We're deciding between these two crossovers and are wondering what others' experiences are. While I'm mostly interested in what you have to say about the vehicles themselves, I'll share a little more info about our family too. We currently have one little guy who will be transitioning into a Britax Diplomat convertible carseat soon and are planning for a second child as well. I'm not really worried about the carseat issue in either of these vehicles; we would probably get the bench seat in the second row either way we go. Please share what you think about either of these vehicles - Thanks for your help!!
We have the Buick Rendevous (what they made before the Enclave) and love it. We found that the Buick models seem more upscale than other brands.
Go to Consumer's Reports in your library if you don't subscribe. Their objective rating is vastly superior to hearing
what a few people might say. They talk about safety, design, resale value, honest mileage, and usability.
Good Luck!
R.
Hi K.,
I have a Buick Enclave and we love it. I also liked the Mazda but I have 3 tall boys and the 3rd row did not seem to have as much leg space in the Mazda. The Buick drives beautifully-more like a luxury car than my prior Nissan Armada (which I also loved) Good luck
Hi K.. I don't have any advice but very interested in what you decide. I'm thinking of the Enclave as well. If you and give me the "scoop" when you get it let me know, please! I have heard good things about the Saturn Outlook.
We purchased a Buick Enclave a few months ago (we got the captain seats for the second row) which is great for us b/c I need to carseats, but have a teenage daughter that has to seat in the 3rd row... We are all very happy b/c it is very roomy. My oldest daughter loves how spacious the 3rd row seat it and her and her friends fit comfortable and I am still able to have my groceries in the back without jeopardizing any of the seating space.
We bought a 2009 Buick enclave two months ago and LOVE it! Also just did a 15 hour trip down south for the holiday and it was so comfortable in terms of space and the way it rides. Our daughter is very tall but in a Marathon car seat and it works great. We do have the two bucket seats with the console in the middle row...good luck and can recommend an honest sales guy if you need one.
We had a CX-9. Loved it. The only issue was the blind spot being seeminly large. I found it to be very disconcerting at first and took extra precautions when merging and changing lanes. Though I'm told with many SUVs this is not unusual. The Mazda is very comfortable, and based on some research I did, seemed to have the most interior room (for pack-n-plays, strollers, bags etc in the back)of the crossovers I looked at - though the Buick was not one I was shopping for thus not in my comparison.
My FIL has a Buick Enclave and my four kids love it. The only thing that is a little concern is in the middle of the two seats there are some knobs and my very active two year old will climb between those seats and my FIL was afraid that he might do something to them so he hooked a pillow over them for now. Other than that we love it.
I'd go with the Enclave.... I work in the advertising field with car dealers and the ratings are phenomenal on the Buick. It is not the Buick it used to be. But, to help make the decision best for your needs, go to cars. com or edmunds.com and do vehicle comparisons. You can put the two next to each other and go side by side to features and cost -- then decide for yourself.
good luck!
Hi,
We did exhaustive research before getting our current "kid hauler" - and I've got the spreadsheet to show for it! :)
While we didn't end up purchasing either of these two vehicles, we did cross-shop both of them. By means of comparison, we also looked at the Caddy SRX, Lexus RX hybrid, BMW X5, Volvo XC90, and several wagons - Volvo, BMW, Saab, etc.
The Buick is extremely well appointed (I was impressed with how luxurious it seemed), but it felt like it drove really "large", if that makes sense.
The CX-9 made our short-list (MotorTrend's crossover of the year, or something like that!).
Our final 2 choices came down to the CX-9 and the Acura MDX.
We ended up opting for the MDX (sport version) because my husband is a true car enthusiast (and I am probably above-average in the area), and the MDX felt a more in tune with the road (it drove "sportier"). However, it just barely edged out the CX-9.
On price basis alone, the CX-9 gives a LOT of bang for the buck - especially if you can get the dealer to give you a good end of year / "help the economy by buying a car" deal on the vehicle. It is also recommended as a best buy by Consumer Reports. It has some great feautures, and the Mazda line is supposed to be excellent in terms of reliability.
hope this helps,
A.
Hi K.: We bought the Enclave in May and really love it. The 3rd seat is much roomier than other models we looked at. You can actually seat adults in the back and they will be able to spread their legs. We also went with the built in DVD player and that has been a God-send. It really keeps the kids quiet during longer drives. And we actually got a better price with the Enclave than we would have gotten with the Outlook or Acadia. Good luck!
C. - SAHM to almost 9 year old boy/girl twins!
