The 2023 Buick Enclave is a mid-size luxury Crossover SUV with third-row seating that embraces the utility part of the SUV. The Enclave shares its architecture with the GMC Acadia and the Chevrolet Traverse. If you’ve spent time in either, you’ll feel a sense of deja vu. The Enclave has an immense amount of space and utility. Like most seven-seater crossovers, the interior room is plentiful, leading its segment for cargo capacity and third row legroom. Regarding cargo and utility, the Enclave is in a class all to itself.
There are three trim levels: Essence Premium and Avenir. All come with a 310 horsepower V6 engine that provides power in a manner I would call “nana friendly.”All-wheel drive or front-wheel drive is optional across all trims. All three also share a positively sublime ride, whisper-quiet driving experience, and a nine-speed automatic transmission. Road trip ready.
The Essence trim level starts at $44,000, and the top trim level, Avenir, tucks in just under $60,000, but if you go wild and tick all the boxes to include the dealer-installed goodies, you can easily creep above $70,000. If you go all in on the top-tier model, you’ll have a heads-up display, adaptive cruise control and a panoramic moonroof. Amazon Alexa is available, as well as a wifi hotspot. Wireless Apple Car Play and Android Auto will ensure your navigation and entertainment needs will always be met, and the wireless phone charging tray means you’ll never run out of juice. If you opt for the towing package, you’ll have a towing capacity of 5,000 lbs. After the trailer's weight, you’ll be pretty limited in how much weight you can handle, but the utility of seven seats is something no traditional pickup truck can match.
The exterior is typical for a seven-seater crossover. Remove the badges, and all the cars in this segment tend to blend. The Buick stands out with an entirely different front grill for the top trim Avenir trim level and standard 20” aluminum wheels finished in pearl nickel.
After spending some time with the Enclave, I asked one of the salespeople, “Who is the target buyer for one of these?” Straight away, he said, “People who already have one. They’re just upgrading to the new model.” This was a bit of an ‘ah ha’ moment for me, the Enclave started to make more sense. If Buick knows this and builds its car accordingly, why would it divert from the norm or make bold styling decisions? They don’t need to. All they need to do is keep things familiar, and people who love the brand and their product will keep buying them. Maybe Buick and its Enclave have tapped into a corner of the market that wants the same from their car as they do from comfort food like Chicken Noodle soup. It doesn’t need to be flashy, doesn’t need to impress, sometimes though it's exactly what you want.
CAR MAKE/MODEL MSRP: 2023 Buick Enclave Essence
MPG: 18 city/26 hwy *FWD
Engine: 3.6L V6
Transmission: 9 speed
Horsepower: 310
Seating: 7
Wilson County Chevrolet Buick GMC
903 S Hartmann Dr, Lebanon, TN
www.wilsoncountymotors.com