BUICK ENCLAVE CXL

I try not to be a brand bigot, to treat all cars fairly and equally. It’s not often easy.

To be honest, Buick has been one of the biggest challenges to my fairness doctrine. That’s not because there’s anything wrong with Buicks. It’s the way people drive them. There just seems to be a disproportionate number of Buicks going slower than the speed limit. If the driver is wearing a tweed hat or has a bouffant hairdo, you can accurately predict an average speed of 10 mph below the posted limit.

Yes, people have the right to drive slower than the limit. But they don’t have the right to delay traffic. It’s illegal. More important, it drives me crazy.

So anyway, I was at an Everett feed store buying yet another 40-pound bag of black oil sunflower seeds because there’s a tent city of band-tailed pigeons and grosbeaks in my yard. And I had to tell the cute young loading-dock guy that my vehicle was a Buick.

He didn’t spot the Buick right off, probably because he was looking for a beige sedan instead of the absolutely beautiful Enclave sport utility vehicle I was referring to.

Enclave’s compelling exterior design is a stand-out not only among SUVs but also among vehicles in general. Most likely an Enclave has caught your attention on the road and maybe you thought it was some trendy new Mazda or something.

The Enclave, introduced for model year 2008, is Buick’s first luxury crossover, and the company couldn’t have done a better job with its overall design and execution. It comes standard with three rows of seats accommodating up to eight occupants, with leftover space for cargo in the rear. It has a towing capacity of up to 4,500 pounds.

Two trim levels are available: CX and CXL, in front-wheel or all-wheel drive configuration. The base CX is bedecked with standard features including three-zone automatic climate control (with rear controls), six-way power driver’s seat with lumbar adjustment, power everything (including the liftgate), remote keyless entry, xenon HID headlamps, cloth upholstery, fog lamps, roof rails, head curtain side airbags, StabiliTrak electronic stability control with rollover mitigation, traction control, anti-lock brakes, six-speaker sound system with CD, MP3 and XM satellite radio, Bluetooth technology, OnStar with Turn-by-Turn navigation, and 18-inch alloy wheels.

The CXL has leather upholstery, heated front seats, eight-way driver’s seat with memory, and 19-inch wheels.

For 2009, Enclave has a new and more powerful 3.6-liter V6 engine with 288 horsepower and 270 lb-ft of torque. It’s paired with a six-speed automatic transmission, and the duo make child’s play out of propelling this 4,780-pound vehicle. EPA ratings are 17/24 mpg with FWD, 16/22 with AWD — good fuel economy for this vehicle segment.

I wallowed in my CXL AWD tester’s optional equipment, which can be summarized as anything anyone could ever want on a car.

Enclave’s interior is outstandingly handsome, comfortable, roomy and quiet, with excellent build quality. Even with all the tester’s technology, everything was easy to find, reach and use.