2018 Buick Enclave Photos, engines & full specs

Ten years after the introduction of the Enclave nameplate in Buick’s inventory, the American automaker revealed the second generation of it, and the changes were massive.

While the Enclave’s first generation looked more like a minivan with hinged doors instead of sliding ones, the second generation of this moniker came as a fully-fledged SUV in its own right. Still, it kept the people-carrier abilities as the GMC Acadia and Chevrolet Traverses, with which it shared its platform, but it was more stylish. It was more like a premium vehicle, albeit there were some parts of the car that didn’t fit the bill as a contender for the Acura MDX or the Infiniti QX60 as it wanted to.

The American automaker put emphasis on the car’s exterior look and, at the front, the Enclave boasted a massive grille adorned by the carmaker’s badge supported by chromed horizontal slats. The car featured standard LED headlights, and that gave more points to the styling department, who worked hard to develop the vehicle. In addition, the front bumper featured a lower A-shaped center grille flanked by a set of scoops, which housed the LED fog lamps. From its profile, the longer nose and the raked windshield created an SUV shape for the vehicle. The long greenhouse with wide glass areas featured an ascending lower window line that ended up to a raked-forward D-pillar. At the back, the automaker placed a curved tailgate adorned by a roof spoiler on its top, while under the bumper, Buick installed a set of fake chromed exhaust tips.

While the exterior didn’t impress too much, the interior showed the effort made by Buick’s design team to create a premium experience for its customers. The car was available in three grades: Enclave, Essence, and Premium, and all of them provided enough comfort for up to seven passengers. The third row boasted more legroom than the Acura MDX or the Infiniti QX56, thanks to the long wheelbase of the vehicle. At the same time, the driver benefited from a new, completely digital instrument cluster, which was available as an option. On the center stack, seamlessly integrated into it, the automaker placed an 8-inch touchscreen for the infotainment unit, which supported Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. As an option, Buick offered a split panoramic glass roof with independent areas for the front and middle seats. Another improvement over its predecessor was the trunk space, which grew to 23.6 cu-ft (667 liters) behind the third row with an additional underfloor storage area of 3.1 cubic feet (88 liters) of space.

Buick knew its customers and understood that such a big vehicle couldn’t be easily moved by a four-cylinder engine. As a result, it offered the Enclave with a 3.6-liter V6 paired with a nine-speed automatic transmission. Customers could get the crossover with either a front-wheel-drive or an all-wheel-drive system.