Rendezvous loses its optional V6 engine and available all-wheel drive for 2007, which Buick says is this vehicle’s final model year.
2007 Buick Rendezvous
This SUV shares a basic platform with Buick’s Terraza minivan. Rendezvous seats five with a standard three-place 2nd-row split bench seat that slides fore and aft. A two-passenger 3rd-row seat is optional, as are twin bucket seats to replace the 2nd-row bench. Rendezvous has front-wheel drive with available traction control. A 195-hp 3.5-liter V6 and 4-speed automatic transmission comprise the sole drivetrain; an optional 242-hp 3.6 V6 has been dropped. ABS, rear obstacle detection, and OnStar assistance are standard. Front side airbags are available. No curtain side airbags are offered.
Buick’s version of the late Pontiac Aztec is stepping aside for the 2008 Enclave, a new and larger crossover wagon due later this year. Enclave is the third iteration of GM’s new Lambda platform, following the 2007 Saturn Outlook and ’08 GMC Acadia. It uses a 3.6-liter V6 and 6-speed automatic transmission in concert with front-wheel and all-wheel drive. Also standard are three-row seating, antilock brakes, antiskid/traction control, and front and curtain side airbags.
Review Flashback! 2005 Pontiac Aztek
The luxury-oriented Rendezvous generally outsold the mechanically related–though controversially styled–Pontiac Aztek by a ratio of 2-to-1. Buick’s product portfolio is now 100 percent crossover, and includes the subcompact Encore GX, the compact Envision, the largish midsize Enclave.
