[megeebee]

Of the things I think GM has been doing well for some time, I would have to say differentiation of vehicles on the same platform has long been one of their strong suits.

I agree. They have learned to do that.

Most people I've talked to find the MKT hideous as well. This vehicle is an epic failure in the styling department

It's sales are quite low too. 600 in July. 400 in June. It's not a "mover".

 

[micgo1977]

I find this curious:


The MkT has more front legroom than the Flex (On paper anyway). The Flex is the first vehicle I have ever driven where I was most comfortable if I didn't put the driver's seat all the way back (I'm 6'4). I wonder why that is.

When I was looking to lease back in April, I test drove both the Enclave and the MKT. I felt that the Buick was the winner in most categories except for instrumentation (the center stack looked like it was carved out of a low-end sedan and was made to fit) and dealer experience (not horrible but certainly nothing great either). But I ended up with the MKT instead. Why? Leasing an Enclave CXL2 was over $100 more a month than the MKT which stickered at more than $6K than the Enclave. Plus the dealership experience was excellent.

I've been very happy with the MKT. However, if GM had offered a decent lease on the Enclave, I would have gotten that instead. Now if GM could just come up with some decent exterior colors for the thing...

 

[ne_one]

I'm glad the Buick won, but this has to be one of the few reviews that state the Enclave is not a good looking vehicle.

Design appeal is so subjecting though.

I personally love the Enclave design and hope that the Encore is equally striking -- quite a challenge when you consider the reduced size of the platform.

 

[chevypowa670]

For me I would buy neither of the three. The Buick needs a refresh yesterday. GM should not have a Cadillac version. Cadillac NEEDS to be all RWD/AWD, bring back the last SRX please. What about the Acadia? How do these two vehicles fare in the same market? Not sure why GM needs the GMC version as GMC is supposed to be the "truck" division. Someone high up at GM really needs to start thinking about their products and how they are going to align between the brands otherwise we're back in the 80's where each brand had the same vehicle with a different grill and badge.

Why? So it can just sell 750 units a month again and be as big of a joke as the MKT is....

I liked the old SRX, I'm a car nut like the rest of you, so of course I liked the RWD and V8... But the SRX GM has now is right on the money... And sales prove it.


anyhow, nice win for Buick... Over the last year I've been starting to see Enclaves everywhere, there was even alot of them in LA... Everything the market wanted in the Lambda's GM nailed it, especially in the Enclave.. Its luxurious, quiet, roomy and IMO good looking.

I like also don't mind the MDX, its probably my favorite non-GM crossover on the market... I liked the last gen one as well.

and for the MKT... Well you can stuff all the power you want in it and its still a turd.

 

[sklunk]

Agreed fully. I was just in one of the "old" SRXes recently and then had the chance to check out one of the new ones... the new one is rather disturbingly smaller on the inside and not as functional in my eyes.

That's because it's supposed to be smaller than the previous one (and without a third row).

Think along the lines of Equinox/Traverse: the new SRX is the Cadillac 5-passenger CUV and the upcoming Lambda version will be the Cadillac 7-passenger CUV.

 

[chevypowa670]

Has the Caddy Lambda been approved by GM ?

 

[T'Cal]

The MKT misses the mark in many ways unfortunately. This is a good platform as has been proven by the Flex, Taurus, and MKS. The soon-to-be-released Explorer will likely be a big hit and the MKT needs to mimic its most positive traits - stylishness, quality of interior materials, and roominess - to become viable.

As for the mention of the new SRX, it's a good vehicle that would be worlds better if it was motivated by the 3.6L V6 and it was called something else. It's a successful vehicle with the wrong name as it has nothing in common with the old SRX.

As for a potential for a lambda-based Cadillac, I'm for it to be added to the fleet, not replace the RWD/4WD Escalade. There's a market for such a vehicle and it won't steal sales from the very different Escalade trio.

 

[FierySolstice]

Why? So it can just sell 750 units a month again and be as big of a joke as the MKT is....

I liked the old SRX, I'm a car nut like the rest of you, so of course I liked the RWD and V8... But the SRX GM has now is right on the money... And sales prove it.

Give that platform to Buick then and let Cadillac go after the X3. Wasn't that the point of keeping Buick in the first place? To me the SRX looks very awkward, kinda like the BLS looked in Europe. The only part I like is the tailfin-like tail lights. RWD/AWD should be Cadillac and FWD/AWD should be Buick. That's it.

 

[tnmats]

Anyone catch this about the Lincoln?

"A modern, classy design is held back by some cheap-looking plastics, mainly in the center control panel. The buttons flanking the navigation screen look awful, and why so prominent? How often do you change the color of your cupholder lighting? The shift paddles have a weird feel compared with the MDX's."

