Overview & Reviews

When Buick decided to offer its first minivan, it attempted to minimize the associated stigma by labeling the Terraza, a badge-engineered General Motors minivan, a "luxury crossover sport van." In other words, the Terraza was a minivan featuring a taller stance, an elongated nose and available all-wheel drive. While it shared a platform with several corporate siblings such as the Chevrolet Uplander, the Buick Terraza offered a few distinguishing characteristics and styling tricks that lent an upscale feel in comparison. Nicely finished leather and wood trim in the uplevel versions provided an elegant ambience not seen in the Buick's more lowbrow relatives, and it came with more standard features as well.

But as minivans go, the Buick Terraza lagged behind the segment leaders (as well as newer true crossovers) in terms of driving refinement and safety features. Shoppers are advised to check out models such as the Honda Odyssey and Toyota Sienna or even Buick's own Enclave before settling on this "luxury crossover sport van."

Most recent Buick Terraza
Buick introduced the Terraza in 2005 and discontinued it after the 2007 model year. At first, it had an underwhelming 3.5-liter V6 providing 200 horsepower matched to a four-speed automatic transmission. All-wheel drive was optional. The Buick Terraza minivan came in three trim levels -- CX, CX Plus and CXL. The well-equipped CX offered the expected popular amenities, while the CX Plus added a sport-tuned suspension, dual-zone climate control and auto-leveling rear suspension. The top-of-the-line CXL provided alloy wheels, rear air-conditioning, rear parking assist and eight-way power front seats.

The Buick Terraza comfortably accommodated up to seven people and offered room for lots of stuff -- its second- and third-row seats folded down to provide up to 137 cubic feet of space. However, unlike most other minivans, the Terraza's third row did not fold completely into the floor, though it could be removed. The rest of the cabin was luxurious thanks to convincing faux wood and double-stitched leather seats with contrasting piping. A modular roof rail system allowed passengers to adjust the DVD player and storage compartment components, and folding center trays were located between the first- and second-row seats. There was also an available remote vehicle start system that enabled one to heat up or cool down the cabin before getting in.

Used-model shoppers might want to focus on 2006-and-later models, as these vans became available with first- and second-row side airbags inside and the more powerful 3.9-liter V6 under the hood of front-wheel-drive models. Rear DVD entertainment was made standard, and those wanting more choices could opt for the PhatNoise digital media system. All-wheel drive and the 3.5-liter V6 were dropped for 2007.

In reviews, we found the Buick Terraza's large V6 capable of delivering respectable acceleration around town and ample power for merging and passing at highway speeds despite its hefty mass. The suspension struck an acceptable balance between ride comfort and responsive handling, but other minivans offered sharper reflexes and a tighter turning radius. The Terraza's braking distances were also a little on the long side. And despite Buick's advertised "QuietTuning" technology, cabin noise levels were above average and not as whisper-quiet as we expected.

User Reviews:

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  Loaded Lemon - 2005 Buick Terraza
  By kyukido - September 29 - 8:40 am

  Weve owned it for about 3 years now. The car came loaded with all the accessories (DVD, electric heated leather seats, electric doors). It does have a good engine, and nice acceleration but other than that, its the worst lemon of a car Ive ever owned. We bought this car used and have had nothing but problems with it. The DVD player stopped working after about two years. The steering leaks, one sliding door doesnt work at all anymore, not even manually! The fob stopped working (even with a new battery), the strap to close the back gate broke, the warning bell that a door may be open goes off when you go over a bump and theres NOTHING you can do to make it stop. The door lock button had to be replaced, the driver side window fell off its track. The catalytic converter needs to be replaced. The rear gate leaks. Climate controls are HORRIBLE. Its impossible to keep the windows free and clear of frost in the winter. God forbid you try to change a headlight or turn signal on this thing yourself. It truly amazes me that I dont see more people complaining about this car.

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  [non-permissible content removed] - 2006 Buick Terraza
  By J.r. - September 1 - 9:31 am

  They say first impressions are everything wrong dont let this lemon fool you! I liked the look features air ride and everything. We have three kids and needed to expand. It caught my eye on a used lot for a week before I looked. I took my family down (after reading aND knowing many electornic issues off the bat. If you have ever owned a Cadillac buick or a gm that has electectronically controlled EVERYTHING knows what I mean, and I am a die hard Gm guy, dont get me wrong so I gave it the benefit of the doubt. Took it for a ride turned out of the dealer made nasty sound from steering and cv joints Which were visibly sealed and OK looking, I came to the stop li b he and major four way intersection the light wenot green I hit the gas , and the transmission slipped so bad in first it made the vehicle stall. I subsequently started it back up continued down the road to the next light when the dash lights bEgan dimming and beeping at me. The light went green I hit the gas it s.lipped from first to second then shredded a serpentine belt in traffic was my entire family. I limped back With an 1/8 in of belt width on the pulley parked it and realized every bad thing I heard about the vehicle just happen we do including the service stability system because the compressor for rear air bags wasnt working. I then looked at a cross over kia rondo with a third row seat drove ito and bought it the next day its the best car Ive owned. For 2k less than the building know this kind walks all over this buick all day long. WORD OF ADVICE, DO NOT BUY OR EVERYTHING CONSIDER A BUICK TERRAZA or you will have it in the shop once a month with every shop unable to find or fix source of electronic issues. Dont let options fool you. BTW this van only had 79,000 MI on it. LEMON