Driven: 2025 Buick Enclave Has Big Space But A Confusing Mission

Most vehicles have a clearly defined purpose, but in the case of the 2025 Buick Enclave, it’s not so simple. When compared against the industry as a whole, it makes sense; it’s a mid-size three-row crossover. But when you measure it next to its platform mates from General Motors, the Chevrolet Traverse and GMC Acadia, the Enclave’s mission feels harder to explain. This is an all-new generation of Buick’s largest crossover, and it brings with it many enhancements inside and out plus under the hood.

Buick is GM’s premium brand, so the Enclave is supposed to be the more luxurious version of the Traverse and Acadia, right? Well, that’s not so simple. In its top Avenir trim level, the Enclave does outclass its siblings in terms of luxury and feature content, but it’s not the most expensive of the three (the Acadia can cost more with a package). At the base Premier and mid-level Sport Touring (ST) trims, the Enclave does little to differentiate itself in a significant way. We drove the mid-level ST, which lacks some of the features found on the upper Traverse and Acadia trims. So what would make someone want the Buick over its GM siblings or rivaling three-row crossovers?

Exterior Looks: Sporty Or Elegant

The outgoing Enclave was a rather bland thing, but this new third-generation model could be described as snazzy. Like other modern Buicks, the front end of the Enclave is heavily inspired by the Wildcat EV, a gorgeous concept car that previewed a future electric coupe but ended up spawning a grille for crossovers. That grille changes slightly depending on the trim level: plain for the Preferred, blacked out for the Sport Touring, and blingy for the Avenir.

These trims get different wheels too. The Preferred rides on boring-looking 20-inch wheels, but 22-inch high gloss black wheels are available for $2,395. The ST gets more interesting directional black/machined finish wheels and those 22s are available too for the same steep price. Only the Avenir rides on 22-inch wheels as standard, and they get a slightly more attractive pearl nickel finish. Only six exterior colors are available, and some of them are locked to specific trims. We liked our tester’s Cherry Red Tintcoat ($645), which is the most interesting of the bunch.

The Enclave is Buick’s largest crossover, sharing a platform with the Chevrolet Traverse and GMC Acadia. All three vehicles share a 120.93-inch wheelbase, but the Enclave is the longest overall at 207.6 inches. That’s longer than the outgoing model by over two inches, and this new model is wider and lower as well.

Interior & On-Board Technology: A Step Up

Buick is GM’s premium brand, and even the base Preferred trim level is pretty upscale. Leatherette seat upholstery comes standard in either Sandstone or Ebony, while the ST gets perforated Ebony seats with Cool Gray accents. This SUV starts to feel truly luxurious at the Avenir trim level, where quilted and perforated leather seats are available in Ebony or Cool Gray with flashy Slate Blue accents, including a blue leather steering wheel. The gray/blue interior is truly unique, though the interior looks bland in the other colors. This is one of the largest crossovers on the market, meaning passengers in all three rows have plenty of space. Buick increased second row leg room by over three inches, but third row legroom has shrunk by over an inch compared to the outgoing model.

As you’d expect from a premium brand, the Enclave includes many features as standard. Heated front seats and a heated steering wheel are standard on all times, but you have to step all the way up to the Avenir trim to get ventilated front seats, massaging front seats, or heated second row seats. The Avenir also gets a standard power-folding third row, one-touch folding second row, and memory settings for the front seats. These features are available on the Preferred and ST as part of a $1,740 Power Package. Buick also made Super Cruise optional on every trim level at a $3,255 price. This is an odd decision, as the top Traverse RS trim levels gets the hands-free technology standard.

Infotainment: Looks Over Function

Every Enclave trim gets a 30-inch ultra-wide diagonal display, which is the largest in its class. The screen size is great on paper, but less so in practice. The display isn’t very tall and has curved edges, meaning phone mirroring like Apple CarPlay and Android Auto (which have to be square) are compressed into a smaller area. In real world usage, we prefer the screens in the Acadia and Traverse. Though the phone projection isn’t perfect, the display itself works well thanks to built-in Google technology and excellent voice command.

