The holiday was nigh, and I needed to haul family 160 miles away to a family gathering – a Christmas enclave of sorts to enjoy roast beef and the transfer of gifts.
And lo and behold, we had a 2026 Buick Enclave Avenir, which is the flagship of the 126-year-old marque’s current 4-vehicle CUV/SUV line. It doesn’t currently have any cars on sale in the U.S., although it’s toyed with the idea.
Sharing the same front-wheel-drive platform that makes up the gas Chevrolet Equinox, Traverse, and GMC Acadia, this Enclave is the third-generation of a crossover that first appeared in 2008. That generation’s 3-row, slightly large midsize vehicle premiered just over a year ago. For this test we had the top tier of its 3-trim-level lineup, which is: the Avenir, preceded by Sport Touring (ST), and Preferred.
2026 Buick Enclave Incorporates A Pinch Of Concept car Styling
The Avenir name was first seen on a sleek 4-door 2016 Buick concept car shown at that year’s Amelia Concours d’Elegance, a shape that could “build on the rich history of the brand, but do it in a very contemporary way,” GM’s then-VP of Design Ed Welburn told me. He also said that it would give a “glimpse into the future,” no one knowing then that Buick would cease building cars and focus on CUVs and SUVs ultimately.
In the end, the first-gen (2008) Enclave was redesigned in 2018, then given its current third-gen design in 2024. The most distinct part is its face, which gained winged LED DRLs and a wide grille. The Avenir trim edges that grille’s honeycomb in chrome under a sharp edge upper line, flanked by stacked headlights under slit DRLs. The lower intake center’s gloss black trim gains a chrome lower accent, while side sills gain chrome slashes. That said, the roofline and side design’s gently incised door-skins, as well as basic fender shapes, are similar to its platform buddies like the Chevy Traverse, and not as sweepingly distinct as Buick’s sleek, compact Evista CUV.
LED taillights are connected by a thin red lit line. Rectangular steel exhaust tips are framed by the rear bumper, while 18-spoke silver alloy wheels are shod in 22-inch Continental CrossContact rubber. It’s a handsome design, in a Moonstone Gray metallic paint that really does show off its lines..
2026 Buick Enclave Has Sleek Dash
The Enclave’s interior lights glow when you stroll up at night, a warm invite to settle into a blue-over-dove gray interior with silver accents and glowing ambient lighting on the doors and dash. There’s stitched blue leatherette on the dashtop, with a sculpted woodgrain and alloy bar over dove gray with dotted accents. The stitching continues on the lower edges. The doors get ash gray wood accents, bronze strips and perforated alloy Bose speaker grilles.
Buckets seats have sculpted patterns on the leather inserts. They’re comfortable if a bit flat. They are heated and cooled. We had to tap a screen icon to get that done – although the heated steering wheel button is on the steering wheel. Both front seats are power adjustable, although there’s no memory preset. There’s also a gentle massage function.
The thick, leather-clad steering wheel has tiny paddle shifters in back that are only usable when you select low range. The usual controls are on the driver’s side of the wheel. Volume and tuning buttons are integrated in those small paddle shifters, with a big volume knob on the center console.
There’s a sweeping 30-inch dash and infotainment display atop the dashboard lip.. The gauge display’s layout is well presented, concise and configurable. You can show a digital speedometer with sweep-hand needle glowing above it, over bar graph 7,000-rpm tachometer and gas gauge, plus 2-wheel/4-wheel-drive indicator. The day, date, time and temperature are to the left, your media choice to the right, with cellphone status nearby. We liked changing it to a huge navigation map, with digital speed info on the lower left. Or just blank the display, only basic driver info shown.
Swing right and there’s a wide navigation screen with main menu buttons glowing on the widescreen’s center line. You can replace map with audio, engine gauges and more. The 16-speaker Bose audio system sounded fine, and unlike some GMs, Enclave has wireless Apple Car Play and Android Auto, while HD radio is also there, but has to be enabled via a menu. That said, for such a sweeping screen, the backup camera and its simulated overhead view, is nice but a bit small..
Climate control touchscreen buttons line the display’s bottom, with fan and temperature controls that are real buttons below that. If you want to turn headlights on or off manually, you have to tap the light icon on the screen to get to that menu. A tap of a menu icon on the center screen allows changes in vehicle operation, including traction control. I think it would be nicer to have distinct, direct-action buttons. At least drive mode changes are more direct. You tap a button to the left of the steering wheel, and the change appears center screen. The same occurs when you change from front- to all-wheel-drive.
