2023 Buick Enclave

The Buick Enclave is a quiet, comfortable, and roomy midsize SUV with three rows of seats and plenty of premium features. The 2023 Buick Enclave starts at $43,000.

The Buick Enclave is a happy medium between mainstream and luxury midsize SUVs. It’s more premium than a midsize SUV from a mainstream brand like the Chevrolet Traverse but more affordable than a true luxury SUV like the Audi Q7.

If you prioritize comfort and practicality over sporty performance, you’ll like the Enclave. It has a quiet, comfortable ride, and the standard V6 engine provides plenty of power. It also has a spacious interior with a third row of seats you can actually use, plus a lot of cargo space.

Other than a new paint color and a new wheel design, Buick hasn’t made any significant changes for the 2023 Enclave. However, it did get a refresh for 2022 with updated styling, more standard safety and infotainment tech features, and a new Sport Touring package.

The 2023 Buick Enclave starts at $43,000. At the top of the 3-trim Enclave heap is the AWD Avenir at $57,300. Loaded with every available feature, an Enclave Avenir can crest $60,000.

The Enclave is priced between mainstream and luxury midsize SUVs. Its starting price is higher than the Kia Telluride, Chevrolet Traverse, and Ford Explorer but lower than the Acura MDX, Audi Q7, and Cadillac XT6.

The Buick Enclave is a pleasant SUV for drivers and passengers alike. The standard V6 engine smoothly delivers ample power through an unintrusive 9-speed automatic transmission. The suspension is compliant, the steering is precise, and the braking isn’t jarring. The result is an SUV that’s a delight to drive, and your passengers might feel like they’re in a more expensive luxury SUV.

If you’re looking for rip-roaring performance in a 3-row SUV, we’d direct you to a sporty competitor like the Ford Explorer ST or Acura MDX Type S. However, the Enclave is an excellent SUV for anyone willing to forgo pulse-pounding thrills in favor of tranquil comfort.

Part of the pleasant ride of this Buick comes from its QuietTuning system. This includes active noise cancellation, a laminated acoustic glass windshield, and lots of sound-deadening throughout the body to make it whisper-quiet in the cabin, even on the highway.

Front-wheel drive (FWD) comes standard, and it’s fine for most drivers, but all-wheel drive (AWD) is a good choice if you live in a snowy climate. The extra traction makes the Enclave much better in inclement weather but comes with a slight fuel economy penalty.

The inside of the Buick Enclave is a serene place. It has plenty of legroom and headroom in the first and second rows, and your passengers will appreciate the second-row captain’s chairs. It’s less roomy in the third row, but still reasonably spacious back there compared to most midsize SUVs, especially from luxury brands. The Enclave comes with premium materials, and we love that leather seating comes standard in the first two rows.

On top of the roomy seating, the Enclave has a good amount of cargo space. It has 23.6 cubic feet of cargo space when all seats are in place. When you fold down the third row, that increases to 57.7 cubic feet and a whopping 97.4 cubic feet with the second and third row seats folded.

The Buick Enclave has a stylish exterior with elegant, flowing body lines and a handsome light signature. It just got a facelift in 2022, keeping the look fresh. The look changes a bit through the model range, with the Sport Touring Edition giving it a sportier look with a black grille and wheels, and the Avenir trim has a more premium aesthetic.

The Enclave is on the bigger side of midsize SUVs. Its dimensions are similar to the Chevrolet Traverse and Volkswagen Atlas, and it’s bigger than luxurious rivals like the Acura MDX, Volvo XC90, and Audi Q7.

Spacious interior
The Enclave has a 3-row interior with plenty of space for passengers and cargo alike. Unlike many of its more expensive competitors, the third row is roomy and easy to access. The Enclave also has a super quiet ride.

Wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay
These standard smartphone connectivity features make it easy to bring your music, maps, and more to the screen in the Enclave without taking your phone out of your purse or pocket.

Hands-free power rear liftgate
Activating the Enclave’s rear liftgate is as simple as using a kicking motion below the rear bumper to open or close it.

Tri-zone automatic climate control
A set-it-and-forget-it system, it separates the vehicle into three zones front right, front left, and rear. Once the temperature is set for each zone, the system automatically maintains that temperature.

Leather seating
Reinforcing the Enclave’s claim of being a premium SUV, leather seating is standard across the grade lineup.

Heated elements
Standard throughout the Enclave’s lineup are heated front seats, a heated steering wheel, and heated outboard mirrors. The Premium grade adds heated second-row seats.

If the starting price of the Buick Enclave seems a little high, it’s justified by its impressive list of standard features. On the base Essence trim they include leather first- and second-row seats, heated front seats, second-row captain’s chairs, QuietTuning with active noise cancellation, a heated, leather-wrapped steering wheel, a hands-free power liftgate, tri-zone automatic climate control, remote start, and more.

The standard infotainment system is an 8-inch color touchscreen with wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Additional standard tech features include six USB ports, a Wi-Fi hotspot, SiriusXM, and a wireless charging pad.

The standard Buick Driver Confidence Plus package on every Enclave comes with a long list of safety tech features. It bundles lane-keeping assist with lane-departure warning, lane-change alert with blind-spot monitoring, a following distance indicator, forward collision alert, rear cross-traffic alert, front pedestrian braking, automatic high beams, front and rear park assist, and automatic emergency braking.

One of the most popular options on the Enclave is all-wheel drive, which is available on every trim.

A cool option package available exclusively for the Essence trim is the Sport Touring Edition. This appearance package adds 20-inch gloss-black wheels, a unique sport front grille, and body-color door handles. Unfortunately, it doesn’t come with any performance upgrades.

Upgrading to the mid-range Premium trim makes the Enclave more luxurious without the price going crazy. It adds a color head-up display, a Bose 10-speaker audio system, ventilated and massaging front seats, heated second-row seats, a camera mirror, an HD surround-vision camera, rear pedestrian alert, and a memory package.

Finally, the top Avenir trim adds an exclusive premium appearance package with a unique grille and wheels plus a 2-panel sunroof, rain-sensing wipers, adaptive cruise control, and enhanced automatic emergency braking. An Avenir Technology Package further adds a premium suspension package with hydraulic dampers and steering calibration, real-time suspension damping, and LED headlights with enhanced Avenir design.

A Trailering Package is available across the model range, which brings the maximum towing capacity up to 5,000 pounds.

The sole engine option in the Buick Enclave is a 3.6-liter V6 producing 310 horsepower and 266 lb-ft of torque. For 2023, the Enclave is expected to return 18 city/26 highway mpg with FWD and 17 city/25 highway mpg with AWD, which is a little below average for this class. Every Enclave has a 9-speed automatic transmission.

This engine is suitable for most drivers, but we’d like to see a hybrid, mild-hybrid, or more high-performance option under the hood of the Enclave.

3.6-liter V6
310 horsepower @ 6,800 rpm
266 lb-ft of torque @ 2,800 rpm
EPA city/highway fuel economy: 18/26 mpg (FWD), 17/25 mpg (AWD)

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