The Georgia-built, seven-passenger
Buick Terraza is an premium van with the looks - and unique, available all-wheel-drive ability - of an SUV.
Buick calls it a crossover sport van, in a sea of minivans - of utilitarian vehicle designed primarily for carrying our progeny comfortably and safely.
Above all, it is a Buick - and thus it must adhere to an aesthetic standard. A protective front, and width extended to match its height, lend this quasi-minivan the magnanimity of a Buick: an imposing aura, with art in the details; in panels that fit together with eye-pleasing precision.
The precision contributes to a 0.37 coefficient-of-drag - an excellent achievement in this segment - which, despite a frontal area of 29.4 square feet, makes for a CdA of 10.9 square feet. In turn, that helps give
Terraza the best cruising range in its class.
Terraza is Buick's effort to
elevate a segment that some have accused of being too pragmatic.
"If any
category of the automotive market needs an image overhaul, it's the
minivan," wrote Richard Williamson of the Scripps Howard News Service
recently, calling the image of minivans that of "motoring milquetoast"
(Scripps Howard News
Service, July 1st, 2004).
To Buick, a minivan can be a luxury car with the versatility of an SUV, and the performance to equal or better a midsize vehicle. As Williamson himself asked,
"be honest: would you rather be greeted at the airport by a traditional limousine, or a leather-upholstered minivan with Captain's Chairs; generous cupholders, and a DVD player?
"For my money, nothing can match the comfort and luxury of a well-equipped minivan."
Such is the Buick Terraza.
Discover Buick Terraza's comprehensive amenities
This premium crossover sport van is one of the best-equipped seven-passenger vehicles in its segment. Consider that
Terraza is alone in
the minivan segment to offer standard leather seats.
Terraza can fire up engine; heater (or air-conditioning), and rear defroster from up to one hundred and eighty feet away. Both second- and third-row passengers can set their own, individual climates. Headlamps and tail-lamps illuminate automatically at dusk.
Steering-wheel mounted controls adjust the audio, or activate the cruise. An available
GPS/ DVD navigation system reads signals from at least three global positioning satellites in high earth orbit, and uses those signals to compute your
Terraza's exact position on the planet; your
Terraza then presents the information to you on a virtual map sent to a screen on the instrument panel, suggesting best routes to your destination, as well as the locations of gas stations; restaurants, and points-of-interest along the way.
Terraza offers
ultrasonic rear parking assist: four transmitter/ receivers built into the rear bumper send sonar waves into stationary objects 10+ inches high behind
Terraza, while lights mounted above the rear window and an audio warning signal report back their findings.
Terraza is a Buick, and as such - and as we'll see - enjoys the benefits of the automaker's
QuietTuning process. Should quiet comfort prove too isolating,
Terraza offers a versatility in infotainment that far exceeds its peers'.
Standard DVD; available XM Satellite Radio, and an
available mobile digital-storage PhatNoise infotainment module entertain.
Terraza's
standard seven-inch DVD screen flips down for second- and third-row seat viewing, playing audio and video in CD-audio; MP3, and DVD formats, with inputs for video games and camcorders, through two pairs of dual-channel headphones and controlled by wireless remote.
XM Satellite radio beams over 150 channels of clear, digital-quality sound across 800 terrestrial repeaters to the
Terraza, sixty-seven of these channels being commercial-free music and news; sports; talk; comedy, and instant traffic and weather updates. Consumers can subscribe to the basic service for $12.99 a month. In addition, Buick customers with GMAC financing can choose to include the XM subscription in their car payments. Select XM with
Terraza, and receive three trial months of service.
Terraza is
alone in its class to offer PhatNoise, a wallet-sized, portable 40-gigabyte hard drive that stores up to 10,000 MP3; WMA, or WAV-format music files; up to 40 movies in MPEG format; and thousands of digital pictures that can be played on the DVD screen. A voice-browsing interface selects the chosen song by name.
PhatNoise can be removed from
Terraza and plugged into a laptop or home PC.
Better yet, the second-row can listen to music while the third-row watches a DVD movie.
In fact, Terraza's
standard tri-mode entertainment system lets the three rows of occupants listen to as many as
three separate entertainment sources simultaneously.
Equipment is but part of Terraza's premium story. Slide into Buick's first minivan -
there is no climb, thanks to the convenient seat height - and the rich Burl wood tones and gleaming chrome accents are of the
craftsmanship expected from a 103-year-old automobile manufacturer.
Standard leather front and second-row Captain's Chair seats, with available contrasting piping, cushion;
QuietTuning calms, matching the rich appearance and attention-to-detail of the interior.
Discover Buick Terraza's QuietTuning engineering program
Acoustics play a critical role in defining the character of an automobile.
"Apart from the look of a vehicle, its acoustic behavior is the aspect most directly observable to the user," notes BMW Director of Acoustics and Vibration Dr. Peter Zeller.
