General Motors of Canada is about to launch a quartet of new 2002 SUVs onto the market, all of them aimed at the fat part of the consumer market – between $30,000 and $45,000 or thereabouts.
The most unique model, the Buick Rendezvous, also carries the lowest base-level sticker. Rendezvous shares a lot of parts with some of GM's trio of minivans, but it's been given a look that will say sport-ute to most people.
Rendezvous CX is a front-wheel-drive model that starts at $30,995. The all-wheel-drive version of the CX trim, which uses GM's clever new Versatrak system, lists for $34,995. The very well equipped CXL package, which comes with Versatrak, lists for $39,775.
If it's ordered correctly, the Rendezvous offers a combination of features that no other SUV can offer – three rows of seats (the last of which folds flush into the floor), a low flat load floor, all-wheel-drive, and independent rear suspension.
All models of Rendezvous come with the 3.4-litre V6 and an electronically-controlled 4-speed automatic transmission. The engine's good for 185 horsepower at 5200 rpm and 210 pound-feet of torque at 4000 rpm.
Because of its basic superstructure and its suspension, the Rendezvous rides and handles more like a car than a truck, which is fairly appropriate given the fact that it is a Buick. More like a Park Avenue than a truck, is the way Buick describes it.
Rendezvous can be ordered with two buckets, a three-person bench, and a two-person fold-away bench, or you can substitute two buckets in the middle.