Jump to content
News
Reviews
Discussons
Activity
Create New...
Close

  • 💬 Join the Conversation

    CnG Logo SQ 2023 RedBlue FavIcon300w.png
    Since 2001, Cheers & Gears has been the go-to hub for automotive enthusiasts. Join today to access our vibrant forums, upload your vehicle to the Garage, and connect with fellow gearheads around the world.

     

  • Drew Dowdell
    Drew Dowdell

    By Drew Dowdell •

    Buick Week: 2013 Buick Enclave First Drive

    December 4th, 2012

    Drew Dowdell

    Managing Editor - CheersandGears.com

    Day two of Buick Week. Yesterday we gave you a review of the 2013 Buick Verano, up today is a First Drive of the 2013 Buick Enclave.

    Buick first introduced their jumbo-sized Enclave crossover in 2007 for the 2008 model year. The Enclave quickly made a name for itself as a true luxury ride and also brought down Buick’s average buyer age dramatically. Though that body generation of Enclave just completed its fifth year on the market, sales remained very strong, reporting around 50k units sold as of the end of November 2012. Enclave’s conquest rate is just about 45% with most trades coming from Lexus, Ford, and Honda. Enclave is able to boast the highest sales in the 3-row Luxury Crossover market. With such good sale results, Buick is understandably reluctant to make huge changes to the Enclave’s formula for the 2013 model year.

    Buick invited me to Louisville, KY to sample the 2013 Buick Enclave and report back to you on my thoughts.

    Less cushion, more pushin…

    sml_gallery_51_516_44923.png
    We sampled a 2010 Buick Enclave 2 years ago and looking back at my notes, one phrase stood out: “Feels like riding on a cloud, but don’t push it around a corner”. That feeling no longer applies to the 2013 Enclave. While the suspension is still quite supple, it no longer has that vintage Buick floaty feel that the previous Enclave had. Buick fitted the new Enclave with new dual-flow damper front struts. These new struts receive most of the credit for the more athletic moves the Enclave is capable of now. There is no mistaking the Enclave for a CTS-V, but you can take an off-ramp with some authority and not feel like you’ll end up in the weeds.

    The 3.6 liter V6 carries over, but the 6-speed transmission is heavily revised to address complaints of busy shifting. During my drive, I found the setup to be just about perfect, though I did wish for a little more torque at the low end.

    Refined style, now with more refinement

    sml_gallery_51_516_1612566.png
    The Enclave styling complaints response department was likely a lonely place. In this author’s opinion, the previous Enclave was one of the most handsome of luxury crossovers available. While most others try to be edgy and sporty, Buick goes for curvy and classic. In the updated Enclave, all of the main styling themes remain. The all new front clip is capped with a grille that is now more upright and toothier. Those of us who like vintage Buicks might see a hint of the 1949 model in the grille. Gone are the two-tone bodies with a monochrome palette taking their place.

    The tail lights now use LED and light pipe technology. Difficult to capture with the camera, the tail lights give off an eye catching and haunting glow rather than the harsh LED light you are used to from other models with just LEDs out back. The rear accent lights mimic the eyebrow look we see on the 2013 Buick Verano tail lights. LED accent lighting has been installed up front as well.

    Inside, designers moved away from wood-look trim and instead incorporated more stitched leather into the design. Layout of the controls is largely the same, but the controls themselves have been updated. The dials of the HVAC controls remind me of the high end NEST home thermostats that are becoming popular. One missed opportunity is the lack of update to the gauge cluster and the monochrome driver information center, the second, which will likely get the most noise in the reviews is the lack, even as an option, of keyless ignition.

    Aft of the driver, the interior is largely carry over for the second two rows.

    Pricing for the 2013 Enclave starts at $39,270 including destination charge.

    The Long and Short

    Buick realizes they have a market leader in the Enclave and for 2013 sought to simply take what was successful and make it better. From this first drive, they've largely succeeded in that regard.

    Tomorrow, we take a first drive with both the manual and automatic versions of the Buick Verano Turbo.

    Disclaimer: Buick provided transportation from Pittsburgh, PA to Louisville, KY and one night of accommodations for this review.