For Buick, quiet is an important
ergonomic quality. Buick's
QuietTuning process is designed to
reduce or tune out unwanted noise and harshness throughout every area of the vehicle. Attention to areas such as exterior aerodynamics; component isolation, and fine-tuning of all related elements achieve the quietest ride and most desirable frequency ranges for every Buick. Gearbox noise; load reversal; auxiliaries; road noise; resonance effects; mechanical squeaks and rattles; idle noise, and pass-by noise must be minimized, while actuation (windows and other devices, for instance) and engines are to be tuned.
Through engine and road isolation measures, Buick's unique
QuietTuning process first reduces and blocks sound at its source. At each corner, quiet-tread tires meet isolated shock absorbers.
Some noise still came through, though - so Buick instituted a process of acoustic treatments to
absorb it. Under each fender, find enhanced insulators; at each door, note new sealing techniques; under the carpet and instrument panel, there is denser insulation, and - under the hood - see an acoustic engine cover and absorbers on the air/ fuel plenum.
Behind both of those large, revealing mirrors; behind every door handle and every pillar, are blankets of acoustical sound-deadening material. A total of
28 acoustic absorbers are positioned throughout
Terraza.
Thus is created in Terraza's cabin an enclave shielded from road and wind noise; a sanctuary from the outside world.
By the numbers, Car and Driver, March 2005, measured 42dBA at idle; 73dBA at full throttle, and 70dBA at a 70mph cruise.
Amidst the sumptuousness, pragmatism is not forgotten.
Discover Buick Terraza's versatility
Between both those powered, heated Captain's Chair seats are folding consoles.
Both left and right sliding doors are power-opening and closing.
Both DVD screen and PhatNoise are housed in an
innovative rail storage system in
Terraza's roof, offering storage for CDs and DVDs; sunglasses; flexible flashlights; cell-phones, and PDAs, and incorporating a first-aid kit.
First and second-row seats offer seat-back storage for more miscellany, while an available rear cargo convenience center organizes the rest.
Remove the second-row seats - a light task - and fold the third row, and 136 cubic feet of cargo space is available.
In packaging all-wheel-drive together with a flat-folding third-row seat, Buick leaned on General Motors' collective experience.
GM was the first manufacturer to perform this feat (with its 2002 line of minivans).
Your Buick dealer can install Sit-N-Lift, a fully motorized, rotating lift-and-lower passenger seat to assist entry and egress. Operated via remote control, the power bucket seat rotates and then extends out of the vehicle, before lowering for easy entry and exit.
Safety is among the most pragmatic aspects a minivan can offer. Interestingly,
Terraza's SUV-like looks prove more than cosmetic,
adding four inches to vehicle length at the front, and thus contributing significantly to front crush space.
Yet more significant still is that Terraza is
among the only minivans to offer the security of all-wheel-drive - and what a system it is, powering
Terraza forward even if just one tire has grip!
Discover Buick Terraza's safety
Terraza features
structural frame enhancements using high-strength steel, with a front-end compartment that incorporates a large crush zone to preserve interior space. The engine compartment side-frame rails are designed to absorb energy in the event of a frontal impact.
Buick parent company General Motors was
the first to offer child-friendly side-impact airbags. In
Terraza, side-impact airbags are available for first- and second-row outboard occupants, in addition to standard front driver and passenger airbags.
At
Terraza's corners sit standard P225/60 Goodyear Integrity tires on 17-inch wheels which, combined with all-around, ABS disc brakes
give the
Terraza superb braking performance.
"This is better braking than in any of the latest minivans we measured last summer," said
Car and Driver, March 2005. That is as it should be - and
Toyota's Sienna requires purchase of the $36,180 Sienna Limited to replace rear drum brakes for discs.Standard on front-wheel-drive
Terrazas are both
traction control and
StabiliTrak, an electronic stability control system that subtly keeps
Terraza securely pointed in the right direction on ice; snow; gravel; wet pavement, and uneven road surfaces.
The measurements of an accelerator pedal position sensor; a brake master cylinder pressure sensor; a steering-wheel-angle sensor; a lateral accelerometer; a yaw rate sensor, and wheel-speed sensors are sent to a computer hundreds of times per second. If the driver is steering
Terraza through a curve, the system predicts the path the driver intends to take, and continually compares this with the vehicle's path.
When the predicted paths and intended paths are the same, all is well.
On slick surfaces, however, the difference between the steering-wheel angle and the direction in which
Terraza is actually turning is likely to be greater. The appropriate brake is applied and engine power is reduced to keep
Terraza on course. StabiliTrak pulses the brake on the outside of the vehicle in an oversteer situation, and on the inside of the vehicle in an understeer situation.
