GM Lambda triplets Enclave, Outlook, and Arcadia

The Lambda triplets are from General Motors and include the Buick Enclave, the Saturn Outlook, and the GMC Arcadia. The Lambda name refers to General Motor's full-size crossover SUV automobile platform, which all three vehicles are based upon. We were able to test-drive both the Buick and the Saturn. Sharing automobile platforms is standard practice amongst both domestic and foreign manufacturers and used to spread the development costs across multiple vehicles.

Previously, GM has been criticized and been guilty of producing very similar vehicles and "re-branding" them as different vehicles. If you need proof, just look to the Saab 9-2x, which was effectively dubbed a Saabaru by the automotive press for its close ties to the Subaru Impreza wagon. However, GM was able to keep the parts bin separate during this production cycle as this duo has completely different sheet metal and interiors. Though these sheep in wolves clothing are aimed at the Honda Pilot, Acura MDX, and the Lexus RX350, they are a foot longer than the Pilot and much closer in size to the full size Chevy Tahoe, and have more space that most of them to boot.

The Enclave, which many will recognize as the SUV from the Tiger Woods commercials, is distinctly upscale and positioned to compete with Lexus and Acura. The Buick is uniquely styled with the signature waterfall grille and portholes on the front fender. Harshad claimed that, "the undulating crease along the side of the vehicle reminds him of J-Lo." We do agree that the thick side pillars are obtrusive and reduce visibility.

The driving experience was a pleasant surprise and does not reprimand you to the AARP crowd. Previous Buick models, like the Park Avenue, had driving conditions comparable to navigating a Spanish galleon on the open water and rewarded the driver accordingly with little enjoyment. Fortunately for you and us, the Enclave is no such boat. Instead, you get a firm but well damped ride with impressive sound isolation. If you expected a car of this size to be ponderous to drive, prepare to be surprised. Independent suspension, front and rear, coupled with anti-roll bars and relatively low center of gravity helps the car hide its avoirdupois. Also, credit the attention to details such as acoustically laminated glass and acoustic foam for such solitude.

Interior fit and finish is excellent with the requisite wood and leather. The wood on the dashboard would look richer if it was darker and matched the wood color on the steering wheel, but that is just being picky. Buick also has banished the awful indicator stalk you see on most GM cars and replaced it with a nice chrome-ringed one. Overall, the interior is excellent and supplanted by thoughtful touches such as three rows of vents for the three seats and four rows of overhead lights for each of the seat rows and the trunk area. A wet trunk below the rear floor is also a nice touch. One of the things I have noticed, especially in cars with navigation system in the center console, is that it requires you to take your eyes off the road to look at the navigation screen. I would rather prefer cars to have the screen on the top of the dashboard.

The Saturn Outlook on the other hand has a more utilitarian feel that will match it squarely against Nissan, Honda, and the domestic offerings. Since the cars share the same platform, many of the likes we waxed about the Enclave's engine and handling can be applied to this Lambda derivative. Two things that really stood out were the navigation system and the relative ease to reconfiguring the interior seating arrangement.

Rarely do I find the navigation technology of much value beyond the superficial topographic entertainment of changing colors, as my routes tend to be pretty much routine. However, the Outlook's navigation system came in particularly handy one afternoon while traveling up Washtenaw en route to Ikea. As many of you know and have experienced Washtenaw during the afternoon rush, there are a couple of lights before the highway, which create a bottleneck and have been the subjected to many religious and paternal explicative since I began living in Ann Arbor. Anyway, instead of needlessly cursing the lights, I decided to test the navigation and avoid wasting 15 minutes waiting through those inefficiencies. Using the navigation system, I was able to find my way through one of the side neighborhoods, get back to State Street, and successfully onto 94.

Upon reaching the Canton IKEA, I stocked up and got to experience what the marketers at GM call the smart sliding seat. "Wow," what an improvement over the cumbersome seats I had on my Cherokee, which required me to remove the rear headrests so they could lay flat. The last two touches that were especially nice were the wheels and the rear entertainment package. I think Harshad and I got a couple weird looks when we pulled over in the UofM athletics department parking lot to check out the rear entertainment DVD system and seat functionality.

Though these cars would not get the attention of the Dahm triplets (you would need an Italian exotic for that!), they are excellent cars in their own right. In our view, there are the first domestic crossovers to give the Imports a run for their money.