    Go to articles

    User Feedback

    Recommended Comments

    G. David Felt

    How was the fit and finish of these models? Did everything feel solid to you? I wonder how this will sale in comparison to the Acadia when they are side by side. Comparing this to the Acadia Pics I uploaded from the Seattle Auto Show leaves this car with some glaring omisions. My gut tells me GMC will win between these two, but this comparison while a solid review does not seem to deliver a the goods.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites


    Join the conversation

    You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
    Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

    Guest
    Add a comment...

    ×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

      Only 75 emoji are allowed.

    ×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

    ×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

    ×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

    ×



  • Support Real Automotive Journalism

    Cheers and Gears Logo

    Since 2001, Cheers & Gears has delivered real content and honest opinions — not emotionless AI output or manufacturer-filtered fluff.

    If you value independent voices and authentic reviews, consider subscribing. Plans start at just $2.25/month, and paid members enjoy an ad-light experience.*

    You can view subscription options here.

    *a very limited number of ads contain special coupon deals for our members and will show

  • Similar Content

  • Posts

    • Drew Dowdell
      Garage: Tesla Model 3

      By Drew Dowdell · Posted

      No, I’m using AI to reverse engineer the garage app and put it into a different app so we can finally move to the new version of the Invison software. This is just a test entry.
    • G. David Felt
      Garage: Tesla Model 3

      By G. David Felt · Posted

      Did ya finally get your EV?
    • Last Indian
      Item: Last Indian

      By Last Indian · Posted

      Name: Last Indian Category: Vehicles Date Added: 2026-02-10 Submitter: Last Indian   Last Indian  
    • trinacriabob
      Random Thoughts Thread

      By trinacriabob · Posted

      February 9th and its place in history ... I always give this one a thought when I look at the calendar. The good: Today is the day that the Boeing 747 first took to the sky in a smooth as butter departure from Paine Field in Everett, WA where it was assembled.  This makes for one helluva "feel good" moment in time. - - - - - The bad: Today is the day that, 55 years ago, Los Angeles had its "famous" Sylmar earthquake.  Clearly, this was the inspiration for the original version of the 1974 film "Earthquake."  The Northridge earthquake took place on MLK Day in 1994 got more coverage because media improved.  The latter quake seemingly did a lot more damage.  Northridge sits in the middle of the San Fernando Valley while Sylmar sits at the top end of the San Fernando Valley, where Los Angeles really thins out and sits at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains foothills.  The commonality is that in both quakes, at least one of the really long concrete overpass connecting the freeways I-5 and CA 14 collapsed.  Every time I've driven under it or next to it, I've remarked that that is one really long span (CA 14 terminating and feeding cars onto I-5 southbound into the Valley and L.A.) - - - - - 1971 high ramp collapses at I-5 and CA-14 1994 high ramp collapses at I-5 and CA-14 (same interchange) The Los Angeles area went 20 years between its 2 major earthquakes.  San Francisco had its historic 1906 quake that turned the then younger city into rubble, not having one again until 1989 - the Loma Prieta earthquake. The most severe fault in the state (the San Andreas) goes through San Francisco, while it crosses where the mountains end and the Central Valley begin some 50 to 60 miles north of Los Angeles. When you grow up around this, you seemingly familiarize yourself with all these facts and figures.
    • trinacriabob
      Random Thoughts Thread

      By trinacriabob · Posted

      Haha.  Well, it's new compared to what the trailer is carrying.  It goes to show how well I (don't) know my BMWs and other foreign cars.

  • Who's Online (See full list)

    • There are no registered users currently online

  • My Clubs

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.

Hey there, we noticed you're using an ad-blocker. We're a small site that is supported by ads or subscriptions. We rely on these to pay for server costs and vehicle reviews.  Please consider whitelisting us in your ad-blocker, or if you really like what you see, you can pick up one of our subscriptions for just $1.75 a month or $15 a year. It may not seem like a lot, but it goes a long way to help support real, honest content, that isn't generated by an AI bot.

See you out there.

Drew
Editor-in-Chief

I've whitelisted
Continue without support

Write what you are looking for and press enter or click the search icon to begin your search