The Buick Enclave is the crossover SUV Lexus should be building.
Before
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| Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press |
I get a ton of hate mail along with “Are you crazy Hofmann?” comments, let me explain. While the Enclave has classy premium styling, a nicely designed interior, excellent infotainment, all of the usual luxury trimmings such as leather, woodgrain trim and bright shiny metallic accents, ample power and fairly good handling combined with a very supple ride, it’s the crossover SUV’s big ultra-accommodating seven- to eight-passenger layout and capacious cargo hold that Lexus should be building. Word has it that such a vehicle is on the way for the most prominent Japanese luxury brand, but at least for now the full-size Buick doesn’t have to contend with what it sees as its most ardent competitor.
But is Buick really in the same league as Lexus? I think most will agree that Lexus has done
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| Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press |
a better job of delivering premium models in many more segments than General Motors’ second-rung luxury brand, let alone GM’s top-tier Cadillac nameplate. Buick is more of an entry-level luxury marque, a brand with most of the expected bells and whistles that premium buyers are looking for, for slightly less money.
This should make the Enclave an especially appealing value proposition, as it starts at only $42,295 plus $1,700 in freight and pre-delivery prep charges. The five-occupant Lexus RX 350 can’t be had for less than $50k, and while that model is a very comfortable and nicely executed luxury CUV it’s still a Toyota Harrier at heart, formed off of the backbone of that mainstream brand’s ubiquitous K or Camry platform architecture. The Enclave, at least, was designed from onset to be a
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| Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press |
full-size crossover utility. Of course, there are those who will rightly argue that Lambda was formed from GM’s Epsilon architecture which underpins similarly common cars, including Chevy’s Malibu and Impala plus Buick’s own Regal and LaCrosse, but delving into such complexities will take us down an ultimately time consuming path of mechanical and componentry complications we might never unearth ourselves from, so suffice to say that every luxury brand except Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz and in this category at least, BMW, share platform architectures with a lesser mainstream model, and some charge a heck of a lot more for their premium crossover than Buick does for the Enclave.
Buick didn’t spare any expense in outfitting the 2014 model I most recently tested,
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| Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press |
either. Boasting Premium AWD trim, my Enclave loaner came with adaptive headlights that light up the corner its wheels are pointing toward, power-folding side mirrors with driver-side auto-dimming, memory settings for those side mirrors and the driver’s seat, power tilt and telescopic steering, cooled front seats, 10-speaker Bose audio, rear seat audio controls and earphone jacks, 19-inch chromed wheels, and a towing package that allows an increased rating of up to 2,041 kilos (4,500 lbs) of trailer compared to the base model’s 907-kg (2,000-lb) rating. Additionally for 2014, the Premium model features standard forward collision alert and lane departure warning.
My tester also included the Dual SkyScape sunroof option with a powered tilt and sliding front glass panel and a fixed rear glass panel with a sunscreen, plus a set of 20-inch alloy rims on 255/55R20 all-season rubber.
Additionally,
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| Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press |
every Enclave Premium model includes most of what’s offered in the second-rung Leather package unless upgraded, including its perforated leather seating surfaces, heated front seats, driver’s seat memory function, eight-way powered passenger seat, side blind zone alert and rear cross traffic alert, while forward collision alert and lane departure warning are optional with this mid-grade package.
Likewise, most of the Enclave’s base features are grandfathered into both Leather and Premium packages including the leather-wrapped multi-function steering wheel with a genuine wood insert, automatic HID headlights, body-colour power heated mirrors with integrated turn signals, eight-way powered driver seat, powered liftgate, tri-zone automatic climate control, driver information centre, remote vehicle starter, auto-dimming rearview mirror, backup camera with guidelines,
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| Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press |
rear parking sonar, universal home remote, OnStar telematics, Buick IntelliLink infotainment system with 6.5-inch colour touchscreen display, incidentally now featuring SiriusXM Tune Select and text-to-voice capability so the USB port hidden within the lidded storage bin atop the dash is now very useful, plus an audio system head unit featuring AM/FM/CD/MP3/satellite radio playback plus full iPod display, auxiliary input and an extra set of dual charge-only USB ports at the rear of the centre console for second-row seat power.
