Way back in the 1930s, the 126-year-old company behind our latest test vehicle proclaimed that “When Better Automobiles are Built, Buick Will Build Them.”
And in 1959, the Flint, Michigan-based GM subsidiary said “You’re Better Off with a Buick!”
So I guess I’m doing pretty good when I have my second2026 Buick Enclave Avenir to test in the same season – except it seems to have a better fuel mileage rating.
Let’s see if I’m better off.
Buick Becomes The SUV-Only Division
The Enclave is an SUV – one of four – from a company that used to be known for some pretty interesting sedans, coupes and convertibles, but makes none of those any more. Under the Enclave’s skin lives the same front-wheel-drive platform that makes up the gas Chevrolet Equinox, Traverse, and GMC Acadia. It’s sleek compared to the first-gen version from 17 years ago, with a nice profile for a 3-row crossover with the flagship trim.
We pointed our Buick’s smoked chrome honeycombed grille, slit LED DRLs and stacked headlights toward the historic waterfront town of Fernandina Beach for some cruising. That’s when I noticed its pointed prow over that tall grille, and the chrome accenting its lower intake and framing the honeycomb; gave it some of the sleekness seen in Buick’s compact Evista CUV.
Our Ocean Blue Metallic crossover lives on a relatively long 120.9-inch wheelbase. The 18-spoke silver alloy wheels are shod in 22-inch Continental CrossContact rubber connected by chrome sill spears. The flanks get a gentle tuck for some definition, aided by flattened flares in each fender.
The roofline’s got a gentle dip as it heads aft, with chrome side window trim that rises over gentle rear fender shoulders. In back, LED taillights with clear lenses thin to a lit red line under a high rear window, with rectangular steel exhaust tips framed by the rear bumper,. It’s a handsome design, but does not stand out in the crowd.
2026 Buick Enclave Avenir Has Lush Interior
Ah, but everyone who looked or sat inside its nautically-inspired blue-over-dove gray interior with bronze accents and glowing ambient lighting liked it. Almost every visible surface, from the stitched blue leatherette atop the dash, to the sculpted alloy accent edging more dove gray with dotted decorations, felt and looked plush. There are ash gray wood door accents and perforated alloy Bose speaker grilles that add a British feel here too.
I tested a 7,000-mile-old version of this Buick in January with the same lush interior color scheme. The leather seats, dashboard surfaces and doors showed no smudging after so many miles. But the white carpet mats and flooring underfoot showed some dirt – and so did our sub-400-mile-old test vehicle last week. So maybe this is not the color scheme if you have lots of kids, dogs, or wet/snowy weather to drive in.
The comfy leather-clad steering wheel has tiny plastic paddle shifters in back that are only usable when you select low range, and look a bit cheap – radio controls are integrated with them, a big – and handy volume knob on the center console. The buckets are comfortable if a bit flat, with heat, cooling and very gentle massage. You tap a screen icon to get heat or cooling, and fiddle with the seats’ power-adjust buttons to get the massage active and adjusted – a main screen display showcases that. We also had dual memory preset for the driver.
The sweeping 30-inch gauge/infotainment display atop the dashboard’s centerpiece continues to impress. Multi-configurable, it’s concise. I like the digital speedometer with sweep-hand needle over a bar graph 7,000-rpm tachometer and gas gauge, plus 2-wheel/4-wheel-drive indicator. Day, date, time and temperature are to the left, your media choice to the right, with cellphone status nearby. You can pop up a navigation map with digital mph for simplicity; simpler still is just speed and basic driver info, all doable from steering wheel buttons.
Head to starboard (right) a bit and you’ve got time and temp, then tap icons for functions like navigation, audio, phone and main menus. The navigation screen quickly showed traffic jams, or a (slightly small) backup camera with 360-degree view overhead. I liked that. There’s wireless Apple Car Play and Android Auto. HD Radio has to be enabled via a screen menu. The 16-speaker Bose audio system was solid as well.
Praise be, there’s real fan and temperature controls above big center vents, with vent position, seat heat/cool and others relegated to touchscreen icons nearby. Headlight controls are activated on that display after tapping the light icon on the screen – tapping another menu icon next to it allows changes in vehicle operation, including traction control. I wish instead it had distinct, direct-action buttons. That said, drive mode and front- to all-wheel-drive changes get a button to the left of the steering wheel. Visually the change is confirmed on the center-screen.
Another fave remains the floating gloss black center console. Yes, it attracts fingerprints, but a big volume knob is next to an inductive phone charge slot and a small rubber padded storage nook and cup holders. There is huge rubberized storage space underneath, and a 12-volt port. More space is under the center armrest, plus there are dual USB ports nearby.
Twin captain’s chairs recline and slide in the second row, with center armrests and solid adult head and leg room. Overhead vents keep them cool or warm, with more USB ports. There’s enough room between the white leather seats, with the same blue piping as in front, to slide into a usable 3-person bench seat in back. There’s just enough head and leg room for adults if the second row slides a touch forward.
And what’s a family SUV without rear cargo space? The rear power hatch rises high, and folding the 60/40 rear seatbacks expands stowage, plus some storage under the floor. Remote buttons on the aft bulkhead let you drop third- and second-row seatbacks, while second rows slide when folded down via seatback buttons.
