Overview & Reviews

The CXL Plus trim level is dropped in favor of a single CXL model; a CD/MP3 player stereo is newly optional; real wood replaces the fake stuff for the steering wheel and shift knob; and various upgrades help spruce things up inside. Full-length head curtain airbags make their way to the options list, though Buick has dropped last year's seat-mounted side airbags (which provided torso protection for front occupants).

• Exceptionally quiet ride, strong optional V8, easy to get in and out, decent off-road ability.

• Subpar build and materials quality, sloppy handling, lacks key safety features, not enough storage space.

User Reviews:

Showing 1 through 10 of 63.00

• 

  A Buick Truck..Amazing - 2005 Buick Rainier
  By Buick Truck???? - March 11 - 2:41 pm

  The best truck noone ever heard of. Powerful V8, smooth ride, quiet and pure luxury. Everone that gets into this vehicle for the first time tells me what a nice truck this is and when I mention its a Buick they are astounded.

• 

  Love my Rainer - 2005 Buick Rainier
  By sally - April 2 - 9:01 pm

  I have own my Rainer for 3 years and love the smooth, quiet driving. But most all I love my satellite radio, I will never go back to listening to AM or FM.

• 

  A New SUV Owner - 2005 Buick Rainier
  By Ed Chandler - January 5 - 3:24 am

  Easy to drive and maneuver in parking lots. Plenty of power in the 6 cylinder engine. Doesnt cruise on open roads as well as the LaSabre I owned previously but is much better on mountain roads. I like the inside comfort and controls. Plenty of storage space in the rear. Very smooth and quiet ride.

• 

  Works for me -tailgates, trips, runabout - 2005 Buick Rainier
  By howdydooit - June 5 - 4:15 pm

  12 months old - replaced an aging minivan & sedan. That said, we needed a vehicle for tailgating and trips. It holds all our gear (flag pole, folding table, chairs, grill, cooler, etc & 2 or 3 people, depending on how judiciously we pack - we can get away with only folding down one back seat). The sound system is awesome, the climate controls are individualized (plus rear controls for climate/audio), and its extemely quiet and smooth. Fuel economy is 22 - 23 hwy, 15-18 around town.

• 

  Excellent SUV - 2005 Buick Rainier
  By Jay - August 14 - 2:15 am

  We have owned the vehicle since June 05 after owning a 1990 Toyota 4 Runner. The Rainier is such a wonderful ride and very quiet. It is easy to get in and out of and with all of the standard options included, it was a no brainer. On the highway, set your cruise or before you know it, you will be over 80 mph. Mileage is 20 highway and 15 city. Leg room is plenty, both front and back seats. The Bose audio system is outstanding. The front drink holders need to be redesigned as to location, but overall, we love this vehicle.

• 

  Ranier - 2005 Buick Rainier
  By richards - May 12 - 3:39 pm

  The ride is the best! So smooth and lots of power and very quiet.

• 

  Had to buy 2 of them - 2005 Buick Rainier
  By Ed Kildoyle - April 23 - 11:15 am

  I bought one for myself and my wife liked it so much she wanted one of her own so we now own two of them. We both love our Rainiers as they give us the luxury comforts and the features of a mid sized SUV. They are very quiet with a comfortable ride especially on long trips. I have the V8 so the pickup is very good and unless you take turns at 80 miles an hour the handling and performance is more than satisfactory. I wish it had the rainsense wipers I had on my Cadillac as well as the backup warning system. Other than that we love our Buick Rainiers.

• 

  Not perfect but very good - 2005 Buick Rainier
  By LWhitmer - April 14 - 3:41 am

  Ive now had the car for 2 months and still find it very nice to drive - very quiet and smooth. It does have some problems though. The transmission does not downshift smoothly, ever. The AWD system is rather poor in snow - too much torque goes to the rear wheels making hills a real challenge that my previous Blazer ate up like butter. I find the braking and handling are quite good for an SUV even in emergency manuevers. All in all, a very good highway cruiser.

• 

  Ambivilent - 2005 Buick Rainier
  By Disappointed in PA - March 26 - 10:57 pm

  Replaced my Lexus RX300 with an American car. Love the drive, size of cargo space but disappointed with the navigation system. Had 3 other cars with navigation previous to this. This car I have to replace my CD with the Nav disk. What a pain. The sticker said it had a 6 CD changer but when I checked it out the navigation system had replaced the 6 CD changer. How dispointing. Then the Nav system requires you change areas (NJ and PA are not in the same districts). Shame on you GM. DONT BUY THE NAVIGATION SYSTEM. It is not worth it. Get an external one if you must have it. Cant believe we got ripped off but love the car and only drive it around town luckily.

• 

  Comfy ride - 2005 Buick Rainier
  By Kim - March 18 - 10:36 pm

  I havent had it long. I had a 96 Blazer before moving up to this SUV. It is very comfortable and handles well. It has a lot of luxury features the my other SUV did not have. It is quiet. You dont hear a lot of extra road noise. It is a very smooth riding vehicle. I love it!