Standard safety gear includes four-wheel disc brakes with ABS, traction and stability
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| Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press |
control, tire pressure monitoring, a content theft alarm, electronic immobilizer, and the usual count of airbags plus, new for 2014, the unusual inclusion of an industry-first centre side airbag for the front row.
Buick has done a better job upgrading the Enclave’s materials quality to near premium levels than the previous model, evidenced in its padded and fabric-wrapped roof pillars all-round, lovely stitched leather-like dash that’s textured on top and around the front and rear door uppers, smooth and padded across the instrument panel’s facing around the air vents and clock and then down each side of the centre stack, followed up with tiny strips of textured soft surfacing further down that centre stack. This visually matches the textured hard plastic around the centre console and butts up against more hard plastic around the steering column, the glove
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| Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press |
box (including the lid) and just about everywhere else. Likewise everything below the armrests is pickup truck quality hard plastic (maybe I shouldn’t knock pickup interiors anymore because the Silverado and Sierra are actually very good as of this year). This is luxury in the classic old school American way, as there are acres of faux plastic wood and fake chromed metal, and in keeping with all-American Buick luxury it’s ultra quiet.
Quietness is a Buick trait. In fact, the company goes so far to make sure its cars are the quietest in their given segments that it’s come up with a thorough protocol and even given it a trademark name, QuietTuning. QuietTuning involves many of the usual sound-deadening procedures, such as insulating the floor and engine compartment, strategically injecting acoustic insulation elsewhere, triple sealing all the doors, and inserting acoustic laminated
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| Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press |
windshield and front door glass, resulting in a level of hushed refinement unmatched in the mid- to full-size crossover class.
I wish I could be so positive about all of the Enclave’s detailing. For starters, the steering wheel-mounted switchgear seems as if it was added as an afterthought, being that it consists of two separate pods shaped to fit within cutouts between the spokes rather than integrated right onto the spokes themselves, as most rival brands do. The primary dials just ahead are nice and small and classically chrome-rimmed, but there’s no full-colour TFT screen for the multi-information display like most premium (and many mainstream) competitors. Additionally, the infotainment screen follows the steering wheel controls’ aftermarket theme, being a separate unit that sits atop the centre stack surface. That the screen is smaller than
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| Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press |
some competitors and incorporates graphics quality that’s less than ideal doesn’t help matters, but the touch sensitive controls are very nice and usability of the system is excellent.
I really like the HVAC interface, especially the way the individual automatic temperature controls are combined within twin rotating knobs for a very slick high end look, but the cheap row of wiggly buttons underneath, which control the heated and cooled seats, rear wiper washer, traction control defeat, trailer control, and rear liftgate, detract from the impressive quality above.
The sin that cannot be forgiven is two edged, starting with the cheapest key and remote in the industry and finished off by the unavailability of proximity sensing keyless
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| Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press |
access with pushbutton ignition, a feature that’s available on many lower-end models within GM’s vast lineup. Likewise, Buick wasn’t willing to add an electronic parking brake to help modernize the Enclave either. Instead, its faux wood adorned lower centre console that might otherwise house a sophisticated parking brake switch gets a couple of simple cupholders ahead of a cheap black plastic roller lid that opens up to a cheap black plastic odds and ends bin above a deep but not very accommodating storage bin. Likewise, a two-way manual passenger seat is fairly low rent in a $42k vehicle, as is the exclusion of auto-up/down power windows at all four doors; only the front occupants get such luxuries, but then again they’re really difficult to stop partway up or down so maybe it’s a mixed blessing they’re not available in the aft cabin. I guess you get what you pay for and the Enclave is priced lower than true premium-badged SUVs, but then again some premium brands offer a lot more quality including real wood veneers, while only priced slightly higher, and yet more non-premium mainstream
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| Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press |
players offer better quality detailing and more features for thousands less. None of them offer more size, mind you.
You can stretch out and relax in any one of the Enclave’s seven to eight seats, General Motors having developed its Lambda CUVs to replace its debunked minivan lineup and therefore needing to accommodate full-size adults throughout. Either on one of the ultra-comfortable second-row SmartSlide captain’s chairs or on the second-row bench (as with my tester) is where you’ll want to be if not piloting the car yourself, for comfort as well as the enjoyment of the as-tested optional rear entertainment system, although both front seats in my loaner were very good with excellent lower back support. They don’t offer much lateral support,
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| Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press |
mind you, but this isn’t needed unless cornering hard, and I’m guessing most owners won’t be driving their Enclaves in an aggressive enough manner to need sportier seats.
