There are a few conveniences in a family car that I think are must-haves. These are things that make hauling kids and their friends (during ‘normal’ times) easier, driving alone a joy, and using your car for everyday living a breeze.
What are they? Well, I’ll get to get to that in a moment, but first, let’s talk about the Buick Enclave as a family car briefly.
The Buick Enclave starts at $48,098 in Canada with an 11L/100 km fuel economy. The tested version (as shown) is the Essence trim with Sport Touring and a paint colour upgrade for a total of $53,883 plus $1,900 delivery. It looks good, and it’s functional. It offers some luxury touches, as you would expect in a Buick, like leather and Apple CarPlay is standard, as well as a good quality backup camera.
What are those Must-haves?
An automatic liftgate is a must. This means your ‘trunk’ opens at the touch of a button – one inside the car by the driver, one on your key fob, and one on the inside of the liftgate to close it. But let’s take that a step further and add a motion-activated liftgate, shall we? This feature comes in so very handy when your hands are full and you really don’t want to put that bag of groceries on the ground to press a button. You kick under the back bumper, and VOILA, magically the liftgate pops open so you can gently place your groceries or whatever your hands are full with, into your trunk. This is a must-have for me with kids and daily life!
A second must for me is a third-row. Now, yes – this means a significant jump in budget when looking at SUVs – needing that third row adds thousands of dollars in almost any brand. The Enclave offers the third row as standard in the base Essence model. The reason I want that third row is for carpooling, relatives visiting from out of town, and simply just having 3 kids of my own. Now, I will note – there is a huge difference between having a second-row bench seat and captain chairs with your 3-row SUV. Having 2 captains chairs in the second row makes it more spacious and simple for people to crawl into that third row.
@xoconniepeters4 must-haves in the Buick Enclave Essence ##luxurycars ##cars ##carchallenge ##familycars
A gorgeous, and comfortable interior is a nice-to-have. You, as a mom, spend SO much time in your car! Why shouldn’t it be beautiful and comfortable? The Brandy coloured interior on the Enclave won my heart over in a heart-beat! Seat adjustments and memory seating (when your seat moves back to your previous driving position) when you’re sharing your car with your spouse are also nice to have and come standard in the Enclave.
Tech … USB ports in the rear, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto connectivity, and in-car WIFI are all nice-to-haves. However, of those, I would say Apple CarPlay is a MUST for me. In every car I test, the very FIRST thing I do when I crawl into the car is to plug into a USB and hope that Apple CarPlay pops up on the screen. I use it for voice-to-text, music (obvs), and navigation. I much prefer my phone’s map and navigation than any car’s native system.
Safety
@xoconniepeters4 reasons the Buick Enclave is a great family car. ##buick ##carreview ##familycar ##momcheck ##carchallenge ##momlife♬ Savage – Megan Thee Stallion
In the base model, Lane Change Alert with Side Blind Zone Alert, Rear Cross-Traffic Alert, is included.
Move up to the Premium or Avenir trim and you get emergency braking, Following Distance Indicator, Forward Collision Alert, Front Pedestrian Braking, Front and Rear Park Assist, Safety Alert Seat
Trims and Price Points
The Enclave Essence starts at $48,098 for the front-wheel-drive base model. Add AWD for $3000.
As driven, this Enclave was $55,883 including $1900 delivery.
You can go all the way up to a fully-loaded $56,398 Avenir trim.
The Enclave has everything you need (plus a little extra) in a family car.
-Connie
*The Buick Enclave was provided by GM Canada to facilitate this review. All opinions are my own.