The center console is gloss black. It looks great but gathers fingerprints. That bigger volume knob is next to an inductive phone charge slot and a small rubber padded storage nook big enough to hold a breakfast biscuit. It’s all on a floating console with a huge storage space underneath and a 12-volt port. The center armrest hides lots more storage and dual USB ports underneath.
2026 Buick Enclave Offers Plenty of Passenger Space With 3-Row Seating
Back doors open wide to twin captain’s chairs, with ample head and leg room – they recline and slide, with center armrests, climate controls for overhead vents, and more USB ports. You can walk between them to a usable 3-person bench seat in back with just enough head and leg room for adults, if center row occupants slide forward a bit.
This flagship Buick has acceptable rear cargo area under a power hatch that rises high, plus some storage under the floor. Folding the 60/40 rear seatbacks really expands the storage, with room for four remaining. The second and third-row seats can be remotely dropped from rear-mounted buttons, while second rows can be slid forward when folded down via seatback buttons.
All in all, it’s a richly appointed 2-tone interior with neat accents, although the blue is a bit bright.
2026 Buick Enclave Turbo 4 Has 328 HP
The second-gen Enclave uses a 3.6-liter V-6 with 310 hp and 9-speed transmission. But to get better fuel mileage, our 2025 Enclave has a new turbocharged 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine. It’s no wimp, with 328 hp and 326 lb.-ft. of torque connected to an 8-speed automatic and selectable front-/all-wheel-drive. That is 18 hp more than the V-6. While the Enclave Avenir is whisper quiet at speed, with barely any tire noise, the inline four does make its presence known when it runs over 3,500 rpm. Auto-engine off works unobtrusively, refiring without a lurch as you tap the gas pedal to move out.
There are four driving modes: Tour, Sport, Snow/Ice, Off-Road and Tow/Haul. Set in Tour, power is fine for daily commuting. Upshifts are clean as the 4,713-lb. crossover easily passes what it needs to. The engine is quiet at 1,600 rpm at 70 mph cruising speed. Push to pass, and the engine sings as we take 7.4 seconds to get to 60 mph. There’s no wheelspin on launch in front-wheel-drive mode. The Enclave felt a bit brisker on launch in Sport mode, hitting 60 mph in 7.2 seconds, with the engine snarling as we moved out. That’s just what a 7-seat luxury crossover should do. It’s smooth shifting, quick enough, and quiet at highway speeds. It can tow up to 5,000 lbs. Fuel mileage on regular was about 24 mpg on our cruise-controlled trip.
For comparison, I tested an Enclave Sport Touring almost a year ago with the same engine. It hit 60 mph in a solid 6.7 seconds in Touring mode. In Sport mode/FWD, we felt a bit of front wheelspin en route to 60 mph in 6.7 seconds. It averaged almost 25 mpg.
2026 Buick Enclave Handling Is Composed
The Enclave Avenir’s four-wheel independent suspension delivers a very comfortable ride in Tour mode. It’s quiet and composed with a bit of float after some bumps with front and rear stabilizer bars and continuous damping. That was the perfect for our long holiday drive over interstates and some local roads. Set in Sport mode, it is just taut enough, with bumps handled quickly with well-buffered and quick rebound and no wallowing.
On local roads with curves, set in front-wheel-drive and Sport mode, the CUV cleanly tackled sweeping turns under power, with a bit of body roll and a hint of understeer when pushed harder through a corner. Mid-turn bumps caused a bit of bounce but no loss of direction. Buick engineers clearly prioritized comfort.
Steering is direct if a bit over-boosted in Tour mode, but firms up noticeably in Sport mode. It’s a bit artificial in feel. The Enclave had a tight turning circle. The brake pedal had a decent bite on initial tap. The 17-inch disc brakes offer good control and solid stops with minimal nose dive, and only a touch of fade after a few hard hits.
Our Enclave has Super Cruise, a hands-free autonomous driving system. It was pretty smooth over 300 miles of interstate travel. It worked on every interstate, plus divided state highways. The green glow of the LED strip on the steering wheel confirms hands-free driving is active. There’s occasional wiggle in lane-keeping, and long curves are not perfect arcs. Super Cruise will also initiate its own lane change if something is slow ahead of you. A tap of the stalk stops it.
The Lansing, Mich.-built Enclave Preferred 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, and $2,000 all-wheel-drive. Total price: $66,510.
Bottom line: The Enclave Avenir is handsome, quick, comfortable and very well-equipped. It’s also far sleeker and more distinctive in looks than its predecessor. 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 ($66,510 as 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 – 19-mpg city/24-mpg highway