No, with such a smooth and supple ride its driver will likely want to glide comfortably from destination to destination, while its ease of operation was especially appreciated in tight parking lots due to a surprisingly small turning circle. The Enclave’s drivetrain is smooth and powerful enough, white the automatic transmission’s shifts can only be felt when pushing hard. It’s an easy-going gearbox with no paddle shifters, although you can swap cogs via a unique thumb toggle instead. Just the same it’s six forward gears place the Enclave solidly in the mainstream sector, most seven-passenger premium crossovers
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| Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press |
(and even a number of mainstream models) boasting seven- and eight-speed autoboxes. More gears means the ability to maintain the engine in its power and torque “sweet spots” more often resulting in better performance, improved fuel economy and quite often smoother operation. The Enclave’s direct-injected and variable-valve timing enhanced 3.6-litre V6’s 288 horsepower is achieved at a rather lofty 6,300 rpm and 270 lb-ft of torque arriving at a more tactile 3,400 rpm, so more shift intervals would no doubt help its performance. This standard Enclave engine is also standard with the GMC Acadia albeit an optional state of tune for the lowest Lambda model, Chevy’s Traverse.
It pulls well enough, although you can feel it strain if the need to get off to a quick start arises. The Enclave weighs 2,152 kilos (4,745 lbs) in base front-drive trim and 2,241 kg (4,940 lbs) when all-wheel drive is added, and who knows how much
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| Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press |
when factoring in all of the Premium model’s extra kit, so it’s an engine that works hard to get where you’re going. Just the same the Enclave delivers reasonably good fuel economy for such a large vehicle, at a claimed 12.7 L/100km city, 8.4 highway and 10.8 combined for front-wheel drive models, or 13.0, 8.6 and 11.0 respectively for all-wheel drive. Being that the 2015 models are arriving soon (and incidentally getting a heated wood steering wheel on Leather and Premium models plus a new base price of $47,760 less the freight fee due to more standard features), it behooves me to inform you that these numbers have been adjusted to reflect a new five-cycle Transport Canada testing protocol, resulting in 14.2 L/100km city, 9.9 highway and 12.3 combined for FWD, or 14.6, 10.2 and 12.6 for AWD. A bonus in either 2014 or 2015 model is no requirement for premium fuel; less expensive regular unleaded being all that’s needed.
I
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| Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press |
mentioned the cargo hold was big near the beginning of this review, but you’ll need the specific numbers if you want to do a competitive comparison to see just how much bigger it is. Even behind the third row you can haul a sizable load at 682 litres (24.1 cubic feet), but lay those 60/40-split seatbacks flat and you’ll have 1,985 litres (70.1 cubic feet) to spare. And for those occasional trips to the hardware store, or better yet weekends for two away shopping, you’ll be more than adequately sustained with 3,286 litres (116.1 cubic feet) to play with (although a 40/20/40 second-row split, like most premium competitors offer, would make its cargo/passenger flexibility a lot more accommodating). There’s hidden storage under rear cargo floor too, nice for stowing valuables away from prying eyes.
In summary, if luxury equals size then the Buick Enclave has every competitive crossover
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| Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press |
SUV beaten fair and square, but of course we all know there’s much more that goes into making a serious premium player than space and utility. To that end the latest Enclave comes a lot closer than its predecessor could have dreamed of, but it still has a long way to go in order to duke it out head to head with the Europeans. Still, at just over $42k for the base model, $54,045 plus freight for the Premium AWD and a hair over $60k for my full-loaded tester, the 2014 Enclave offers a lot of CUV for much less coin. But then, as mentioned earlier, if we put it up against a host of mainstream players that deliver similar performance and fuel economy, the same or better interior quality, more features including all of the items I mentioned were missing from the Enclave, this Buick starts to lose some of its lustrous shine. Truly, what it all comes down to is first, whether or not you need up to eight seats and all that storage, which will cut your choices down dramatically, and then if the extra seat isn’t that much of an issue, where you place the Enclave within the myriad seven-passenger SUV offerings along with Buick’s good name within the entire automotive sector. In the end the Enclave is a very good crossover utility, but whether or not it’s a good value is up to you to decide.
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