"Solid as a stone, reliable as the sunrise, comfortable as a couch, quiet as a mime." So goes a classic advertising description of Buick. Unfortunately we didn't enjoy the same perfect reliability.

The power assist worked with the steering on-center, but trickled away to nothing at full lock. The Buick dealer replaced the power-steering pump, which kept the vehicle out of service for a couple of days. When it was returned, though, the system had not been bled properly — the dealer actually told us that it let the consumer do that — so we had to constantly monitor the level and health of the fluid in the system

Yet once the fluid was air-free and at a proper level, the steering assist still didn't return to normal. Director of Vehicle Testing Dan Edmunds' past life as an automotive engineer led him to believe that when the first pump failed it had probably contaminated the fluid with pump parts that were now lodged in the rack. Turns out he was correct, as GM diagnosed this and installed yet another new power steering pump, a new steering rack and new hoses. The Enclave was out of service for eight days. This issue was not isolated, as forums for owners of GM's Lambda crossovers report other accounts of similar experiences

At the same time, many of us disliked the Enclave interior's traditional-style chrome accents and fake wood. Dan Edmunds noted, "The 'wood' on the dash is particularly shiny and plastic-looking; the 'wood' on the steering wheel rim looks more authentic, but is too hard and slick. And they aren't even the same species of simu-wood! On the steering, we've got Fauxhogany, while the dash is trimmed with Bird's Eye Fakle." Fortunately it was all screwed together well, but it wasn't quite the Lexus presentation we had hoped for