After 7 days and some 1,500 miles in the saddle of our 2008 Buick Enclave, I've developed a few gripes.
1) I'm not a fan of fake wood in any car interior. The Buick annoys me in two ways: the "wood" on the dash is particularly shiny and plastic-looking; the "wood" on the steering wheel rim looks more authentic, but is too hard and slick. And they aren't even the same species of simu-wood! On the steering, we've got Fauxhogany, while the dash is trimmed with Bird's Eye Fakle. Don't get me started about the eyeball clock with its tiny face and its humungous blingy surround.
2) I like playing with the onboard trip computer - a lot. Checking the range, looking at how the average fuel consumption changes as I go up or down hills, comparing the trip odo with the miles-to-go on the nav display to see how far we've come - these are the things that keep me occupied on a drive I've done several dozen times.
The display has a perfect location in the gauge cluster, right where the driver can see it. But the controls are located just below the radio. I guess I could get used to it, but I still have to hunt around to select one of four same-sized buttons. This mid-cabin location has another disadvantage that GM engineers might not have thought of: I'm using it so often (every couple of minutes) that my wife started asking me things like "Why are always playing with those buttons?" and "What are you doing?" and "Would you just stop already?" If the buttons were on a stalk (more on that later) I could press them to my heart's content without having to undergo the Spanish Inquisition.
3) It rains in Oregon - a lot. So I'm always using the rear wiper, which is...where, again? It's not on the stalk with the front wiper. Oh, here it is, by the shifter. And what's this - a rocker switch? Again, I could get used to it...
What 2) and 3) need are a second steering column stalk. The Buick Enclave has only one on the left-hand side of the steering column. Perhaps it's a throwback to the days when all GM automatics were column shift. This one isn't (in any version or configuration), so a second stalk wouldn't interfere with the works. And it would allow moving related and oft-used controls like these up where the driver could easily find and use them without taking hands off the wheel.
Enough griping. How about fuel economy? Today I diligently followed the speed limit and used cruise control. I went 65 where it was posted 65, and 55 where that was the limit. Even as we got into Oakland, where the big-city "black hole" effect seemed to draw cars in with ever-increasing speed, I stuck to my 55 mph guns while others went flying by. "What's up?" asked my wife, "Are you feeling OK?"
With an average speed of 57.0 mph, we went 398.1 miles on 17.31 gallons. That's an even 23.0 mpg folks. On the trip up I hadn't been as diligent with my speed, going with the flow of traffic instead of the posted limit, and we only managed 19.5 mpg.
Dan Edmunds, Director of Vehicle Testing @ 8,384 miles.
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Seriously, what's with the third degree? (Referring to the "Spanish Inquisition").
It seems to me that a lot of the analog clocks in cars are just for display. It seems immpossible to look at them at any time of day. My best friend has a 2004 Infinite G35, and I can never read what his clock says. This is why they put digital clocks in the cars
I think all the wood in the Enclave in real. The problem with wood trim is that even the real stuff looks fake. That's because any real piece of wood is covered with so much polyurethane (or some similar product) that is feels like plastic. Go look at pictures of the interior of a Bentley even. The very real wood in there is so glossy, I'm sure many people would think it was fake.
Again, I'm not sure about this. Plus the definition of real wood could be plywood with a veneer. But how could anyone tell the difference between a veneer under a millimeter of polyurethane vs. a solid piece of wood under a millimeter of polyurethane? I doubt anyone could.
Dan,
Wood on the steering wheel is REAL mahogany. All other wood in the cabin is fake. Don't take my word for it, do the research.
http://media.gm.com/us/buick/en/product_services/r_cars/r_c_enclave/index.html
I absolutely adore analog clocks in cars. The one in the Buick does seem a bit "form over function". The ones I have had in my Volvos and SAABs over the years have been so wonderful. For one thing, they are always on and always visible. I sometimes check my current SAAB clock just to tell the time when I am working around the house -- without unlocking any doors. Simply look inside through the window. Compared to the analog clocks I have had, digital ones are very hard to use.
I really wish the reviewers would quit nitpicking the cars...this set of reviews is like all the others on the edmunds site...they rave about it, and then do a long term test and rip it to shreds. At the end of the test, they'll say they love it again.
There's not a car on the market that has the controls exactly where every person will expect them because people have different expectations.
Well, at least Dan more or less identified the type and location of the real wood.
I love reading gripes; keep it up. Gives insight into what it's like to live with a particular car everyday. Hey isn't that what this blog is about? Why don't some people get that?
I think that GM chose not to put these controls on a stalk, is becuse they already had these parts in the parts bin, so instead of designing a new control, they just incorporated what they already had.
I agree with Benson, I don't want to hear "screened" analysis. Sometimes you learn the most insight from kneejerk reactions. And I after sitting and poking around an Enclave, I would have the agree the plood (plastic wood) is pretty terrible. Fit and finish aren't bad though but there were more than a few misaligned panels and cheap touches (like the already swirled plastic chrome touches). Best Buick in years though.
Hey, zoomzoomzoom, would you rather just read "I love this car--it's dreamy" every day for the next year? These folks are paid to help us find the flaws we wouldn't spot in a half-hour test drive, so let them do their job!
My Aura XE has the trip computer controls on the steering wheel, and a second stalk for the wipers. But the rental Impala I'm driving right now on vacation has the TC controls on the dash, and only one stalk. Like Dan, I prefer the former setup.
My point is, GM *does* have these parts in the parts bin, but for some reason they decided on a different execution with the Enclave, Impala, etc.
Different vehicles cater to different people. Those with sporty intentions take the Aura and get a stalk to control the TC. Old fashioned people buy Buicks and like to have buttons to push.
Or maybe I'm just blowing smoke. For each car has it's quirks; love them or hate them.
Wow. Not only are the plastics too hard, but so is the wood. Maybe they'll one day make an interior out of TempurPedic foam for the discriminating driver.
I personally don't like wood in any car, but when done correctly it can look very good. I think it would be odd to have so much wood in the Buick (a "luxury" thing) and then have those ugly cloth seats...kind of an odd mixture. Having said that, the Buick's interior is nice looking, and it would look even better with leather.
Of course the wood on the steering wheel is hard (minds out of the gutter). I don't think GM has "squishy" or "soft touch" wood in its parts bin. :)
"wood on the steering wheel is hard"
Must be a very interesting way to drive ;)
fake wood is everywhere, even on some luxury vehicles. This Buick's faux wood isnt all that bad considering what's out there these days.