The 12-speaker Bose audio system in the Preferred and ST trims sounds fine, but music lovers will prefer the 16-speaker Bose Performance system in the Avenir. Buyers get an HD surround vision camera system as standard with five views, with two more available optionally.

Performance: Fewer Cylinders, More Power

Every Enclave trim level uses the same 2.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine, replacing the outgoing model’s 3.6-liter V6. Despite having fewer cylinders, this is an upgrade, with increases of 18 hp and 60 lb-ft of torque. Power is sent to the front wheels or all-wheel-drive optionally through an eight-speed automatic that replaces last year’s nine-speed unit. The Enclave can tow up to 5,000 pounds with an available Trailering Package ($650).

Performance Impressions

Buick doesn’t quote a 0-60 mph time, but we recorded the sprint in 7.79 seconds with our ST AWD tester. That’s slightly behind the Chevy Traverse RS AWD (7.41 seconds) which we reviewed earlier this year, despite having the same powertrain. It may be slightly slower, but Buick’s QuietTuning noise reduction system does a stellar job dialing back the annoying sounds from the four-cylinder engine that we complained about in the Acadia and Traverse. Buick also implemented better tuning for the automatic transmission, so it doesn’t hold gears for too long as it does in the Chevy and GMC.

Ride and Handling

Since we tested the ST, we didn’t have a chance to sample the Continuous Damping Control (CDC) active dampers found only on the Avenir trim. Even without this suspension, the Enclave rides well and handles confidently around corners. We’d never call it sporty, but it’s controlled enough to feel pleasant. Super Cruise is still our favorite hands-free driving technology on the market, but making it optional even on the top trim level is a baffling move by Buick. This is the first Buick to get Super Cruise, so the company should encourage more people to choose it by making it standard on the Avenir.

Fuel Economy

Downsizing from a V6 to a four-cylinder has yielded better fuel economy for the Enclave, if only slightly. FWD models are rated at 20/27/23 mpg city/highway/combined, increases of two, one, and two miles per gallon, respectively. The AWD model is less efficient, rated at 19/24/21, an increase of two mpg in the city and combined cycle, and a decrease of one mpg on the highway. These numbers are mostly on-par with V6 rivals like the Hyundai Palisade and Kia Telluride, but trail well behind competitors that offer a hybrid powertrain, such as the Toyota Grand Highlander.

Verdict & Pricing: Premium-Ish

There’s a lot to like about the 2025 Buick Enclave, but its place within the market and even within GM’s own portfolio is slightly confusing. Pricing for the Preferred trim starts at $46,395 (not including $1,395 destination) with AWD adding $2,000 to the price of each trim level. Three-row crossover buyers shopping purely on value will find more of it with the Chevy Traverse (starting at $41,995) and the GMC Acadia (starting at $42,600), though both of these siblings have fewer standard features.

Stepping up to the Sport Touring brings the price to a reasonable $48,795, but you still have to add Super Cruise and the power package. We think the Avenir makes the most sense, as it adds features like massage seats that can’t be found on any Traverse or Acadia trim level, starting at $59,395. That’s pricier than the Traverse RS but the Acadia Denali can exceed $64,000 with its $6,620 Denali Reserve Package (which includes Super Cruise), which is nearly the same price as an Enclave Avenir AWD with Super Cruise.

Based on our experience with the Enclave ST, it doesn’t feel luxurious enough to justify its price tag. We’d save money on the sportier looking Traverse or the more rugged looking Acadia. However, the additions found in the Avenir trim would make us consider the Buick. It’s still larger than most of the competition, gets luxury features like massage seats, and improves over the Chevy and GMC models with active dampers and noise cancelation. The Enclave is possibly our favorite of GM’s three-row crossovers, but it’s best enjoyed in the most expensive trim level.