Missing My Quiet Ride–The Buick Enclave

Don’t be jealous, but when I made the four and half hour drive up to Cottage Country last week.  That was my sweet ride! (Okay, you can be a little jealous)  Pretty right?  This my friends is the Buick Enclave, my newest test drive of pure crossover luxury. Want to know a secret?  The pretty of this vehicle is so much more than skin deep. 

When you are travelling on a four and a half hour trip (that seems like six because you have heard “Are we there yet?” every twenty minutes), you need all the help you can get.  Here are just some of the reasons I am so thankful to General Motors for sending me this sweet ride.

1) The built in Rear DVD Entertainment System.  Now I have been in vehicles with DVD systems before, so what sets the Enclave apart?  The controls for the DVD player can be accessed by the driver or passenger from the front console OR with the little remote control!  Oh and did I mention there are wireless Head Phones so you don’t have to listen to the theme song to Phineas and Ferb over and over and over again.  I love those crazy characters…but not quite that much. 

2) Dual control on the air?  I’m sure there is a more technical word for it, but basically I like it warm in the front, my girls like it cool in the back. Not a problem with dual comfort zones!  I set my temperature a little higher, theirs a little lower and turned up their fan for some extra circulation.  Everyone was very happy.

3) Storage, storage everywhere!  I’m a girl and I pack like one!  See:

I crammed this baby full.  There are sheets and blankets, four small suitcases, two pillows, a laptop, a couple of camera bags and some big purses, two coolers, a diaper bag, a backpack AND five people!  One of those people hogging an entire seat with his car seat. Ha!  I could still easily see out all windows and we all had tons of leg room. 

4) Loads of Extra Cup Holders.  This may seem like a little thing but honestly without sufficient cup holders you get spillage.  Spillage in a car is a very bad thing.  There were holders in the front, the middle, and in the way back.  Happiness is sometimes no farther away then a full sippy cup. 

5) Safety.  There are so many safety features on this vehicle, including six airbags, but by far my favourite is the back up camera that magically appears when you put your car in reverse.  I parked in my driveway and tried to take a picture to demonstrate.  There is no way I can possibly show you how wonderfully clear that picture is!  Thanks to the rear view mirror camera you will never worry about what might be hiding out of your line of sight.  (Rear view camera appears on the left)

6) Head room?  Yes, head room.  You know when you try and get your babe or toddler out of her car seat and bonk her head because you just don’t have enough space?  The Buick Enclave has loads of extra “ceiling” height so little heads just don’t get bumped.  My sister pointed this out to me.  It was a breeze to get her little man in and out of his cars seat! 

7) Beauty.  Yep.  All the benefits of a large SUV but handles like a car.  I found myself remarking during the week that I could not believe how smooth our ride was, handled the curves and the bumps, and was pretty too!

It was a true pleasure to boot through cottage country in the Buick Enclave. We loved the  XM Satellite Radio, the GPS, and the comfort of knowing OnStar was there if we needed it.  A safe, fun and remarkably quiet ride for an unbelievably good price!  If you are in the market for a new vehicle do yourself a favour and put the Enclave on your list. 

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Disclosure: Many thanks to GM Canada for the loan of this media vehicle for our family vacation.  The opinions expressed in this post are my own.