- crossover
- 2,418 below average
- 1,995 great
- Miami, FL
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- autoshopper.com
- 2,418 below average crossover silver automatic
2003 buick rendezvous review this car review is specific to this model, not the actual vehicle for sale. When introduced, the buick rendezvous crossed over all the lines that used to separate sedans, minivans, and sport-utility vehicles. It's a perfect example of the new category of crossover vehicles, a category that defies categorization. Rendezvous combines aspects of suvs, minivans, and wagons. for starters, it's versatile, seating five to seven passengers. The styling is nice. It has fine manners on the highway, a benefit of unibody construction normally associated with sedans. There is much to like here in terms of engineering, flexibility, and appearance. The three-row interior compares favorably with the passenger capacity of costlier vehicles. Satellite radio and a rear-seat dvd system are now available as options. . lineupbuick rendezvous comes with front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive. Cx awd 28,545) adds the all-wheel-drive system plus anti-lock brakes (abs) and side-impact airbags. the cx plus package 1925) adds onstar, a driver-information center, overhead console, ultrasonic rear parking assist, a tire-inflation monitor, aluminum wheels and other features, but not abs and side airbags. the awd cxl package 3530) and fwd cxl package 4655) include all that plus dual-zone air conditioning, leather upholstery, six-way power seats, premium stereo with cassette and cd capability, rear-seat audio controls and headphone jacks, and unique exterior trim. Third row seating, optional 465) on all other models, is standard on cxl plus. The head-up display projects salient information on the windshield (low enough to be unobtrusive but clearly visible). Two new options for 2003 are xm satellite radio 325) and a dvd entertainment center 1000). Xm satellite radio features 100 coast-to-coast digital channels, including 71 music channels (more than 30 of them commercial-free) and 29 channels of sports, talk, children's and entertainment programming. The dvd system includes a fold-down seven-inch monitor integrated into the ceiling. . walkaroundit is difficult to judge the size of the rendezvous without the context of another vehicle near it. That's usually a sign that the design team (headed, by the way, by a woman, liz wetzel) got the scale right. The spec sheet says that rendezvous is as tall as an suv, at 68. 9 inches without the roof rack. But with nearly 64 inches between the left and right tires, buick claims that the rendezvous has a wider track than an suv. Rendezvous' strong horizontal design visually suggests stability as well. the rendezvous' traditional buick grille emphasizes a familial resemblance to the park avenue, but it somehow looks less formal and more cheery. In short, we like its looks. . interiorbuick rendezvous can seat up to seven passengers or two people with scads of stuff. Captain's chairs (an elegant choice for just $350) can be ordered instead of the 50-50 split bench seat in the second row. The optional third row seat 465) folds flat into the floor. the flexibility of the seating configurations is an exercise in automotive origami. The seats fold and tuck and fit into an amazing number of arrangements. For maximum capacity, however, the center row can be removed. (the third-row seat tucks flat into the floor, so it doesn't have to come out.) hiding places and lockable bins are strategically placed here and there. even with seven inches of ground clearance and all-wheel drive, getting in and out of the rendezvous is more like getting in and out of a sedan than an suv; small children, arthritic knees and tight-skirts can be grateful for that. All seats are easy to access and quite comfortable. access to the third row is far simpler than in most vehicles with three rows of seats. Once back there, the third row is pleasantly suitable for two full-size adults. Well, the rendezvous' rear opening is wide enough to take the proverbial building material lying flat. Well, the buick engineers found a way to do it. Too bad being unobtrusive is a mark of success because this accomplishment needs to stand up and take applause. It's best appreciated when driving with a full load of people and their stuff on a nasty, sleety, darkening afternoon with a slippery glaze on the street. but all is not sheer delight inside the rendezvous. The plastic used for the instrument panel looks dowdy compared with the rest of the interior. . driving impressionbuick rendezvous has reassuring road manners. Its long wheel base (six inches longer than that of the grand cherokee) smoothes surface irregularities like a sedan or a minivan. in handling the more sinuous highways, again it favors the minivan/sedan end of the scale. Driven in the truly twisty bits the rendezvous comported itself surprisingly well. Gm's all-wheel-drive system, called versatrak, requires no input from the driver. Versatrak drives just the front wheels until sensors agree that some traction assistance from the rear is advisable. Now this is where the versatrak is really clever: power is meted out separately and individually to each rear wheel, not just to the rear axle. The result is better traction and increased stability, making the rendezvous more capable in the snow and easier to drive in the slush. overall, the road demeanor of the rendezvous is pleasing. It stopped well, accelerated with reasonable aplomb (can't everything use more power?) and was quiet for an suv, though a little road-noisy by luxury sedan standards. buick rendezvous deserves a look on the basis of economy alone. In the first place it uses regular unleaded gas, not premium. Its thirst is temperate for its size: 24 miles per gallon on the highway with versatrak, 26 mpg for the front-wheel-drive models. . summarybuick rendezvous is as comfortable as it is practical. Rendezvous is priced significantly below such luxury all-wheel-drive vehicles as the lexus rx 330 and acura mdx. . model lineupcx fwd 25,445); cx awd 28,545). assembled inramos arizpe, mexico. options as testedcaptain's chairs 395). model testedbuick rendezvous cxl plus awd 33,075). Anti-lock Brakes✔ Heated Seats✔ Power Seats✔ AM/FM✔ Air Conditioning✔ Cruise Control✔ Aluminum Wheels
1,995 Miami, FLMiami, FL at autoshopper.com