The 2002 Buick Rendezvous is versatile, seating five to seven passengers. It's nicely styled. It has fine manners on the highway, a benefit of its unibody construction normally associated with sedans. At the same time, the four-wheel-drive version can cope with gnarly weather and marginal off-highway tracks with dignity. The three-row interior compares favorably with costlier vehicles.

There is much to like here in terms of engineering, flexibility, and appearance.

The traditional Buick grille on the Rendezvous emphasizes a familial resemblance to the Park Avenue but it somehow looks less formal and more cheery here. It's a pleasing countenance.

The Rendezvous shows kinship to the shorter Pontiac Aztek without the body piercing and other design cues meant to appeal to a youthful (some might say taste-innocent) market. The Rendezvous is probably not beautiful to many, but it has an integrity that is suitable to its purpose and is thus attractive. In short, I like its looks.

Captain's seats, for example, can replace the 50-50 split bench seat in the second row (an elegant choice, by the way). Also, instead of opting for the third row a buyer can choose a three-compartment storage arrangement. Additional hiding places and lockable bins are strategically placed here and there.

The flexibility of the seating configurations is an exercise in automotive origami. The seats fold and tuck and fit into an amazing number of arrangements. And you can end with two people up front with a flat floor behind without leaving anything home in the garage. Truly neat. For maximum capacity, however, the center row can be removed.

The load-height is low, reducing back strain when loading or unloading heavy objects. And get this: that old 4x8 plywood test? Well, the Rendezvous has a rear opening wide enough to take on board such building material flat. A red flag affixed at back will deal with the length.

The really amazing thing about the low stance and flat floor of the Rendezvous is that four-wheel drive and independent suspension and a flat floor are supposed to be mutually exclusive. Well, the Buick engineers found a way to do it. Too bad being unobtrusive is a mark of success because this needs to stand up and take applause.

Even with a 7-inch ground clearance and all-wheel drive, getting in and out of the Rendezvous is more sedan-like than SUV-like; small children, arthritic knees and tight-skirts can be grateful for that. All seats are easy to access and quite comfortable.

Access to the third row is far simpler than in most vehicles with three rows of seats. Once back there, the third row is pleasantly suitable for two full-size adults. And the third row is no Siberia: Even from way back there the acoustics allow you to participate in any car conversations.

Most important, perhaps, is the story in the rear part of the Rendezvous; the engineers managed to fit an excellent AWD system and suspension system while maintaining a flat floor. That's best appreciated when driving with a full load of people and their stuff on a nasty, sleety, darkening afternoon with a slippery glaze on the street.

But all is not sheer delight inside the Rendezvous. The plastic used for the instrument panel looks dowdy compared with the rest of the interior.

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.

But where the Rendezvous really shines is in the window sticker department: Fully outfitted it is priced some $6500-$8000 below such all-wheel-drive vehicles as the Lexus 300 RX and the Acura MDX (and the Lexus does not have three rows of seats).

But the vehicle's flexibility, ease and variety of use are also strong points in its favor. If this be crossover, bring 'em on.