By Frank S. Washington | SACOBSERVER.COM WIRE SERVICES

DETROIT (NNPA) - This is the one. Just about everybody associated with Buick has their chest poked out about the 2008 Buick Enclave crossover vehicle and for good reason.

Frank S. Washington

The Buick Enclave is the vehicle that is going to change the public’s perception of Buick. It embodies what Buick owners in the 1950s thought futuristic Buicks would look like.

We think there are three areas where hot cars excel: exterior design, interior design and driving experience. The 2008 Buick Enclave merits five stars in the first two and four stars in the third.

First the Buick Enclave looks like a concept car. It has swerves and curves, a high belt line, bulging wheel wells, cat-like headlights, sleek portals on each side of the hood and Buick’s classic waterfall grille.

The bottom line is the Enclave will rank as one of the best utility vehicles on the road today. Our test vehicles had 19-inch wheels, dual chrome tipped exhausts, glass and Xenon head lights ringed in blue that lighted up when first turned on.

In other words, the Buick Enclave was a head turner straight out of the factory. When tuners outfit it with larger wheels and custom paint jobs, the Enclave will earn the street props reserved for the Cadillac Escalade and even the Range Rover.

Buick Enclave prices start at $32,790 for the front-wheel drive model and $34,790 for the all-wheel-drive version.

An automotive axiom is that the exterior of a vehicle will bring buyers into the showrooms but it is the interior that sells the vehicle. The interior of the 2008 Buick Enclave exceeds expectations, and that’s saying something since its exterior lines are so sinuous.

The inside of the Buick Enclave had the feel of an Old World European luxury sedan. There were generous applications of wood (faux), mercifully little silver satin (plastic) and no mouse to control the controls. Its five gauges were beveled, black faced with white numerals and blue black lighted.

Buick even managed to make the Enclave’s center stack that has made its way across all sorts of GM vehicles look different, perhaps by putting a crescent, vents and an elegant analog clock atop it.

The fit and finish of the Enclave that we tested was first rate. The gaps were tight and the materials were soft to the touch. Toss in the wood, the silver sliver that ran across the dash and two tones of polymer-leather and the Enclave’s interior was a visual pleasing pallet of soft colors that melted into each other.

And the 2008 Buick Enclave has as much functionality inside as it does finesse. The full-size crossover can seat up to eight passengers. Its third row seat accommodated two adults very comfortably. One was able to cross his legs. The second row seats slid rearward four inches. Our Enclave was equipped with a glass roof and outfitted with a rear seat entertainment system.

You could start the vehicle, check your mileage, fuel level, tire pressure and change the radio presets remotely from inside your house. Of course, the Enclave could be equipped with a premium audio system that included satellite radio. It had a navigation system, six-disc CD changer with MP3 capability and more.

The only reason we gave the Buick Enclave four starts rather than five in terms of driving experience was because of its 251 pounds-feet of torque. All of it didn’t kick in at a low enough RPM. That meant that the Enclave’s 3.6-liter, 275 horsepower V6 was on the slow slide under hard acceleration from standing or slow roll starts.

Still, the driving experience was exceptional. We got some seat time in both the all-wheel and front-wheel drive versions of the Enclave. Both handled well, the six speed transmission shifted smoothly, the ride was car-like, the vehicle handled well and it was really quiet.

Al that belied the fact that the Enclave could tow up to 4,500 lbs. and store more stuff than any of its direct competitors. Heck, it had reading lights for all three rows of seats. That’s the sort of thing we’d expect in much more expensive vehicles.

Buick Enclave prices start at $32,790 for the front-wheel drive model and $34,790 for the all-wheel-drive version. Prices for better equipped CXL versions of both models start at about $2,000 more. The Enclave is on sale now.

We do plan a week-long test drive to see how the Buick Enclave accounts itself in our world. But we expect to do just fine.

Frank S. Washington can be reached at frank@aboutthatcar.com. Or, snail mail him at PO Box 23167, Detroit, MI, 48223.