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2004 Buick Rainier Mid-Size Sport-Utility Wagon
Car Review of the 2004 Buick Rainier Mid-Size Sport Utility Vehicle
Base MSRP Range: $35,295 to $39,795
Base Invoice Range: $31,158 to $32,147
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MSRP As Tested: Not Available
Vehicle Category: Mid-Size Sport Utility Vehicle
Engine Location: Front Engine
Drive Wheels: Rear-Wheel Drive, Four-Wheel Drive
Standard Engine: Standard 4.2-liter, Dual Overhead Cam, 12-valves, I-6 cylinder, 275-horsepower at 6000 rpm and 275 lb-ft torque at 3600 rpm.
Optional Engine: 5.3-liter, Dual Overhead Cam, 16-valves, V-8 cylinder, 290 horsepower at 5200 rpm and 325 lb-ft torque at 4000 rpm.
Transmission As Tested: Standard 4-speed Automatic with electronically controlled automatic overdrive with torque converter clutch.
Fuel Economy (city/hwy): 6 cylinder 2WD 16/21 - 4WD 15/21, 8 cylinder 2WD 15/19 - 4WD 14/18
Standard Safety Features: Driver and front passenger airbags, Antilock Braking System, remote keyless entry, tire pressure monitor, Traction Control, On Star
Competition: Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited, Lincoln Aviator, Mercury Mountaineer Limited
LONGMIRE, Wash. -- Ride with us as we steer a Rainier, the new sport-utility wagon from Buick, up a winding mountain road to Rainier, the ice-capped cone in the state of Washington.
Although it's late in springtime, there's snow in fat and wet flakes falling so fast that any views of the peak, rising for 14,411 feet high in the Cascade Range, are hopelessly lost in the white stew of sky and snow.
The icy flakes melt on contact with a blacktop road, leaving a slick film of water that sometimes tricks tires into slipping and skidding -- but that's not the way this Rainier plays it.
It handles all kinks and curves of the two-lane route to Longmire with confidence-inspiring agility as a sophisticated and smart all-wheel-drive (AWD) system keeps the four tread patches planted firmly on pavement.
The suspension, tuned for smoothness with an electronically-controlled air suspension working on the rear wheels, isolates any pothole rough stuff and delivers a comfortable ride.