It’s a richly appointed interior, if a bit bright, and prone to showing dirt.
2026 Buick Enclave Avenir 0-60 MPH: 7.5 Seconds
Buick’s used to mean a powerful V-6 or V-8 under the bonnet – think 401-cu. in. Nailhead with 325-hp, or the 1987 GNX’s 300-hp turbocharged V-6. Well, the Enclave has a respectable 328 hp and 326 lb.-ft. of torque – from a turbocharged 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine. But it sounds a bit coarse when pushed, although it is quick to respond when asked.
There are many driving modes: Tour, Sport, Snow/Ice, Off-Road and Tow/Haul. There’s also switchable front-/all-wheel-drive.
Auto-engine off works unobtrusively, refiring without a lurch as you tap the gas pedal to move out. It can tow up to 5,000 lbs.
The last Avenir we tested was comfortably used, with 7,200 miles on it. This, our second go-round tester, had less than 800 miles, just getting comfy in its own skin.
We did our usual tests. Set in front-wheel-drive and Normal mode, the Buick launched strong, turbo boost coming in smoothly to hit 60 mph in 7.5 seconds. That’s a tenth-of-a-second more than the one we tested in early 2026. Same as before, no wheelspin on launch, but the exhaust note was a bit hard-working 4-cylinder.
In Sport mode and all-wheel-drive, our test Buick hit 60 mph in 7.9 seconds with smooth upshifts and seemingly a slightly sportier exhaust note. That’s compared to 7.2 seconds in Sport/all-wheel-drive in the early, higher-mileage version.
Fuel mileage on regular was better than the last one, seeing an average 28 mpg vs. 24 mpg on the earlier model. And while that earlier tester had an EPA average of 19-mpg city/24-mpg highway, this one was listed as 20-mpg city/24-mpg highway – a magic extra mile meaning better testing?
Enclave Avenir’s four-wheel independent suspension delivers a very comfortable ride. It’s quiet and composed with a bit of float after some bumps. On a concrete bridge with some slight sag to each segment, the Avenir had a tightly-controlled bounce on each, but quickly settled. In other words, it gave what I would expect a well-suspended Buick CUV to give in many miles of highway and 2-lane country road driving.
On curves, set in front-wheel-drive, this Buick neutrally tackled sweeping turns and expressway ramps under power with a bit of body roll and no understeer when pushed harder through a corner. Tighter turns in all-wheel-drive saw it corner with just a hint of understeer and a hint of traction control, but no drama. Even when pushed in our skidpad, it was easy to handle as traction control nudged in more.
Steering is direct if a bit over-boosted in Tour mode, but firms up noticeably in Sport mode, a bit artificial in feel. We applaud a 3-row CUV with a tight turning circle. The Avenir’s 17-inch front/rear disc brakes’ pedal had a decent bite on initial tap, then gave solid control, and minimal nose dive on hard stops. We had a touch of fade after a few hard hits from 65 mph.
As with many higher-end GM vehicles, we had Super Cruise, a hands-free autonomous driving system with auto-lane changing if something slower is sensed ahead – and that greenlight bar when it’s on. During our brief stints on interstate and state highways that were in its map/cloud database, the system maintained lane control with only occasional wiggling, usually over bad pavement. It was a lifesaver during a half-hour slowdown due to a crash ahead, holding speeds as low as 10 mph, stopping when needed, then resuming. Just keep your eyes on the road. The sensors read wandering pupils and it shuts the system off.
The auto-lane changes were done safely and smoothly, or the move could be triggered with a steering wheel touch. Super Cruise shut off once after we hit a pothole on an interstate. On some stretches of federal and state highway, it would shut off sometimes for no obvious reason. It would flash the steering wheel light bar red and buzzing seat buzzers when it did. Once it did shut off on a state highway bridge in a curve, and we had to steer.
The Lansing, Mich.-built Enclave Avenir’s base version starts at $48,395 with front-wheel-drive; Our Avenir starts at $59,600 with lots standard except: the $3,015 Super Cruise package with auto-parking assist, $2,000 all-wheel-drive and $825 Illumination package – add destination and total price is $67,335.
Bottom line: The Enclave Avenir is handsome, quick enough, comfortably roomy and very well-equipped. A more refined powerplant presence and a slightly sportier ride would be nice.
2026 Buick Enclave Avenir AWD Specifications
Vehicle type – mid-size luxury all-wheel-drive 5-passenger crossover
Base price – $59,600 ($67,335as tested)
Engine type – turbocharged 16-valve DOHC in-line four
Displacement – 2.5 liter
Horsepower (net) – 328 @ 5,500 rpm
Torque (lb-ft) – 326 @ 3,500 rpm
Transmission – 8-speed automatic
Wheelbase – 120.9 inches
Overall length – 207.6 inches
Overall width – 79.6 inches
Height – 71 inches
Front headroom – 42.6 inches
Front legroom – 44.3 inches
Center headroom – 39.9 inches
Center legroom – 41.4 inches
Rear headroom – 38.2 inches
Rear legroom – 32.1 inches
Cargo capacity – 22.9 cu.ft./57.1 w/rear seats folded/97.5 w/2nd & 3rd row folded
Curb weight – 4,537 lbs.
Fuel capacity – 18.4 gallons
Mileage rating – 20-mpg city/24-mpg highway