Buick Rendezvous works like a wagon, rides like a fine sedan
Bob Plunkett
Date Posted: 5/10/2005
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LA QUINTA, Calif. -- The Buick Division of General Motors, long the bastion of comfortable sedans, has developed a sport-utility wagon that comes to market in advance of the 2002 model season.
It's called Rendezvous and fits to mid-size scale with five doors and up to three rows of seats for seven riders.
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Don't expect truck-tough manners like the typical sport-ute designed for rugged chores and off-road action because that's not the way Buick plays it.
Instead, Rendezvous skews to the cushy side of comfort for operation on paved highways and urban streets.
It's easy to enter, effortless to operate, smooth in the ride department and entirely pleasant for passengers.
Further, the cabin contains flexible seats that flip and fold or pop out easily to vary the balance between seats and cargo space.
Everything about Rendezvous works so well, in fact, that it seems like a sport-ute treatment for a minivan.
But that's the big idea behind this design.
The chassis and essential mechanical elements including a V6 engine and four-speed automatic transaxle were borrowed from the General Motors minivans like Chevrolet's front-wheel-drive Venture and Pontiac's Montana, so Rendezvous drives and rides with the easy-to-maneuver agility of a minivan, yet the elevated stance and a boxy configuration enable it to function like a sport-utility wagon.
In effect, Rendezvous combines the ideal attributes of both a wagon and minivan, then adds plush seats and an array of comfortable appointments so it comes off feeling like a car to drive but still looking like a slick wagon.
And it's priced within reason, in a range that begins at $25,499 for the front-wheel-drive Rendezvous CX or $28,027 in all-wheel-drive mode with Rendezvous CXL.
Despite the foundation derived from a minivan's platform, Rendezvous reveals not a hint of minivan styling.
It looks sleek like a sedan, thanks to the disguise of a wagon's boxy rear bay due to blacked-out center roof pillars and a forward tilt of back pillars plus a wrap of black glass at the rear.
The wide stance with wheels pushed to corners of the platform and curt overhangs front and back create a solid form that appears rooted to the pavement.
Up front, the forceful design of the prow merges a broad oval grille cut from thin vertical bars with corner headlamp clusters that curve up into the hood. Below, a thick fascia of contrasting color thrusts forward and cradles round foglamps before wrapping around to side wheelwells and extending in a band underscoring the doors.
In back, a wide red lamp strip divides the flip-up tailgate into two sections with window above and painted panel below. The door, constructed from composite material, weighs only 36 pounds and gets a boost from hydraulic struts so it's a snap to swing up high.
Due to the minivan's low platform, the floor height in the cabin is also low and doesn't force riders to climb aboard. Likewise at the rear, the cargo compartment has a low floor that can be expanded by folding down the seatback on an optional third row or removing the second-tier seats.
It's also a broad space that can accommodate those 4x8 sheets of building material.
With all rear seats out or down, the cargo volume expands to 108.9 cubic feet, or to about half that area with second-row seats still aboard. Even with three rows of seats in place, there's still 18 cubic feet of space remaining, which is more than the trunk of a mid-size sedan provides.
The standard seat plan sets a pair of contoured buckets up front between a broad padded console and followed by a second-row bench for three that splits into two equal sections. Two armrests with built-in cupholders fold out from the seatbacks to define positions for two.
Each section of the second-row bench folds and unlocks for quick removal to expand the cargo bay.
Seat options include substituting two captain's chairs for the second-row bench and adding the third-row bench for two with seatback folding into the floor.
The cockpit orients toward the driver with handy controls set on the left door or ahead to the right in a central stack of equipment on the dash that includes controls for climate and audio systems.
Analog instruments in the arching binnacle present bright white faces in clean and easy-to-rear designs. Larger dials are used for the tachometer and speedometer.
We spent a day steering a Rendezvous prototype across the Laguna Mountains of southern California and through low sandy deserts skirting the Salton Sea to the oasis of La Quinta near Palm Springs.
What that drive revealed was a sturdy vehicle that could romp up mountain grades and dance around wiggly curves as easily as it powers down a multi-lane interstate highway like the I-8 or maneuvers deftly through traffic in the urban sprawl of Palm Springs.
The ride quality feels firm but smooth, thanks to a rigid ladder-type chassis that supports a suspension system with front independent components including struts and coil springs and an independent arrangement in back with short and long control arms and coil springs.
Rack and pinion steering with power assistance responds quickly, and disc brakes linked to an anti-lock system deliver precise control.
That generous wheelbase length and wide wheel track foster the stable stance of Rendezvous and keep it tied to the road, while the engine's energy flows to front wheels so it steers more like an easy-driving sedan or minivan rather than the typical rear-wheel-drive sport-ute.
Rendezvous CX operates constantly in front-wheel-drive, but the CXL carries an on-demand all-wheel-drive system called Versatrak. That device normally runs in front-wheel-drive mode, but it may redirect the engine's power to rear wheels momentarily during low-traction conditions before tire slippage occurs at the front.
Both traction editions pull power from the same engine, a 3.4-liter V6 from GM that produces 185 hp through an electronically controlled four-speed automatic transaxle.
Rendezvous CX comes loaded with power controls and convenience equipment, including power windows and mirrors, air conditioning, a leather-wrapped steering wheel and stereo kit with CD player. Rendezvous CXL adds leather seats, dual-zone climate controls, an upgraded audio package, aluminum wheels and special ornamentation.
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| 2002 BUICK RENDEZVOUS VEHICLE SPECIFICATIONS |
| Description: |
Mid-size 5-door SUV
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| Model Options: |
Mid-size 5-door SUV
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| Wheelbase: |
112.2 inches
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| Overall Length: |
186.5 inches
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| Engine Size: |
OHV 3.4-L V6
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| Transmission: |
Auto/4
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| Drive: |
Front 2WD, 4WD Versatrak
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| Braking: |
Power 4-disc/ABS
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| Airbags: |
2 (front) + 2 (side)
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| Towing Capacity: |
Standard: 2000 pounds, Package: 3500 pounds |
| Gas Mileage: |
2WD: 19/26 mpg
4WD: 18/24 mpg |
| MSRP Price: |
$ 25,499 to $ 30,000 |
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