• Year: 2003
• Make: Buick
• Model: Rendezvous
• Trim: CXL
• Body style: SUV AWD
• Mileage: 78716
• Engine: 6 Cyl. 3.4
• Trans: Automatic
• Exterior Color: Olympic White/Light Sandrift Metallic
• Interior Color: Medium Oak
• Stock: 12415
• VIN: 3G5DB03E43S531810

Buick Rendezvous deserves a look on the basis of economy alone. In the first place it uses regular unleaded gas, not premium. Its thirst is temperate for its size: 24 miles per gallon on the highway with Versatrak, 26 mpg for the front-wheel-drive models.

Pleasing refinement in a versatile crossover.

It is difficult to judge the size of the Rendezvous without the context of another vehicle near it. That's usually a sign that the design team (headed, by the way, by a woman, Liz Wetzel) got the scale right. The spec sheet says that Rendezvous is as tall as an SUV, at 68.9 inches without the roof rack. But with nearly 64 inches between the left and right tires, Buick claims that the Rendezvous has a wider track than an SUV. Rendezvous' strong horizontal design visually suggests stability as well.

The Rendezvous' traditional Buick grille emphasizes a familial resemblance to the Park Avenue, but it somehow looks less formal and more cheery. It's a pleasing countenance.

The Rendezvous shows its kinship to the shorter Pontiac Aztek, but without the Aztek's body-piercing design cues GM had hoped would appeal to a youthful market. The Rendezvous is probably not beautiful to many, but it has an integrity suited to its purpose and is thus attractive. In short, we like its looks.

Buick Rendezvous is as comfortable as it is practical. It offers a nice ride, reassuring road manners, and a pleasant cabin. It can be configured to haul six adults in comfort or a load of lumber from the home-improvement center.

It also offers an attractive value, with a compelling price and decent fuel economy for its size. Rendezvous is priced significantly below such luxury all-wheel-drive vehicles as the Lexus RX 330 and Acura MDX.

Buick Rendezvous can seat up to seven passengers or two people with scads of stuff. The seating setup depends on how you order it and then on how you choose to fold and configure. Captain's chairs (an elegant choice for just $350) can be ordered instead of the 50-50 split bench seat in the second row. The optional third row seat ($465) folds flat into the floor.

The flexibility of the seating configurations is an exercise in automotive origami. The seats fold and tuck and fit into an amazing number of arrangements. Even the second-row seat flips and folds, allowing you to have two people up front and a flat floor behind without leaving anything home in the garage. That's truly neat. For maximum capacity, however, the center row can be removed. (The third-row seat tucks flat into the floor, so it doesn't have to come out.) Hiding places and lockable bins are strategically placed here and there.

Even with seven inches of ground clearance and all-wheel drive, getting in and out of the Rendezvous is more like getting in and out of a sedan than an SUV; small children, arthritic knees and tight-skirts can be grateful for that. All seats are easy to access and quite comfortable.

Access to the third row is far simpler than in most vehicles with three rows of seats. Once back there, the third row is pleasantly suitable for two full-size adults. And the third row is no Siberia: Even from way back there the acoustics allow you to participate in conversations with the front-seat passengers.

The load-height is low, too, reducing back strain when loading or unloading heavy objects. And remember that old 4x8-foot plywood test? Well, the Rendezvous' rear opening is wide enough to take the proverbial building material lying flat. A red flag affixed at back will deal with the length.

The amazing thing about the low stance and flat floor of the Rendezvous is that four-wheel drive and a low, flat floor are supposed to be mutually exclusive. Well, the Buick engineers found a way to do it. Too bad being unobtrusive is a mark of success because this accomplishment needs to stand up and take applause. It's best appreciated when driving with a full load of people and their stuff on a nasty, sleety, darkening afternoon with a slippery glaze on the street.

But all is not sheer delight inside the Rendezvous. The plastic used for the instrument panel looks dowdy compared with the rest of the interior.

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