Buick’s sales fortunes have been mixed in 2018 so far, but one success story has been the Enclave large SUV. To keep the Enclave fresh and in the public eye, Buick has worked on improvements to the SUV’s noise signature and overall refinement.
The General Motors’ premium brand has dubbed its engineering approach as ‘Quiet tuning.’ The search for customer-pleasing quietness has “led to lighter and more efficient noise abatement materials and broader use of innovative active noise cancellation,” says Buick.
Concurrent with its efforts to reduce noise, Buick has worked to improve the Enclave’s towing capability, which jumps from 4500lbs to 5000lbs and outranks the model’s primary rival, the Acura MDX.
Putting the Enclave’s towing chops to the test found us testing a loaded Avenir specification model with a slick 22-ft Regal powerboat along for the ride.
Firstly the performance of the Enclave’s 310-hp V6 powertrain was only modestly impacted by the towing effort. The big three-row SUV accelerates up to speed swiftly, making merging with busy traffic stress free. Credit goes in part to the well-calibrated nine-speed automatic, which as Enclave product manager, Jace Stokes, says, “delivers just the right amount of power and torque in each gear.” That’s an achievement as some vehicles have trouble with smooth shifts when towing, especially at lower speeds.
The Avenir Enclave comes with selectable all-wheel drive and although it wasn’t necessary to engage while towing, the added traction does help deliver more balanced and responsive handling. Not surprisingly it’s also useful when pulling a boat out of the water on a slippery ramp. A further aid in such conditions is an active twin-clutch rear differential (optional on the Avenir).
Whatever you are driving, towing is not kind to fuel economy and the Enclave dropped to 13.4 mpg (from around 22 without the boat) in our test.
Stokes and Enclave program engineering manager, John Martin, pointed out a number of towing related features that give the Buick SUV an edge over its competition. These include rear wheel well acoustic treatments to block noise (such as generated by trailer chains), laminated front and side glass, as well as underhood acoustics, for reduced engine noise under higher load, and active noise canceling, which uses sound waves to counteract driveline noise.
Other small but useful features include a trailering mode which has one-tap blinkers that active six times instead of three in regular mode, a rear camera mirror that increases field of vision when backing up and driving with trailer attached, plus increased under-floor storage to keep the trailer hitch in a convenient location.
According to Stokes, the Avenir version of the Enclave has been a bigger hit than expected. “Avenir is our sub-brand and as our flagship SUV, the Enclave is the first model to wear the badge,” says Stokes. Aesthetically, the Avenir sets itself apart from the regular Enclave with a unique chestnut ebony interior and distinct 20-inch wheel designs.
For 2019, Stokes says further detail improvements will include automated heated seats and steering wheel that activate depending on outside temperatures.
“We have been pleasantly surprised by the level of customer demand for the Avenir,” notes Stokes.