The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that
stability control can reduce single vehicle crashes involving SUVs by 67%. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has also found electronic stability control systems to be effective in reducing single-vehicle crashes. That explains why
stability control is standard on front-wheel-drive Terrazas -
but not why Toyota's Sienna offers neither stability control nor traction control as standard equipment unless the top, $36,180 Sienna Limited is purchased.
Optional, Austrian-developed VersaTrak all-wheel-drive remains
dormant, for optimal economy, until the front wheels begin to lose traction. Twin pumps react to the difference in rotational speed of the front and rear wheels, driving rear-mounted gerotor units; pressurizing fluid, and engaging clutches to redirect torque to one or both rear wheels.
Even if extreme terrain slips Terraza's front, and one rear, wheel, the remaining rear wheel powers you through.
That's a fineness of traction disbursement not available in most other four-wheel-drive systems.
Approximately twenty square inches connect you and your car to the road. Your car's tires are among the most important aspects of your safety and its performance. That's why
Terraza, like every 2006 Buick, features standard tire-pressure monitoring.
Additionally - 'tis a small thing, but
Terraza features standard Daytime Running Lamps (DRLs). Buick parent company General Motors cites studies proving that DRLs have helped reduce daytime multi-vehicle crashes by 12.5%, and pedestrian-car accidents by 15%. At time of writing, GM figures that up to 85,000 crashes may have been prevented by DRLs, since 1995.
Like all 2006 Buicks, Terraza comes with
OnStar as standard equipment. Buick provides a
complimentary Safe & Sound subscription for one year.
In the case of airbag deployment or theft, the
OnStar advisor
works with police to assist in recovery. That's
Buick reassurance - the
same philosophy that lends
Terraza's
platinum-tipped spark plugs a 100,000-mile service life, and its
coolant, up to 150,000 miles.
OnStar's sheer convenience, too, is unmatched. Locked-out? Out of gas? Need a tow? Curious about a Check Engine alert? A live advisor can help.
Add Hands-Free Calling, and stay better connected on the road with a powerful three-watt digital/ analog system and external antenna for superior reception.
In addition to its excellent performance in National Highway Transportation Safety Administration tests,
Terraza has, additionally, received the Institute for Highway Safety's highest rating (Good) for frontal-offset crashes.
Terraza's chassis measures 121.1-inches in wheelbase; 62.4-inches in front track, and 62.9-inches at the rear. Weight distribution is excellent for this class, with just 54.5% riding over the front end.
Terraza's oversquare 3.5-liter OHV V6 produces 201 horsepower @ 5,600rpm and 220 foot-pounds of torque @ 4,400rpm. With its class-leading 25-gallon capacity,
Terraza is thus EPA rated for between
575 and 625 miles of highway driving on a single tank.
Ward Auto World's Segmentation Leaders 2005 places the 3.5-liter, front-wheel-drive Terraza among the top of its class for efficiency, noting an expected
24mpg on the highway.
Upgrade to the 3.9-liter OHV V6, and
Terraza musters 235 horsepower and 239 foot-pounds of torque. A
Variable Valve Timing (VVT) system with variable-length intake manifold adjusts intake valve timing, enhancing the existing balance of power; efficiency, and low emissions.
The hallmark of modern Buick is the attainment of that elusive balance between precise control and a comfortable ride.
Terraza rolls on a MacPherson independent front suspension with an aluminum,
fully-independent multi-link configuration at the rear. This gives
Terraza the added maneuverability and surefootedness of a toe-control link;
an additional dimension of travel for the rear wheels whose expense
Chrysler; Dodge, and Toyota have shunned in their own rear suspension designs.
Moreover, the rear suspension features
automatic load-leveling as standard, reducing wallowing over crests.
Terraza is built in Doraville, Georgia by over 3,000 team members. The Doraville plant has been in operation since 1947.
Terraza is available in eight exterior finishes and two interior trim colors.
What does the color of your Buick say about you?
General Motors color trend manager Christopher Webb spends up to two years studying and testing every Buick color, for durability in both senses of the word.
It is important work. Webb estimates that 34% of customers would walk out of the dealership if they could not get the color they wanted, up from 27% ten years ago.
In a recent copy of Buick's The Style Review in-house magazine, Webb cites studies that color influences mood and behavior.
Blue, for example, is known to be calming, while fiery oranges and yellows stimulate. White suggests purity; green is associated with nature and money, and purple is thought to represent royalty.
While such cultural associations tend to endure, trends in taste and preference change over time, reflecting the fluctuating moods and priorities of a society. Metallic car colors, for instance, soared in popularity during the recent tech revolution.
Today, Webb notes that "brown is an ascending luxury color and is making a big comeback... especially in interiors."
Yet Webb admits that color trends are currently in a state of flux.
"It's a generation change," he told The Style Review.
"Formerly, the more mature, luxury market wanted conservative colors - silvers; grays; blacks - while the youth market wanted high impact. That's been reversed somewhat."
