On the road the Rendezvous has a reassuring manner. Its long wheel base (6 inches longer that of the Grand Cherokee) smoothes surface irregularities like a sedan or a minivan. In handling the more sinuous highways, again it favors the minivan/sedan end of the scale. Driven in the truly twisty bits the Rendezvous comported itself surprisingly well. Even when pushed rather insistently it was thoroughly honest (more tire would have helped) and never felt incapable of dealing with stringent demands. (Willing as it was there was a slight admonishment: "I'll do that if you insist but it's not my specialty.")On off-highway exploration of some sandy and rocky arroyos the SUV heritage came to the fore. GM's all-wheel-drive system, called Versatrak, requires no input from the driver. Versatrak drives just the front wheels until sensors agree that some traction assistance from the rear is advisable. Now this is where the Versatrak is really clever: Power is meted out separately and individually to the rear wheels, not just to the rear axle. That is a fineness of traction disbursement not available in most other four-wheel-drive systems. The result is better traction and increased stability, making the Rendezvous more capable in the snow and easier to drive in the slush. Overall, the road demeanor of the Rendezvous is pleasing. It stopped well, accelerated with reasonable aplomb (can't everything use more power?) and was quiet for an SUV, though a little road-noisy by luxury sedan standards.
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