2002 Buick Rendezvous; Buick enters the SUV arena with a "rugged shoe".(sport-utility vehicle)(Brief Article)

Wait! Don't stop reading just because this is yet another SUV. Take a look at this one, you might like it.

The 2002 Buick Rendez-vous has a roomy interior, a third-row seat and a really cool independent rear suspension. It comes in a number of different configurations, it looks nice, and it costs less than the Lexus RX 300, the Camry-based sport/utility crossover and segment-leader.

The Rendezvous even looks like the RX 300, especially from the rear three-quarter view. From the front it has its own look, with that big, toothy Buick grille and nicely integrated lower clad-ding. Overall, Buick people say it looks like a shoe. (They really said that: ``When we started with the design we started with a shoe,'' said chief designer Liz Wetzel, later specifying, ``a rugged shoe'' in case we were thinking something in an open-toed loafer.) The whole thing is almost svelte, surprising for something more the size and shape of a minivan.

And yes, it does share some platform componentry with GM minivan siblings Montana and Venture, as well as with that standout category buster, the Aztek. But Rendezvous has plenty of engineering componentry not found on the minivans. Crawl underneath and have a gander at that rear end, for instance. It looks like some sort of sophisticated sedan configuration back there, with short/long-arms, coil springs and an antiroll bar. Up front are MacPherson struts, coil springs and another antiroll bar, all attached to a hydroformed cradle.

Rendezvous is available in front- or all-wheel drive. Front-drivers come with optional traction control. The all-wheel-drive versions get ``Versatrak,'' a system which also will be available on the Aztek. Versatrak operates only when it detects a difference in wheel speed from front to rear, engaging Gero-matic gerotor pumps to pressurize fluid and engage clutch packs that in turn engage one or both rear wheels. Up to 70 percent of engine torque can be routed to the rear wheels. It's a more ...