The verdict: The most opulent of GM’s big three-row SUV trio, the redesigned 2025 Buick Enclave’s luxury trimmings are let down by an uncharacteristically loud cabin and coarse engine.
Versus the competition: The Enclave is nicer inside than luxury-brand competitors like the Lexus TX or Acura MDX, but not when you put your foot down.
The third installment of GM’s big three-row crossover-style SUVs has finally been redesigned and let loose on the public: the 2025 Buick Enclave. It’s ostensibly the nicest, most opulent of the three (the others being the Chevrolet Traverse and GMC Acadia), and it has styling inspired by the Buick Wildcat EV show car. It sits atop the pantheon of SUVs that now comprise the entire American Buick lineup (Buick still sells actual cars in China for now, at least) and is the biggest, nicest GM SUV you can buy that isn’t a Cadillac. But how nice is it? Is there a big difference from the Chevy and GMC versions given they share a lot of bits under the sheet metal? We flew to Portland, Ore., to drive the new 2025 Enclave from the town to the coast and back, and came away with some thoughts on the most luxurious version of GM’s big SUVs. (Per our ethics policy, Cars.com pays for its own travel and lodging when attending manufacturer-sponsored events.)
Related: 2025 Buick Enclave Completes Brand’s Showroom Refresh
The Carlike One
Of all the variants that use this big SUV platform, the Enclave looks the most carlike. Whereas the Traverse and Acadia are meant to be capable off-road with specific off-road trim levels, the Buick takes a different path. It’s the on-road-only, opulent, luxurious one, and the styling reflects that. The Chevy and GMC are blocky, chunky and rugged-looking, while the Buick flows, full of smooth lines and slim lighting elements. It definitely fits in with the rest of the Buick lineup and appears smaller and sleeker than its siblings despite being longer, wider and taller than its predecessor.
There are three trim levels to choose from: the base Preferred, which still comes very well equipped (which it had better, given its starting price), the sportier-looking Sport Touring (or ST) and the most luxurious Avenir. It’s meant to compete against higher trim levels of the Hyundai Palisade and Ford Explorer, as well as premium brand offerings like the Acura MDX, Lexus TX, Lincoln Aviator and Infiniti QX60. The Preferred has black plastic moldings and standard 20-inch wheels. The ST blacks out all the chrome, has a larger meshlike grille and wears different standard 20-inch wheels. The Avenir brings all the chrome back, bumps the standard wheel size up to 22 inches and gets body-color trim. There isn’t much obvious exterior differentiation between the trim levels, but the overall look is clean, modern and fairly distinctive.
The Opulent Interior
The biggest difference from the Chevy and GMC (and, honestly, from the competition) is the Enclave’s most excellent interior. The Chevy is nice, and the GMC is impressive in terms of quality and design, but the Buick (especially in top Avenir trim) truly impresses. Preferred variants get a choice of a black or black-and-tan interior (that one really pops), while the ST comes only with a rather somber black-with-white-piping look. But the Avenir’s two light-colored interiors (black is the third choice) are what delivers the knockout punch, especially the blue-and-light-tan version that immediately sets it apart from more mundane competitor interiors.
A slick 30-inch curved combination touchscreen and digital instrument panel spans the dash, and it’s a seamless display from edge to edge. Unlike the controls in the Chevy and GMC, however, Buick has put nearly everything in the touchscreen, including some (but not all) of the climate controls, so we’re docking points for this setup versus the excellent 15-inch vertically oriented screen in the Acadia, in particular. But the Enclave’s materials quality is just as good as the Acadia’s and easily as good or better than most of its competitors, including (perhaps most surprisingly) the TX. Materials quality is excellent, the designs are fresh and modern, and the upholstery feels expensive.
The only issue is that half the digital display is obscured by the steering wheel — the Enclave needs a “squircle” wheel like the ones in the Lincoln Nautilus, Kia EV9 and Chevrolet Corvette. The more amorphously shaped the information display, the better a squared-off-style wheel is for allowing you to see more of it. The Enclave’s round steering wheel is thick and feels good, but it blocks your view of the screen.
Foot-Down Letdown
Powering the ‘25 Enclave is the exact same turbocharged 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine that you’ll find under the hood of the lesser Traverse and Acadia. And I mean the exact same; it puts out the same power — 328 horsepower and 326 pounds-feet of torque — and pairs with an eight-speed automatic transmission that sends power to the front or all four wheels.
The powertrain is the weakest link in the Enclave’s otherwise very lovely driving experience — it’s just as loud and coarse in the Enclave as it is in the Traverse, and while this can be forgiven in the less expensive Chevy, it’s inexcusable in the much more expensive Buick. Like in its sibling SUVs, the engine doesn’t feel like it’s delivering nearly as much power as the company says it is.
Driving the Enclave made me wonder where the whole “Quiet Tuning” ethos of Buick went, because quiet the Enclave is not. Engine noise is prominent, and it’s not a pleasant exhaust note you’re hearing. Road noise is considerable — far more than should be coming through in a Buick that’s had a bunch of specific sound isolation measures added plus active noise cancellation through the Bose audio system. I had to raise my voice significantly to talk to a front-seat passenger when traveling on asphalt highways at just 50 mph.
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Ride quality is the best thing about the Enclave — either with the conventional suspension of the ST trim or the computer-controlled electronic shocks in the Avenir. But frankly, I couldn’t tell the two trim levels’ ride and handling qualities apart, and the same ride-quality praise applies to the Traverse and Acadia, as well.
There’s simply nothing more luxurious, isolating, coddling or calming about the Enclave’s driving experience versus that of the Acadia or Traverse. They’re all loud inside, they all handle beautifully, and they all have ride quality that is truly best in class. The differentiation between the brands comes in the designs, shapes, styles and materials choices (but not necessarily materials quality) — an Acadia Denali with its real wood trim and rich color palette is easily as nice as an Enclave Avenir, but it’s styled to be more industrial chic and less flowy-shaped luxury wagon. The lack of any experiential differentiation beyond that is actually rather disappointing and leads to the question of value at the high end of the price range.
More From Cars.com:
- Redesigned 2025 Buick Enclave: A Little Bigger, a Little More Expensive
- 2025 Buick Enclave Up Close: Nicer Than You Remember
- Which 3-Row SUVs Offer Captain’s Chairs?
- 2024 GMC Acadia Review: Distinctive Looks, Common Personality
- Shop for a 2025 Buick Enclave
At What Price?
The new ‘25 Enclave is not cheap — the Preferred trim starts at $46,395 (all prices include destination fee), the ST starts at $48,795 and the Avenir jumps up to $59,395. All-wheel drive is a $2,000 option across the board. Load up an Avenir and you can pass $66,000, which is certainly near-luxury pricing. That high pricing puts it up against the Lexus TX, Mazda CX-90, Acura MDX and, of course, the GMC Acadia Denali.
The new Enclave is indeed a premium product, but it’s not as premium as it should be at this price, let down as it is by its low-rent powertrain and surprisingly noisy cabin. It feels expensive, looks expensive and is expensive at its upper reaches, but Buick needs to keep working at powertrain differentiation in order for it to drive expensive.
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