Design Tricks Make 2013 Enclave a Halloween Family Treat

With an estimated 41 million trick-or-treaters on the candy trail this Halloween, some of them will be driven to the neighborhoods with the best treats in the new 2013 Buick Enclave luxury crossover SUV. And they’ll find a number of features that make it an ideal family vehicle on October 31 and the 364 less-spooky days of the year.

The U.S. Census Bureau says 115 million housing units could be potential stops for costumed ghouls, princesses and superheroes. US News and World Report named the Buick Enclave 2012’s “Best Three Row SUV for Families,” ranking it first out of 22 vehicles in the segment, based on factors including performance, interior, exterior, safety and reliability.

Enclave is the only vehicle in its segment to offer third-row seating for three, and it’s more spacious as well – good for the candy-collecting plastic pumpkins and pillow cases. Enclave’s 33.2 inches of third-row legroom is 2.4 inches more than an Infiniti JX and 4.0 inches more than an Audi Q7.

“Aiming to achieve the best ease-of-access resulted in an Enclave with choices   second row captain’s chairs or a bench seat with SmartSlide, a system that slides the second-row forward with the pull of a single handle to open up a wide path to Enclave’s third row,” said chief engineer Sue Eckel. “On Halloween, costumed kids in an Enclave can make record time jumping from that back row to the doorbell.”

Behind the third row, 23.3 cubic feet of cargo space is enough to haul approximately 26,841 snack size boxes of Milk Duds, or some spare costumes and the family dog. And you can leave your kids wondering if the standard power liftgate is controlled by ghosts.

Safety is paramount on a night busy with pedestrian traffic. According to AAA Insurance, three measures can help ensure a safe Halloween drive:

    Avoid neighborhood shortcuts. If possible, avoid cutting through residential streets where trick-or-treaters are likely to be present. When providing directions to a party, avoid routing guests through neighborhoods unless necessary.

    Watch for children in the street.  Excited trick-or-treaters, often in dark costumes, may not pay attention to traffic and cross mid-block, walk in the street, on medians or between parked cars.

    Slow down. According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, a pedestrian is more than twice as likely to be killed if hit by a car traveling at 35 mph compared to 25 mph.

The 2013 Enclave has a strong list of vehicle safety features, including a standard Rear Vision Camera that provides visual and audible warnings when an object or person is near the rear bumper. A Rear Cross-Traffic Alert system uses radar sensors to alert the driver of approaching traffic from either side while the vehicle is in reverse.

Enclave comes standard with high-intensity discharge headlamps, which provide crisp, clear lighting of the road ahead. Articulating headlights, which rotate up to 15 degrees to follow the road ahead, are an option.

Every Enclave is also equipped with OnStar, which leverages the technology to connect to your car from anywhere. Through the RemoteLink smartphone app, owners can map a trick-or-treating route and send it to the vehicle remotely for easy turn-by-turn directions.

Courtesy of Buick Media