"Cheap looking plastics". That seems to be a common gripe with Fords. The cheap-as-hell looking interior of the 2010 Edge was one of the top 2 reasons my wife detested it (gas mileage being the other reason) and the reason a 2010 Equinox sits in our garage now. She was really repulsed by the Edge's dash, especially when she saw the sticker price.

That's the 2nd time in 2 days I've read a review where the Ford was knocked for cheap plastics (the other review was of the Cruze, with a slam on Ford/Toyota for cheap interior plastics). I hope they rectify it in future models since all Fords I've seen have some cheap looking interiors, namely the dash.

 

[jry]

I find this curious:


The MkT has more front legroom than the Flex (On paper anyway). The Flex is the first vehicle I have ever driven where I was most comfortable if I didn't put the driver's seat all the way back (I'm 6'4). I wonder why that is.



Of the things I think GM has been doing well for some time, I would have to say differentiation of vehicles on the same platform has long been one of their strong suits.

Well, at 6'1" i find my MKT extremely comfortable. Great on the long drive to Cincy or Lexington. Taking it to upstate NY in a few weeks.
The back seat passengers love it as well. 3rd row? haven't had anyone there yet but in 3 years of owning the Expy, XL, we only used that 3rd row seat 3 times.
Mine is folded down.
This is the biggest of the 3 that they featured, right?
Long wheelbase, great ride. Ultra quiet. Pretty fast. Interior materials are great.

 

[schmallz]

Since when does it have to look the same or have the same features just because it is on the same platform??

Because GM will prop up the Cadillac at the expense of the Enclave.

Why not let the Enclave be the best it can be?

 

[megeebee]

Because GM will prop up the Cadillac at the expense of the Enclave.

Hey guys! Look! Ed Whitacre is posting here under the name of "Schmallz"! This must be true.

Why not let the Enclave be the best it can be?

Why did Ford limit the Flex by building the MKT?

 

[Darc Requiem]

Because GM will prop up the Cadillac at the expense of the Enclave.

Why not let the Enclave be the best it can be?

One word. STUPIDITY

 

[schmallz]

Why did Ford limit the Flex by building the MKT?

Oh please, it's a simple hierarchy to figure out.

GM simply doesn't need to spend the money on the R&D of a Cadillac lambda and lets not even mention marketing it.

All that time and effort and money could be invested in building a better Enclave.

 

[peterj2706]

That's why I see Buick Enclaves everywhere now.

Build a great vehicle, price it well and watch sales soar!

Right on target! GM needs to do this with more models. Please, please GM, give it some updates that keep it at the top!!

 

[bone]

The Enclave is by far my favourite Lambda. I would like to see another 25 HP, but that's it.

 

[oldsfiesta1958]

Design appeal is so subjecting though.

I personally love the Enclave design and hope that the Encore is equally striking -- quite a challenge when you consider the reduced size of the platform.

Please don't call it Encore. When I hear Encore I think of this

 

[doppleganger]

I think maybe there is a market for a Caddy Lambda. I am slightly apprehensive about it though. Is said market big enough for three luxury Lambdas? Will, as some have said, the existence of the Cadillac be a detriment to the features and content levels of the other two? (it will almost have to have exclusive features to justify a higher price point, right?)

If this Cadillac comes to fruition I hope it supplements the Escalade, not replaces it. Call it maybe...ERX or better LRX (isn't something named LRX? I forget). Just my 2 cents.

 

[90CamaroRS]

Link still doesn't work for me.

 

[04bonnie]

http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/.../2010/08/carscomparison-2010-acura-mdx-2010-buick-enclave-2010-lincoln-mkt.html

found a working one

Look at the MSRPs, I still wonder why they compare vehicles with such a different pricetag on them.

This is the fault of the article not selecting equal vehicle trim levels. Why didn't they get an Enclave AWD? If you load up a CXL-2 AWD, it will be right in there price wise with the other two. Also, why not have the Enclave be optioned with the middle bench, which would make it 8-passenger, but it still won that category anyway, so I'm not complaining. Thing is, they dumbed down the Enclave's options a bit, and it still won, but as for price...they should have had it equally equipped. But as for gas mileage,...that was not an equal comparison, they should have used the AWD figures, but at least they mentioned them. As for the comment about the chrome trim on the Enclave, that's a low blow, they were just fishing for negative comments, which they really can't find. I bet 99% of people like the chrome trim accents on the Enclave (those who like the whole design, I mean). Wonder how the AWD would have handled, perhaps the Buick would have taken yet another category in this test.

Someone mentioned that the Enclave doesn't have any really good colors. For 2011 they add in Cyber gray which is stunning, and Gray Green which is more sedate than the silver green (my color) it replaces, but still nice. Also, brought back ming blue.

But of course I'm glad the Enclave won, so I'll :clap: for this article.