According to the consulting firm IHS Automotive, the crossover, or “CUV” segment market share has exploded from 15 percent in 2008 to more than 21 percent in 2010. As a comparison, the entire small-car market share is only 16 percent. In order to succeed in this hotly contested segment, your crossover had better be good. The Buick Enclave is the crossover you’ve been searching for.

 

Leading this sales charge is the Buick Enclave, a vehicle that has itself seen a more than 30 percent sales increase over the past year alone. The Enclave is a leader for good reason – it deftly blends style with precision engineering to accommodate up to eight passengers while still delivering up to 24 mpg highway – and it has been attracting quite a bit of attention. Consumer’s Digest has named the 2011 Enclave a “Best Buy,” and Advertising Age listed Buick as “One of America’s Hottest Brand for 2010.”

 

The 2011 Buick Enclave (MSRP $35,865) line includes CX and CXL trim packages available in either front- or all-wheel drive. New features for 2011 on the Enclave include 19-inch chromed aluminum wheels and additional exterior colors of Cyber Gray Metallic, Dark Ming Blue and Gray Green Metallic.

 

At the core of this Buick is a powerful and fuel-efficient 3.6-liter direct-injection V6 engine with Variable Valve Timing (VVT). The Enclave powerplant produces 288 hp and 270 lb/ft of torque through an electronically controlled, six-speed Hydra-Matic automatic transmission that delivers seven percent better acceleration and four percent better fuel economy than a traditional four-speed automatic. The Enclave can be flat-towed in both FWD and AWD configurations, but if you prefer to tow rather than be towed, the Enclave can haul loads to the tune of 4,500 pounds.

 

Another element that makes the Enclave so appealing is the way Buick engineers melded the best attributes of both a luxury car and an SUV into a single family machine. The interior is luxurious with outstanding fit and finish. The Enclave features premium, soft-touch materials throughout the cabin, a tastefully designed instrument panel and available perforated leather seating with heated front seats.

 

The driving dynamics of the Enclave are positively car-like with sleek aerodynamics to minimize wind noise, power-assisted rack-and-pinion steering and front and rear independent suspension with MacPherson struts in the front, for road manners not found in other CUVs.

 

The Enclave also benefits from QuietTuning^®, a Buick-exclusive engineering process that reduces, blocks and absorbs exterior noise to keep the Enclave cabin silent as a monastery. Because consumers equate quiet with quality and luxury, the Enclave is equipped with an acoustic-laminated windshield, triple door seals and tires designed to minimize road noise. As a testament to how quiet the Enclave interior is, third-row passengers can easily have a conversation with front-row passengers using their “inside voices”; a feat considered impossible in most traditional SUVs.

 

Getting to that third-row is a breeze with the GM Smart Slide^® system, which makes access to the third row as easy as pulling a single handle. If third-row occupants need a little more room, the second-row seats adjust fore and aft to accommodate people of all dimensions.

 

The Enclave can comfortably accommodate up to eight passengers while carrying up to 24.1 cubic feet behind the third row seat; the 2011 Lexus GX, by comparison, only offers 11.6 cubic feet of space with its second- and third-row seats in use. With second- and third-row seats folded, the Enclave has a cavernous 115.9 cubic feet of capacity, eclipsing the capacity of leading competitors like the Acura MDX, which offers a mere 83.5 cubic feet, and the Lexus RX, which has only 91.9.

 

The active Intelligent All-Wheel Drive system has variable torque distribution based on vehicle speed, throttle position and wheel slip. Not only does it equate to a vehicle superior in every day driving situations, as well as adverse weather conditions, but when paired with the standard StabiliTrak^® Electronic Stability Control with Traction Control and Rollover Mitigation, it also enhances the Enclave’s ability to safely avoid accidents during emergency maneuvers.

 

In the event of an unavoidable accident, the Enclave is still among the safest CUVs on the road. It received a perfect 2010 federal crash rating of five stars for driver and front-seat passenger, and five stars for rear passenger side-impact. The Enclave was also named a Top Safety Pick by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). In addition to six standard airbags, the Enclave also features a rollover sensing system that activates roof rail airbags if a rollover is imminent. The bags remain inflated to increase occupant protection and containment. Every Enclave is outfitted with OnStar^® and its Advanced Crash Response System that automatically notifies an OnStar advisor after a crash.

 

There’s one more element to the Enclave that turns prospective buyers into proud owners: An industry-best four-year/ 50,000-mile Bumper-to-Bumper Limited Warranty and five-year/100,000-mile Powertrain Limited Warranty. Buick also includes six years/100,000 miles of Corrosion Protection and five years/100,000 miles of 24/7 Roadside Assistance and Courtesy Transportation. Buick warranty protection is fully transferrable and has no deductible. It’s a testament to how well the Enclave is built and how confident Buick is in its sole CUV. Schedule a test drive today and experience for yourself why the Enclave is so successful.