper use of plasti-wood means using it in a form that looks like is could be made out of actual wood. Those corners and bevels don't look like something made out of actual wood.
 
GM just can't seem to figure out that plastic is not in itself, bad. Take a look at the interior of a modern Audi. It doesn't feel at all cheap, even though there is black plastic everywhere. Same thing goes for the 2001 BMW 3-series that I drive. Sure, it's made of plastic, but it looks clean and well-built, like it's not hiding anything. And the one 'faux' surface treatment is the aluminum-look trim, which looks realistic enough that it has taken me about a year of ownership to decide that it isn't actually aluminum.
 
To be fair, Toyota and Honda among others have a real problem right now with obviously fake carbon-fiber accents, and Lexus tends to have some fake-looking wood trim. Jaguar's S-type manages somehow to make real-wood trim look fake (until it cracks). This isn't a Buick-only problem, but GM's luxury brands seem to be the most prolific users of faux-trim.
 
The cheap, readable display would be just fine if this was a Suzuki Reno. But something tells me the Suzuki Reno wouldn't extensively blanket the same display in faux wood and chrome. The display's top-center placement also means the driver of this car is going to be looking at it all the time while driving.

TjBeck --
 
I don't think GM is trying to deceive us into thinking that they're plastic trim is real wood. It's just easier and simpler to manufacture those pieces in plastic.
 
However, for most of the motoring public, I don't think they worry about it. If they did, there wouldn't be such a large after market for dashboard and interior appliques.
 
I know I bought a steering wheel cover that matches the gray of my interior and has an insert of wood applique that is close to the wood trim in my car. I thought it would be nice for it to match, and it looks very nice indeed.
 
As for the information displays, the GM version works just fine. Not every car comes equipped with a screen on the dash for navigation/ audio/ climate/ compass/ temperature/ information/ customization displays (like BMW or MB or Audi).
 
A number of other companies, such as Nissan and Mazda, use a similar display information and settings.
 
Maybe all cars should have all black interiors with a gazillion buttons and display screens festooned about the dashboard telling me everything that is happening with my car and the road underneath it, and telling me how long I've set the license plate lights to stay on, and telling me all this information in 30 different languages.
 
But I digress....German cars are the best in the world because they use real wood and GM builds crap cars because they use plasti-wood/ chrome and Atari-like gauges in all their cars. That includes the Aura since it uses this info cluster as well. (HA! I've included the Aura into another discussion!)

Haha, we should see if we can somehow shoehorn the Aura into every single blog posted.
 
I agree, I'd rather have simple, clear, but dated looking displays like what we see here than an LCD screen with information overload. My complaint is that on many GM vehicles they hide engine temps in lower layer on the information display, so you have to scroll through a couple other bits of information to get to it. I'd rather just have a small gauge.
 
Yes the Enclave's materials don't look like real wood and chrome, but it still looks nice. I've seen plenty of fake wood and chrome that look cheesy and cheap, but this stuff at least is pleasing to the eye. Will it fool anyone into thinking it is real? Probably not. But in the end, the overall appearance is still nice.

"I agree, that dash doesn't stand up to close scrutiny. It does look good from a distance, though. Seems like GM has been using those Apple II hues in its displays for a very long time now, perhaps time to move onto something more modern?"
 
GM doenst use the same backlighting in all brands. Pontiac is red, Saturn has amber and Chevy's/Buicks have the green color shown above. Newer Chevy's starting with the Malibu are using an ice blue color for displays.
 
As for fake wood- it looks fake in almost every car. Has anyone ever seen the wood in Toyotas, Nissan, Hondas and Acuras? At least the Enclave has a real wood steering wheel available. And please dont say "any vehicle that costs this much shouldnt have fake wood". Too many $30k+ vehicles to name have fake wood including the MDX.

So you're saying it's OK for a supposed luxury brand to use fake-looking interior trim because it' easier to manufacture? I'm trying to say anything about usability, functionality and everything else you mentioned.
 
I'm saying the big knock on Buick and Cadillac is the lousy interior materials, and this Buick doesn't do much to change that in the minds of luxury buyers. "People don't care" and "German cars have too many buttons" aren't really defenses.
 
You also mentioned that Nissan and Mazda and Saturn use similar displays, but these aren't semi-luxury brands like Buick.

"I'm saying the big knock on Buick and Cadillac is the lousy interior materials"
 
Someone has never been in a CTS, STS, SRX or the Enclave.

"I'm saying the big knock on Buick and Cadillac is the lousy interior materials, and this Buick doesn't do much to change that in the minds of luxury buyers. "People don't care" and "German cars have too many buttons" aren't really defenses. "
 
please check out 21st century cadillacs and Buicks. The Lucerne/DTS have soft touch interiors as does the Lacrosse. Have not been in Enclave yet. STS and CTS also have plenty of soft touch materials. All Cadillacs except Escalade have real wood and this has been the case for over a decade when the FWD STS/DTS had Zebrano wood trim. Not sure how that makes them "lousy". I havent seen much real wood in Acura models. Have you?

Okay, please help me out here- WTF is the beef with the display? The color?

I'm with 1487 on this. American brands have been bringing in some nice interior furnishings for years now. But it hasn't been across the board, and at times the assembly quality has been lacking. To me the Enclave looks very Buick-ish. That's neither good nor bad, but it is distinctive, and says "old people's car" to some buyers.

I remember a big complaint about the XLR was the poor interior quality. While I have no experience owning one, my friend did (car salesman), and I was actually quite surprised by how cheap the interior looked.

"That's neither good nor bad, but it is distinctive, and says "old people's car" to some buyers."
 
"Old" would be lexus interiors since that is the type of buyer Lexus attracts. I just read the average age is 61. Sounds like Buick 10 years ago to me. The Enclave is actually doing a decent job of attracting YOUNGER customers to Buick based on comments by Lutz.
 
The XLR was mostly criticized because of its price. The interior actually has REAL wood and aluminum trim. The design is a little basic but no worse than the SL550. If the XLR was a little cheaper the criticism wouldn't have been as bad.

You're not going to find real wood on a vehicle in the $30's. This is NOT a luxury car price point. Some could argue its "entry level" luxury, but not true luxury. If someone drives a $38k car, I would not consider them driving a luxury car, even if it is a BMW 3-series or an Audi A4, or a Lexus ES. Luxury brand, yes. But not a luxury car. $30k is the average new car price these days - not for a luxury car.
 
If you want real wood, you need to step up to the $40k+ range. The real African Sappele wood in the Cadillac SRX and new CTS is STUNNING.
 
Those of you knocking Cadillac interiors have definitely not been in a new SRX, CTS, or Escalade.
 
Bottom line is the Enclave's competition does not have real wood trim either at its price, and the Enclaves interior design and overall quality is at least as good as or better than the competition's. If you want real wood and even higher quality, you're going to have to pay more than what the Enclave costs.