To some, Buick is a name synonymous with cars for grandparents that had little-to-no personality and left much to the imagination. But to others, Buick is the name of a manufacturer pushing the boundary beyond a singular-segmented past, implementing exciting cues from the Wildcat concept. I drove two of the three newly redesigned 2025 Buick Enclave trims to see if Buick totally changed its demeanor, or if its pedestrian past crept into its designs of today.
(Full disclosure: Buick paid for my hotel and meals so I could drive the 2025 Buick ST and Avenir SUVs in Oregon.)
Buick is focused on broadening its horizons. The brand is hoping to capture the spirit of “quiet luxury,” bringing it to a widening demographic. Their target 2025 Enclave customer is 60 percent male and 40 percent female between the ages of 35-55 years of age, most of them married with a bachelor’s degree or higher education, making over $100,000 of household income. This isn’t your grandma’s Buick Century.
Revamping a brand and its portfolio normally takes years, but Buick did in 15–18 months. Gone is the circular logo with its trademark three colored shields (red, white, and blue), replaced by a new modern three-shield logo. Buick says this represents “the fluid movement of future vehicle design.” Buick reps say the sleeker shields add a touch of color to maintain the tri-shield heritage while also ushering in a new era.
Along with the logo, Buick redefined its trim levels, deleting Essence and Premium labels for Preferred and Sport Touring (ST) models. The Avenir trim remains the same. Three different trims with three diverse looks, but simplified offerings for the customer to choose from.
With the 2025 Buick Enclave now launched, Buick’s SUV quartet is on full display: Envista, Encore GX, Envision, and Enclave. Buick’s revamp has given them momentum, garnering three consecutive quarters of record sales, increased transactions 18 of the last 19 months, and first-half 2024 sales up 11 percent (before the 2025 Enclave even hit the market). It’s anticipating even stronger numbers once the Enclave lands on dealership lots (initial cars have already arrived).
The automaker worked hard to change its stodgy stigma. It’s revamped its portfolio to reflect a fresh new lineup of SUVs, including the 2025 Enclave, its flagship three-row vehicle. The Wildcat-inspired LED headlamps complement an updated crisscross front grille, hood, and sculpted front and rear fascia. Though I wish the orange and red plastic fender reflectors were gone from the equation. They remind me of my childhood bicycle and somewhat detract from the look of this modern, luxe-looking SUV.
Both Preferred and ST trims sport different 20-inch wheels. The Avenir steps it up two notches size-wise with sophisticated-looking 22-inch Pearl Nickel-finished rollers—all on Continental CrossContact LX20 tires. The Enclave’s rear showcases an attractive skinny taillight assembly framing the new three-shield logo. Sitting just below that is additional badging declaring the make—a Buick—by spelling it out. The oversized chrome exhaust tips sit neatly within the Enclave’s bumper but hang a tad low for my liking. Each Enclave has a maximum trailering capacity of 5,000 pounds when properly equipped.
The next-generation Buick Enclave has tons of tech displayed on a brilliant ultrawide 30-inch-diagonal curved screen with wireless Apply CarPlay and Android Auto capability, as well as Google Assistant. The Enclave also has a rich-sounding 12-speaker Bose Audio sound system with Active Noise Cancellation (or 16-speaker Bose Performance Series audio if you opt for the Avenir), as part of Buick’s QuietTuning technology and acoustic content, helping to quiet the cabin. Super Cruise hands-free driver assistance technology is also available across all trims (a first for Buick).
Super Cruise works great on interstates and highways. If the road is mapped, you set the speed, sit back and relax but still pay attention to the road. Super Cruise will even change lanes for you. It does its job well on clearly marked straight roads or two-lane tracks with gentle curves. But it can drastically lower speeds before entering some tighter turns, like slowing to 44 in a 55 MPH zone, or occasionally becoming confused and disable itself until it picks up again. GM hopes to have approximately 750,000 miles of the road network mapped in the United States and Canada through 2025.
A wide swath of safety features and seven standard cameras (two more are optional) are also on board, making this three-inch-longer, three-inch-wider, and one-inch-taller Buick Enclave a tech-heavy hitter. Some of the new 2025 standard safety features include: intersection automatic emergency braking, blind-zone steering assist, lane-keep assist and departure warning, traffic-sign recognition, and automatic crash response (as part of OnStar).
The 2025 Buick Enclave offers different color palettes within its three trim levels, each giving a unique feel. The cockpit feels open, minimal, and well-appointed, with its full-color curved infotainment center taking center stage.
