2012 Buick Enclave Overview Change Vehicle

This 2012 Buick Enclave review explains changes for the model year, provides a summary of the 2012 Enclave, and includes Buick Enclave safety, reliability, and fuel economy ratings.

The Enclave is a luxury-oriented, full-size crossover SUV. It has three rows of seats, and more maximum cargo capacity than a Cadillac Escalade. It competes against a variety of large luxury SUVs, most of which are truck-based off-roaders, making the Buick particularly appealing.

Buick drops trim level designations for 2012. Instead, you can outfit the Enclave with Convenience, Leather, or Premium option packages. In other news, hill hold assist is added to the Enclave’s braking system, and a new brake override features makes it impossible for the SUV to accelerate while the brake pedal is depressed. A new power outlet is added to the center console, a new AWD badge is applied to models with four driven wheels, and new colors include Stone Gray Metallic and Crystal Red Tintcoat.

Buick has simplified the Enclave for 2012, dropping the old CX and CXL trim levels and replacing them with option packages called Convenience, Leather, and Premium. Standard equipment includes items you would expect to find on a luxury vehicle, including triple-zone automatic climate control, Bluetooth, a power liftgate, and 19-inch machined-finish alloy wheels. An OnStar telematics system is also included, and it features hands-free calling, Turn-by-Turn Navigation, and Automatic Crash Notification services, among others. Automatic Crash Notification is activated if the Enclave’s airbags deploy, allowing a live operator to check on the SUV’s occupants and send rescuers to the vehicle’s exact location even if nobody aboard can speak.

If you choose the optional Convenience Package, the Enclave is equipped with Ultrasonic rear parking assist sensors, a reversing camera, and remote engine starting. Add the Leather Package, and the seats are covered with perforated leather upholstery. This package also includes the Convenience Package plus an eight-way power driver’s seat, a four-way power front passenger’s seat, heated front seats, and memory settings for the driver’s preferences. The Premium Package has all of these features plus heated and cooled front seats, articulating headlights that help to see around curves at night, power folding outside mirrors with auto-dimming glass on the driver’s side, and a power tilt-and-telescopic steering wheel. A Bose audio system with a USB port and a 115-volt, three-prong power outlet is also a part of the Premium Package, along with 19-inch chrome wheels.

Once you’ve chosen a package, there are several other extra-cost features to consider. A Bose premium audio system is available on any Enclave (standard in Premium Package), and if you’d prefer a second-row bench seat instead of the standard twin buckets, Buick is happy to oblige. A Trailering Provision Package bumps towing capacity up to 4,500 pounds across the board. If you’ve selected the Leather or Premium Package, you can also opt for a navigation system, a rear-seat entertainment system, a panoramic sunroof, a second-row center console, and XM NavTraffic service. A set of shiny 20-inch wheels can be added exclusively to models with the Premium Package.

Every Buick Enclave is equipped with a direct-injected, 3.6-liter V6 engine making 288 horsepower. A six-speed automatic transmission is standard and delivers the power to the front wheels, and the EPA says to expect 17 mpg in the city and 24 mpg on the highway. An intelligent all-wheel-drive system that automatically distributes power as necessary is optional, signified with a new AWD badge on the tailgate. Buick says the Enclave AWD returns 16 mpg in the city and 22 mpg on the highway.

Six airbags are standard on the 2012 Buick Enclave, including side curtain airbags that protect all six of the SUV’s outboard passengers. StabiliTrak traction and stability control and a four-wheel-disc antilock braking system with a hill hold feature and panic brake assist are also included. The OnStar telematics system includes Automatic Crash Response, which activates when the airbags deploy so that a live operator can check on the Enclave’s occupants and send rescue personnel to the Buick’s exact location, and an Emergency Services button for summoning help for you, a passenger, or other people in need of assistance. Reversing sensors and a reversing camera are included on all except the basic model, and articulating headlights are a part of the Premium Package.

This is all well and good, but what really counts is how a vehicle does in crash tests. The Enclave is a crash-test rock star. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) gives the Enclave a 5-Star overall rating, the highest possible, and that’s under the NHTSA’s new, stricter crash-test program. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has not rated the 2012 model as this review is written, but in 2011 the Enclave was named a Top Safety Pick.

There’s another important factor to consider, and that’s dependability. Here, Buick needs to make some improvement. Consumer Reports says the Enclave’s reliability is expected to be average, while J.D. Power and Associates predicts slightly better than average dependability over time. When you’re competing with Lexus, these ratings need to be higher. Still, we are compelled to point out that the Buick has a four-year/50,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty and a five-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty.

The Enclave’s standard OnStar telematics system includes a Stolen Vehicle Assistance feature. If the big Buick is stolen, the SUV can be tracked using OnStar. If law enforcement authorities decide it is safe to do so, the Enclave can be remotely slowed and stopped to recapture the vehicle and prevent a high-speed pursuit.

Buick also says the OnStar 9.0 system is upgraded with better speech recognition technology designed to more accurately interpret regional phrases and dialects. So now, your new Enclave might understand “y’all” and “fuhgeddaboudit.”

Earlier, we mentioned that the Enclave is bigger inside than a Cadillac Escalade. That’s because the Buick’s maximum cargo capacity measures 115.3 cubic-feet, compared to 108.9 cu-ft in the Caddy.

Vehix thinks the 2012 Buick Enclave is a pretty terrific luxury SUV. It’s big. It’s safe. It’s really good looking. And it’s a fantastic value compared to many of its competitors. All Buick really needs to do is get those reliability ratings up.

By Christian Wardlaw