DETROIT — Buick's large three-row crossover is getting a midcycle makeover that pushes it more upscale.
The 2022 Enclave will feature a more modern design with exterior and interior changes, most notably electric push/pull buttons that replace a conventional mechanical gearshift lever, giving the front cabin a cleaner appearance.
Buick last week provided a glimpse of the flagship crossover, with more details to come closer to launch later this year. GM postponed the face-lift, originally set for the 2021 model year, because of the pandemic.
The updates to Buick's biggest crossover "really positions this vehicle, this brand, the Avenir subbrand into ... true premium territory," said Duncan Aldred, vice president of global Buick and GMC. "I'm delighted with this one."
Exterior updates focus on the front and rear fascia to align styling with that of the Envision.
U.S. sales of the Enclave, Buick's No. 3 seller, fell 25 percent to 38,480 last year.
With the subcompact Encore GX that debuted last year and a redesigned compact Envision arriving now at dealerships, Aldred said Buick has the lineup it needs to migrate customers through the brand until they eventually purchase an Enclave.
Buick reduced the base price of the Envision, compared with the 2020 model, so "that stair step between an Encore and Encore GX into an Envision and then potentially into an Enclave are very, very logical, pretty close," Aldred said. "That's just one of the reasons why we're so optimistic about what we can do with Buick, with this four-SUV strategy."
