The exterior design of the new
Buick Enclave is of a completely different flavor than the
GMC Acadia, which is deliberately truck-like, and the
Saturn Outlook, which carries the new Saturn front-end and grille design and is well downmarket from the Enclave.
The Enclave looks like it belongs in the same showroom with Buick's latest-generation of sedans, the LaCrosse and the Lucerne. The Enclave's protruding vertical bar grille and vestigial portholes on the hood make sure you know it's a Buick.
The long body shell is anything but boxy, with curvy, swoopy, and sexy shapes from every angle. All of the front lighting elements use clear lenses, with lots of different elements to please the eye and light the road. Everything under the bumper is kept simple and clean to draw the eye to that massive grille. The standard tires are big, fat 18-inchers on seven-spoke alloy wheels, with 19-inchers optional and 20-inchers from your dealer, and they certainly add to the visual punch of the Enclave. The roof and the side windows are done in a gracefully decreasing sweep from front to rear, accented by bright-metal roof bars that follow the roof's curvature perfectly front to back.
Out back, the top-hinged tailgate with standard power opening and closing is a work of art, with the rear glass extending beyond the sheetmetal into the rear opening. The rear glass is quite large, and is convex-shaped, coming to a point just above the Buick tri-shield logo and above the wide-screen taillamps. Under the rear bumper is a diffuser panel and dual exhausts with bright tips, making for one of the tastiest rear-end treatments in the crossover segment. next page