Much like a “forever home” I secretly envisioned myself driving my 2007 Dodge Charger until I passed it down to my son once he got his drivers license. Sure, my car would be 17 years old by then, and not nearly as cool as I once believed it to be, but it was my dream car – the first car that I had purchased all on my own and I was in love.
While the love for my car never changed, over the years, the composition of my life, family, and therefore vehicle needs have.
Two kids in car seats renders the middle back seat of my car virtually unusable for anything other than unloved Happy Meal toys and random articles of clothing that refuse to make their way inside the house despite multiple requests.
The time to upgrade is upon us.
Not quite ready to graduate to full Soccer Mom status with a minivan, the Buick Enclave has the sporty feel of a crossover SUV but is also a sleek and sexy head turner – toting a car full of kids by day, and dolled up ladies by night!
Space is a huge concern for me as it’s rare that I travel with less than 4 people, two of which require bulky car seats. That said, I’m cognizant of overall vehicle size and for obvious reasons, don’t want to feel like I’m driving a boat. The Buick Enclave did not disappoint in this area. Three rows of seating with 8 passenger capacity, yet on the road didn’t feel much larger than my Dodge Charger.
One of the selling features of The Enclave for me is the three-row seating. I was disappointed with the lack of UAS clips in the back row for easy installation/removal of car seats, or that the middle row can’t flip/fold/move with child seats strapped in place. This meant that car seats had to be installed in the middle row making it near impossible to access the back row seating without precariously crawling over car seats. Not very family friendly, although this vehicle has the option of a 7 passenger captain chair model that might alleviate this issue. I was however, impressed with the amount of head room and overall comfort in this vehicle. Did I mention trunk space? For starters the rear hatch on this vehicle opens and closes at a push of a button! Very convenient when your arms are full of groceries or children. The third row of seating also folds down easily for even more space!
I’ve never been much for bells and whistles in a vehicle, likely because an aftermarket command start was the coolest up-sell I’ve ever had, The Enclave has seemingly endless features that quickly proved their worth. The in dash Intellilink system offers both voice command and touch screen interactions, back up camera, and DVD player. Amazing Side Blind Zone Alert with Rear Cross Traffic Alert, Forward Collision Alert and Lane Departure Warning technology quite literally blew my mind. This vehicle is chalk full of safety features that really helped to instill confidence on the road.
As far a power goes, I’m told The Enclave has a six-speed 288hp 3.6L V-6 engine that is both powerful and efficient (insert Tim the Tool Man Taylor grunting here). This really means nothing to me, but what I do know is that filling the tank didn’t break the bank, and it seemed to get decent fuel mileage for a larger vehicle so I’m not complaining. The Enclave didn’t knock my socks off in the power/pick up department, but I kept it pretty loaded with kids, ladies, and sporting equipment and it more than did it’s job for what this not quite soccer mom required.
Overall we all loved the Buick Enclave. It’s a great step up from my 5 passenger car that suited my needs as safety conscious mother as well as a vanity loving 30-something. While it did check a lot of boxes, it wasn’t quite enough to steal the place of my current love.
**Disclosure: Buick provided the vehicle, and insurance for this review. All opinions are of course my own**
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