2022 Buick Enclave gets more safety features, new shifter

DETROIT — The 2022 Buick Enclave, scheduled to go on sale next quarter, is equipped with additional standard safety features, a cleaner interior and restyled front and rear ends, Buick said Thursday.

The Enclave's face-lift originally was planned for the 2021 model year but was postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The freshened large crossover comes with eight safety features that are standard for the first time, including automatic emergency braking, front pedestrian braking, lane keep assist and lane-change alert.

A rear camera mirror, rear pedestrian alert, head-up display, front park assist and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto also are available.

The contemporary fascia designs and new grille and headlamps align with the redesigned 2021 Envision that launched early this year.

Inside the Enclave, the center console was restyled with push-pull buttons in place of a traditional mechanical gearshift lever for a more spacious interior feel.

"It's really, really modern, sleek. It certainly clears up that space in the middle, and it's very intuitive as well," Duncan Aldred, vice president of global Buick-GMC, told reporters.

The Enclave, assembled at the Lansing-Delta Township Assembly plant in Michigan, has a 310-hp, 3.6-liter V-6 engine with a nine-speed automatic transmission, Buick said.

The Avenir trim is more unique, with different front and rear fascias, body-color lowers, taillamps, liftgate emblem and wheels. The Enclave Avenir also comes with heated, ventilated and massaging front seats, adaptive cruise control and enhanced automatic emergency braking.

Buick's sales this year through May reached their highest in nearly two decades and climbed 75 percent from a year earlier, Aldred said.

The brand's simplified portfolio of only four nameplates, fewer available vehicle combinations and a manufacturing footprint in Korea and China have largely protected Buick from the effect of the global microchip shortage.

Buick has just a 30-day supply of inventory, down from an average of 90. But Buick stock is high compared with other brands, such as GMC with only 10 days' worth.

"Buick has fared well out of this," said Aldred. "One of the advantages of creating a simplified portfolio — not only for nameplates, but basically three trim levels within it — is it means you can turn stock quicker than you historically would and certainly paid dividends. Obviously we didn't plan it with the microchip shortage in mind, but it's worked very well for us."