2024 BUICK ENCLAVE | 5GAEVCKW0RJ120433

Body Styles

The Buick Enclave is a full-size, three-row crossover SUV with a sleek, curvilinear design. Its profile blends gentle character lines, a forward-canted grille, and a tapered roofline that enhances aerodynamic flow. The second generation introduced a more premium aesthetic with longer proportions, a lower beltline, and narrower headlamps. The 2022 facelift sharpened the front fascia with winged LED lighting signatures, a larger mesh grille, and reshaped bumpers. Despite its size, the Enclave maintains a smooth silhouette and elegant stance, avoiding boxiness while still offering generous cargo and passenger volume.

Model Name Meaning (Manufacturer)

“Enclave” was chosen by Buick to convey exclusivity, safety, and comfort—similar to a private, protected community. It reflects the brand’s aim to offer a sanctuary-like experience inside the vehicle, where refinement and serenity are key qualities. The name reinforces Buick’s positioning in the near-luxury space, bridging practicality with upscale character.

Model Name Meaning (Languages)

The word “enclave” comes from the French enclaver, meaning to enclose or surround. In English, it refers to a defined area or community set apart from its surroundings, often connoting privilege or isolation. Applied to a vehicle, it suggests an interior experience that is quiet, refined, and cocoon-like—aligning with Buick’s focus on cabin insulation and comfort.

Body & Interior Colors and Rims

The Buick Enclave represented a more refined and upscale repositioning of Buick’s three-row SUV, moving away from soft curves toward a sleeker, more sculpted form. Its color and material palette was crafted to reinforce the brand’s transition into a near-luxury segment, offering buyers a choice of polished sophistication or understated comfort.

The exterior color selection ranged from traditional luxury tones to bold metallics, all designed to highlight the Enclave’s flowing shoulder lines and large glass surfaces. Core colors included Summit White, Ebony Twilight Metallic, Quicksilver Metallic, and Dark Slate Metallic, while premium paints such as Red Quartz Tintcoat, White Frost Tricoat, Rich Garnet Metallic, and Sage Metallic added warmth and sparkle. Mid-cycle updates introduced new hues like Moonstone Gray Metallic and Emperor Red, while top-tier Avenir trims often featured exclusive two-coat or pearl-finish paints.

Across the lineup — from Preferred and Essence to Premium and Avenir — design cues such as chrome grille surrounds, roof rails, and window moldings distinguished trim levels. The Avenir trim, in particular, featured a unique mesh grille, satin-finished chrome, and a more assertive lower fascia treatment, subtly elevating the SUV’s presence without losing its family-friendly nature.

Inside, the Enclave’s cabin focused on softness, quietness, and space, with a selection of premium materials and thoughtful textures. Standard trims featured cloth and leatherette in shades like Dark Galvanized, Shale, and Ebony, while mid- and upper trims upgraded to perforated leather with accent piping and stitching in contrasting tones. Color schemes such as Chestnut with Ebony accents or Dark Atmosphere with Medium Ash Gray provided warmth and layered contrast.

The Avenir interior stood apart with exclusive quilted leather seating, wood-tone trim with metallic inlays, and embroidered headrests, often paired with sueded headliners and additional chrome accents. Across all trims, the Enclave emphasized quietness through Buick’s QuietTuning® technology, acoustic-laminated glass, and triple door seals, making the interior feel more cocooned than its mainstream competitors.

Wheel options varied significantly by trim level and year. Preferred and Essence models typically rode on 18-inch 10-spoke or split-spoke alloy wheels, painted in Silver or Pearl Nickel. As buyers moved up to Premium, 20-inch wheels became standard, often finished in Ultra Bright Machined Aluminum, Satin Graphite, or Midnight Silver, depending on package. The Avenir trim offered premium 20-inch multi-spoke wheels with an exclusive Pearl Nickel or Polished finish, stamped with Avenir center caps, and later models included diamond-cut or darkened options with gloss-black pockets or intricate dual-layered spoke designs.

Tires were all-season touring compounds, tuned for comfort and long-distance cruising, while the ride height and wheel design contributed to the Enclave’s signature blend of luxury SUV posture and family-friendly practicality. Ventilated disc brakes were standard across the board, though largely hidden behind thick-spoked wheels that prioritized visual balance over aggressive sport styling.

Altogether, the second-generation Enclave’s color and trim choices were designed not to dazzle with flash, but to convey refined, quiet confidence — offering a sense of approachable elegance to a broad range of premium SUV buyers.

Top Expensive Options

• Avenir Technology Package (Adaptive Cruise, Premium Suspension): $2,500
• Dual Moonroof with Power Rear Shade: $1,500
• Surround Vision Camera with Front Pedestrian Braking: $1,200
• Continuously Variable Ride Control Dampers: $1,400
• Bose 10-Speaker Premium Audio System: $1,100
• Adaptive Headlamps with Auto Leveling: $900
• Head-Up Display with Speed and Navigation Overlay: $1,300
• Rear Camera Mirror with Washer: $750
• Wireless Charging and USB-C Fast Charging Ports: $500
• Power-Folding Third Row Seats: $700

vs Competitors

The Enclave competes with the Acura MDX, Volvo XC90, Toyota Grand Highlander, and Mazda CX-90. While the MDX offers sharper dynamics and the XC90 leads in interior minimalism, the Enclave focuses on spaciousness, comfort, and quietness. It offers more usable third-row space than many premium SUVs and a smoother ride than many non-luxury competitors. Compared to the Mazda, it lacks performance flair but beats it in third-row comfort and noise isolation. Where Toyota emphasizes reliability and Volvo design, the Buick leans into softness, making it ideal for long drives, older buyers, or families prioritizing ride comfort over cornering prowess.

Fun Fact

When the second-generation Buick Enclave debuted in 2018, it quietly introduced a shift in the brand’s strategy — but the most surprising element wasn’t what it added, but what it removed: the Buick badge from the grille. Instead, the top-tier Avenir trim launched with a unique mesh grille and script badging, aiming to elevate Buick into the luxury tier without relying on traditional Buick emblems. This was part of a broader effort to reposition Buick as a premium brand for younger, style-conscious buyers — particularly in the U.S. and China.

But here’s the kicker: the Enclave was so well received in its upscale configuration that it outsold many established luxury crossovers, including models from Acura and Infiniti, despite lacking rear-wheel-drive architecture or a performance variant. It became one of the few large SUVs in its class to offer a true three-row layout with adult-friendly third-row seating, and it gained a quiet reputation as “the unbranded luxury SUV” — delivering all the ride comfort, materials, and technology of pricier rivals, but without the badge-driven price tag.