Rendezvous with a minivan and SUV – the New Buick is best of both worlds.
By Vince Bodiford
Automotive Editor
Blending the all-wheel drive benefits of a sport utility vehicle and the roominess and headroom of a minivan, Buick’s Rendezvous is among just a few new “crossover” styled vehicles that include the Pontiac Aztec. The Buick is by far the better looking of the two.
"The Rendezvous is new breed of sport utility that goes beyond the usual vehicle categories," Buick General Manager Roger W. Adams said. "It’s really the best of all worlds – in terms of versatility, security and comfort.” With its reconfigurable interior, we believe this is the most versatile vehicle in the utility market. It’s a great product for today’s active families -- and a great example of General Motors’ strategy to reach beyond traditional constraints and become the industry’s product innovation leader."
Unlike traditional SUVs of about the same size, Rendezvous offers seven-passenger seating with its optional – and comfortable – third row of seats. Need fewer seats? Rendezvous can be easily reconfigured to create a huge cargo space of 108.9 cubic feet (about 5 ˝ times the capacity of a Buick Park Avenue trunk). Rendezvous can be ordered with Versatrak, GM’s all-wheel-drive system that provides sure-footedness on all roads. And it can be equipped to tow up to 3,500 pounds.
The first truck-based Buick in nearly 80 years, Rendezvous debuted as a 2002 model, with production beginning in the spring of 2001. Why create a truck-based Buick after all these years? Buick is aware that today’s U.S. vehicle market is about half trucks – a fact that even has Porsche rolling out it’s own SUV, the Cayenne, for 2003.
Just some of the Rendezvous features…
* Low door sills, compared with traditional SUVs, providing low step-in height for easy entry and exit.
* A newly designed independent rear suspension to provide superior road-holding -- and ride characteristics more like a Park Avenue Ultra than an SUV.
* Various seating combinations – handling up to seven passengers – that are the key to Rendezvous’ superior versatility. The two front seats are buckets. Two second-row choices are offered -- a three-across split bench or two captain’s chairs. Second-row footrests are optional. The optional third row has comfortable seating for two adult passengers and can be folded flush, with the release of a lever, to provide even more space in Rendezvous’ large cargo area.
* A new-design center console large and versatile enough to handle a full-size laptop computer -- and with a special area for a purse. The console may be easily accessed by either front passenger. The lockable console also offers secure storage and charging space for the ubiquitous cell phone.
* A full range of instruments, a number of them visible on a new-generation head-up display as well as on the instrument panel. There are four audio entertainment systems, including one with optional rear-seat controls and headphones for rear-seat occupants.
* A 48-inch-wide rear opening, providing the ability to carry 4x8-foot panels and other building materials.
Rendezvous’ powerful 3.4-liter V-6 engine, attached to an electronically controlled four-speed automatic transmission, generates 185 horsepower at 5200 rpm and 210 lb-ft of torque at 4000 rpm. It provides exceptionally good fuel economy (estimated EPA fuel economy numbers are 19 miles per gallon city and 24 mpg highway for the front-drive version and 17/22 with all-wheel drive).
The new Buick has numerous safety features, such as frontal and side air bags with advanced inflation features for front-seat passengers, safety-cage construction and four-wheel disc anti-lock brakes.
Another Rendezvous option is an ultrasonic intrusion alert system that can be armed to sound an alarm if movement is detected inside the vehicle when it locked. In addition, an optional rear parking assist system uses four ultrasonic sensors to warn the driver of obstacles in the blind spot immediately behind the rear bumper. The sensors alert the driver by a chime and warning lights if the car nears an obstacle while backing at low speeds.
GM’s OnStar communications and information system is available as a factory installed option. OnStar uses Global Positioning System satellite technology to link drivers to a center where advisers are available to provide many kinds of assistance, such as emergency services and travel support.
Adams told The Weekend Drive® that the Rendezvous is the first truck-based Buick since 1923. "This is an important new direction for Buick, and Rendezvous will be a significant product --a vehicle that’s on-target to the market," Adams said. (Buick, which turns 100 in 2003, built some trucks from 1909 to 1918 and again in 1922 and 1923 but hasn’t offered one since, though some coachbuilders have used Buick chassis to create small numbers of buses, trucks and other commercial vehicles over the years).
Vehicle Price: Suggested retail $35,965.
ENJOY THE DRIVE. More reviews online at www.theweekenddrive.com. E-mail comments to vince@theweekenddrive.com. Remember, always drive safely, obey all traffic laws, never drive impaired, and wear your seat belts. Copyright © 2002 The Weekend Drive®.