Just below it sits a simple HVAC system with up-and-down toggles as controls. Under that is one USB-C and USB-A outlet, I’d like to see double that up front, please. A DC outlet is hidden further down the center stack, flanking a large, open storage space.
An oversized floating center console sits between the front seats, offering a large cubby for hidden storage, wireless smartphone charging, two cupholders, and a multi-controller button. It also houses a high-gloss piano black finish that showcases dust and occasional fingerprints. I don’t understand the love affair with this material. It scratches easily, gets grimy and dusty, and reflects the sun in your eyes while enjoying the vehicle—especially when used as a horizontal surface. A matte black or textured metal surface would better suit this area.
Comfortable first row power heated seats with four-way lumbar support comes standard. The Avenir sports that plus ventilation and massaging features. The Avenir also has heated second row outboard seats. The second and third row seats felt fine, with plenty of headspace for taller passengers.
The standard Power Package includes a heads-up display, one-touch folding second row seats and power-folding third row seats. It’s available for the Preferred and ST trims but standard on the Avenir.
Buick’s Avenir trim features an operable panoramic sunroof that half opens. Though I wished it was wider and longer. The power retracting cover works well to block out light. Other items: Buick hides the headlight “switch” in their infotainment system. There is no knob. Same as the new Chevrolet Colorado and Traverse. Lastly, there is a cool Buckle to Drive feature parents can enable so any driver must wear their seatbelt before it starts. However, this feature could be easily disabled by savvy teenagers as it’s not password protected.
The 2025 Buick Enclave lineup boasts a 2.5-liter turbo engine generating 328 horsepower and 326 lb-ft of torque. It’s mated to a smooth-shifting eight-speed automatic transmission. In the city, both the ST and Avenir provided a compliant and comfortable ride, especially over Portland’s potholes and road construction.
However, towards the Oregon coast when parts of the highway had gaping cracks and areas of patched pavement due to shifting earth, the Avenir’s suspension shined. Unlike the Preferred and ST trims, it includes Continuous Damping Control (CDC), and steadied the SUV by optimally adjusting the suspension’s damping forces for each wheel.
Passing power was adequate but not superb but Buick’s QuietTuning technology made a noticeable difference when driving—no matter how fast you went or how loud the pavement aggregate was.
To add to the driving fun, Buick offers a manual mode with paddle shifters, but they only work after you push the “L” button on the steering wheel. Engaging this feature can be done when stopped or in motion. However, if you attempt to use the paddle shifters without pressing the L button first, they won’t work—making you think the system isn’t functioning properly.
Note: The L button stands for “low.” This isn’t the low range that’s normally featured in most vehicles, per se. Buick’s says “L” is for the lower gears you’ll be using with paddle shifters. To me, I found that confusing. I think it should be “M” for manual mode instead of “L” for low. I’d also move the button’s placement from the steering wheel to the steering-mounted shifter, putting all shifting duties in one area.
When compared the Buick Enclave’s paddle shifter system to other manufacturers, however, once you get the SUV into its low-er-manual mode, it stays put in that mode until you change it back, even if you don’t use the paddle shifters for several minutes which is great.
The 2025 Buick Enclave starts at $46,395 for the base front-wheel-drive Preferred trim and jumps to $61,395 for the fully loaded all-wheel-drive Avenir. There are three trims: Preferred starting at $46,395 (FWD) and $48,395 (AWD), Sport Touring (ST) beginning at $48,795 (FWD) or $50,795 (AWD), and Avenir with an initial MSRP with DFC at $59,395 (FWD) and $61,395 (AWD).
Though some manufacturers have a five-year/60,000-mile bumper-to-bumper and 10-year/100,000 powertrain warranty, Buick offers a bumper-to-bumper warranty covering the entire vehicle for repairs, including parts and labor, to correct material or workmanship defects for only three years or 36,000 miles, whichever comes first. Buick’s typical powertrain warranty lasts for five years or 60,000 miles, whichever comes first, but they say other durations are available.
The 2025 Enclave is produced at Lansing Delta Township Assembly in Michigan. This three-row SUV has an EPA fuel economy rating of 20 MPG (FWD) and 19 MPG (AWD) in the city, 27 MPG (FWD) and 24 MPG (AWD) for the highway, and 23 MPG (FWD) and 21 MPG (AWD) combined.
[Images © 2024 Mercedes Lilienthal/TTAC.com]
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