New Buick’s Baby Is All Grown Up: 2011 Buick Enclave CXL-2 AWD
by Greg Cavanaugh
Click here to check out a video review!
When Buick first introduced the Enclave, it represented a new direction for the company. More style and flair, but still posh and cozy . . . appealing to somewhat younger buyers as well as keeping the older lot. By all accounts the Enclave is a stellar vehicle, but when sitting in the showroom next to its newer siblings, the Regal and LaCrosse, it actually comes off as a bit “old school.” Whereas the LaCrosse and Regal have a lot of European blood, the Enclave is more of an amalgamation of the old and new Buick. I’m excited to see Buick take more of the sport from the Regal and inject some of it into the newly updated Enclave.
Let me make it clear though, I certainly was not unhappy during my test drive with the Enclave. It’s super comfy, highly luxurious and a real beauty. The interior and exterior design make for a swoopy, curvy sculpture of a vehicle. Working off of the same architecture as the already good Acadia, the Enclave is more like the older, classier, more refined brother who just graduated from medical school, than the Acadia’s more “utilitarian,” harder edged undergrad approach. For years I’ve heard my father say, “that’s just a dressed up so-and-so” when referring to cars that share platforms or have been rebadged. I’ve never understood this argument. If you take something good, dress it up and make it better, isn’t that a good thing?
The interior blings out with a gorgeous analog clock dead center, deeply grained wood trim throughout, and tops it off with a beautiful wooden steering wheel insert that feels so good in your hands, by contrast it just makes a leather steering wheel seem lazy. The sumptuous leather seats are heated and cooled, something I got to use almost simultaneously in the wide temperature swings of one New Mexico day. This was my first foray into cooled seats. I do tend to get hot while driving, and the cooled seats could easily add a couple hundred miles of driving to my normal cutoff distances. My only “complaint” was the slight vibration the cooling fans evoked, perhaps something others might find soothing.
As a three-row crossover, the basic parts of the Enclave make for a good vehicle. While not a minivan, the space behind the third row is good, maybe best in class. The access to the second and third rows is excellent and six adults can easily be comfy over several hundred miles. The optional DVD rear entertainment offers the choice of a single screen in the center of the headliner, or two separate units in each headrest. Rear heat and air conditioning controls and vents allow everyone to ride in style at their own temperature.
The ground clearance at 8.4 inches is no more than average, but the unibody chassis makes for a very easy step in height compared to a body on frame SUV such as a Yukon. Really, my tester’s optional running boards, while looking snazzy, just got in the way and got my pants dirty as I got in and out. By far my favorite feature on the Enclave was the optional articulating HID headlamps. On startup, the lamps pan out to each side like a pair of light sabers and then recalibrate to center for takeoff . . . very cool! I can imagine that Buick will probably jump on the LED trend for the next Enclave and they’ll be all the cooler then. The option I found mysteriously absent was the keyless, hands-free start/stop/lock feature that GM offers in the LaCrosse . . . even the 20K Fiesta had it and it really adds to the luxury experience.
The Enclave shares its powertrain with its cousin, the GMC Acadia, and it’s a thoroughly modern direct-injected VVT, 3.6 liter V6 with a 6-speed automatic transmission behind it. The 6 makes 288 hp and 270 lb-ft of torque. While not quick, the Enclave hides speed well. With its super smooth chassis, vault like interior noise levels and lack of almost all apparent vibrations, I often found myself well over the speed limit in town. While not tuned for spirited canyon carving, on the highway the Enclave swallows miles like the reigning Coney-Island-hot-dog-eating champ, Joey “Jaws” Chestnut (who, on a side note, consumed 54 hot dogs in 10 minutes this year). Unlike Joey’s veracious consumption abilities, the Enclave returns a respectable (for a large, heavy crossover) 17/24 mpg in FWD guise. Adding power to the rear via the AWD, however, drops the Enclave to a somewhat less respectable 16/22 mpg. Minivans are now getting up to 28 mpg highway, but your typical ladder frame SUV, like a Yukon, sits around 16 mpg highway, putting the Enclave squarely in between. Compared to the new Ford Explorer though, rated at 17/25 mpg for the 4wd model, Buick has some work cut out for it to boost its fuel economy numbers soon.
My complaints are few. Firstly, while better than older Buick models like the Lucerne, the Enclave is ready for a dash of sportiness in its refresh. It’s a tad boat-like and tends to plod along complacently from destination to destination. Secondly, the rake on the windshield made for some rather odd glare and although aided by a rearview camera, backing up is still a bit of a lesson in faith. Thirdly, when parked in my driveway on an incline, the Enclave started up nicely using the key fob’s remote start button. However, upon entering and getting ready to leave, the Enclave’s fuel pump decided it didn’t like the incline and promptly stopped sending fuel, leaving me stranded in my own driveway. Coasting down the driveway in neutral got it started again. Lastly, the price of admission is steep. While no doubt this is a luxury vehicle, at $47K as tested, it’s almost exactly half of the cost of my house when my wife and I moved in.
The Enclave was really a home run when it first came to the field, showing that our domestic automakers still had a trick or two up their corporate sleeves. Now, a couple of years later there are other batters swinging for the stands, too. If Buick takes the current Enclave, retains its strengths, loses some weight, adds some sport and ups the styling ante again, they’ll turn this home run into a grand slam.
SPRECIFICATIONS
VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, all-wheel-drive, 6-passenger, 5-door wagon
PRICE AS TESTED: $47,000 (base price: $36,290)
ENGINE TYPE: DOHC 24-valve V-6, aluminum block and heads, VVT, direct fuel injection
Displacement: 217 cu in, 3564 cc
Power (SAE net): 288 bhp @ 6300 rpm
Torque (SAE net): 270 lb-ft @ 3400 rpm
TRANSMISSION: 6-speed automatic with manumatic shifting
DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 119.0 in Length: 201.5 in
Width: 79.0 in Height: 72.5 in
Curb weight: 4900 lb
FUEL ECONOMY:
EPA city/highway driving: 16/22 mpg
