A Reinvigorated Grand SUV With Stunning Design and High-Tech Features”

The Animated Enclave

With the new 2025 Buick Enclave, the brand has completed its transition to a new design era. What started with the Wildcat EV concept nearly two years ago has now spread across Buick showrooms, with the aggressively styled ensemble gracing the look of an entire lineup of SUVs, from the compact Encore GX and wagon-like Envista to the Compact Envision and now. A new enclave.

The Buick Enclave is a cousin of the company’s Chevy Traverse and GMC Acadia, which have also entered new generations. GM’s three mid-size SUV lineups share a platform and technical bits, but each has a unique look and audience. Buick caters to customers who are a step below Cadillac’s full luxury, especially with its stylish Avenir trim.

For 2025, the Enclave trim levels are updated to include the Preferred, Sport Tour (ST), and Avenir. Both are bigger, wider, and longer than their predecessors but ride on the same 120.9-inch wheelbase. Each trim has unique grille and wheel options, with the latter’s default size increasing from 18 to 20 inches on the Preferred and ST and from 20 to 22 inches on the Avenir. Each Enclave adopts a squarer silhouette. A nice new standard feature is an automatic power-sensing lift gate. That means that there is no longer awkwardly shaking the foot under the rear bumper. Just walk up to the back of the SUV and wait three beeps before the hatch opens. Buick’s new three-shield logo now appears on the front edge of the hood instead of on the grille. The Enclave gets full-width taillights as well. On the Avenir all the exterior lights play a welcome animation for a theatrical effect.

The Enclave ST (pictured above) offers a sportier look, with black body trim and other matching features that counter the trim and exterior wheels of the Avenir. Like every model, there’s a 2.5-liter four-cylinder under the hood that makes 328 horsepower and 326 pound-feet of torque. Its maximum rating remains 5000 pounds with a trailer package.

The Enclave’s new engine replaces the old 310-hp 3.6-liter V-6. The previous nine-speed automatic transmission has been traded for an eight-speed unit. Front- or all-wheel drive is still available on every trim, but only the Avenir comes with adaptive cruise control. Buick has yet to release fuel economy ratings, but the new powertrain should improve on the outgoing version’s top 21 mpg combined.

Inside the New Enclave

The interior of the Buick Enclave was luxurious before, but luxurious? Not much. That changes as design, materials, and technology features take a big step forward. Adjustable interior lighting is now standard, and the old push-button shifter has moved from the center console to a stalk on the steering column. We’re also digging the interesting color options for the Avenir’s interior, which includes a choice of beautiful blue on the door tops and dash as well as the three-spoke steering wheel. Still, the centerpiece of the interior is a new 30-inch curved screen on the dashboard that combines a customizable gauge cluster with an infotainment system. The latter uses a Google component that provides access to maps, a voice assistant, and the app store with Amazon Alexa. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard. We also appreciate the static touch controls near the center of the screen that can be customized.

Along with a wireless charging pad in the floating center console, a 12-speaker Bose stereo is standard on the Enclave Preferred and ST. Stepping up to the Avenir brings a 16-speaker Bose system. The top trim also includes better front seats, each with heated, ventilated and massage cushions; A sunroof and heated second-row seats are standard as well. The Avenir also comes with a head-up display and power folding second- and third-row seats, all of which are available on the two lower trims and the Power package.

A full suite of driver assistance features is available on every 2025 Buick Enclave. New additions to the list include automatic emergency braking at intersections, steering intervention that helps with blind spots, traffic sign recognition, and lane keeping assist. There are also seven external camera views, which increases to eight with the towing package and nine with the optional Super Cruise. That’s GM’s hands-free steering system that makes its Buick debut on the Enclave; available in all three levels.

Buick has not yet released pricing for the 2025 Enclave. However, we expect each trim to see a price increase of up to $3000, which suggests the Preferred will start around $49K, the ST will open at around $56K, and the Avenir will be closer to the $62K mark as the lineup continues. to be sold sometime later this summer.

More Buick news

Eric Stafford’s addiction to cars started before he could walk, and has fueled his passion for writing news, reviews and more about Car and Driver since 2016. His ambition growing up was to become a millionaire with a car collection like Jay Leno. Apparently, getting rich is harder than social media influencers make it out to be, so he eschewed financial success entirely to become an automotive journalist and drive new cars for a living. After earning a journalism degree at Central Michigan University and working at a daily newspaper, years of basically burning money on failed project cars and lemon-flavored jalopies finally paid off when Car and Driver hired him. His garage currently includes a 2010 Acura RDX, a ’97 Chevy Camaro Z/28 manual, and a ’90 Honda CRX Si.