The verdict: The 2023 Buick Enclave Avenir is a dated boat of a three-row SUV that doesn’t live up to its price or the high-end promises of the Avenir name; it only impresses when it comes to interior room.
Versus the competition: The Enclave Avenir feels behind both the times and its class, despite being on the pricier side in an incredibly competitive segment.
A good three-row SUV should excel at carrying lots of people and their things in relative comfort. According to those criteria, the 2023 Buick Enclave Avenir is a good three-row SUV. Driving one, however, left me frustrated twice over: first with the Enclave Avenir’s basic flaws and inability to live up to its premium pitch or price, and second with the sincere belief that, in nearly every respect, there are better three-row SUVs on the market that Enclave shoppers might not even consider.
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The 2023 Enclave is available in three trim levels: Essence, Premium and the top-of-the-line Avenir that we tested. Power for every Enclave comes from a 3.6-liter V-6 engine making 310 horsepower, paired with a nine-speed automatic transmission. Buyers can choose front- or all-wheel drive at every trim level; our test vehicle came with AWD.
So what does the Enclave Avenir get right? What does it get wrong? And why does it frustrate me so much?
The Good
Let’s start with the good stuff. Pretty much every seat in the Enclave Avenir is a comfortable place to sit; there’s decent cushioning, lots of room in the first two rows and adequate space for adults in the third. The front seats are the place to be, though, especially in the Avenir, which adds a massage function to both front seats, along with seat heating and ventilation. The second row is also spacious and comfortable, and adults should be fine piling into the third row for a trip across town, though I wouldn’t want to be back there on a road trip.
The Enclave Avenir’s technology is not the most up-to-date, but what’s there works fairly well. An 8-inch dashboard touchscreen is easy to use, and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone connectivity are welcome. The Enclave also has plenty of physical controls for audio and climate functions. If I were feeling charitable, I’d call the control layout “familiar.” If I were feeling less charitable, I might call it “dated,” but at least it all works. The gauge cluster combines traditional and digital readouts, but it’s uncluttered and easy to decipher. The Avenir’s rearview camera mirror is a helpful touch, especially when passengers or cargo block the view out back — although I did get slightly motion sick when using it.
Ride comfort is a highlight, as well, with a well-cushioned demeanor that befits the Enclave’s price and flagship status. An optional adaptive damping suspension really pays off; the driver and passengers will be aware of bumps, potholes and other road imperfections, but they’ll rarely be upset by harsh impacts.
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The Bad
Our family car needed repairs around 2010, and for some reason the body shop had a late third- or early fourth-generation Mercury Grand Marquis as a loaner car. I recall taking strange delight in how soft its suspension was and how much it rocked and rolled over the unpaved roads leading to our home — and that’s how driving the 2023 Enclave Avenir felt, sans the delight. This time, I was concerned (and occasionally scared) by how wobbly the Enclave felt in corners and how easily it could be unsettled by bumps or evasive maneuvers.
The Enclave also suffers from poor braking feel. Nonlinear pedal feel and a lack of initial bite in its brakes contribute to making the Enclave feel heavier than even its handling issues did. Anything other than the most sedate driving style will take the Enclave well out of its comfort zone.
The Enclave’s nine-speed automatic transmission is also clunky, and it wasn’t always up to the tasks I gave it. Rather than rapid, multigear downshifts on hard acceleration, it downshifts slowly from gear to gear. Upshifts are unobjectionable for a large premium SUV.
Together, the brakes and transmission behavior make the Enclave feel both heavier than it is and underpowered, despite the should-be-adequate 310 hp from its 3.6-liter V-6. EPA-estimated fuel economy is also slightly subpar at 20 mpg combined; other premium SUVs do a bit better.
Inside, the issues are legion. While the multimedia system works well, its 8-inch touchscreen is small by today’s standards. In addition, cabin materials don’t live up to the AWD Enclave Avenir’s $62,000-plus price tag. Hard plastics abound, and the physical controls lack a premium feel. Portions of the gauge cluster look at least a decade old, too. The gear selector was redesigned for the 2022 model year and now features a series of buttons that are both slightly unintuitive to use — Reverse and Drive are almost levers but not quite — and save no space.
A specific nit worth picking is the fact that only the passenger-side second-row seat tilts and folds for easy third-row access. The space it leaves to climb in is fine, but why only do this on one side? Granted, the passenger side will be curbside in most street-parking situations, but there are numerous parking scenarios where it makes sense to load from the driver’s side, too, like in a driveway or parking lot. It seems silly and old-fashioned not to have access to the third row on both sides.
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Price Is a Pain Point
The most significant issue for the Enclave Avenir is its price. The SUV we drove had a sticker price of $62,090 (including destination), a price that’s competitive with the Infiniti QX60, Acura MDX and Lexus RX, but all three of those vehicles have much nicer interiors, more modern technology and better driving characteristics.
The same is true of more mainstream three-row SUVs. The Kia Telluride, Hyundai Palisade and Honda Pilot, for example, are all better choices that cost less than the Enclave Avenir — even when fully loaded. Only shopping “domestic” brands? A Ford Explorer King Ranch would be a better — and likely less expensive — choice, too, and its luxury cousin, the Lincoln Aviator, is worth its price premium over the Enclave.
If the Enclave Avenir were priced in the $40,000 range, it would feel like a good value for the money. At more than $60K, it simply doesn’t. Granted, that’s a suggested price, and buyers may qualify for a variety of discounts (or just be really good at haggling), but without either of those benefits bringing the price way down, I’d steer clear of the Enclave Avenir.
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