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2022 Buick Enclave Avenir Interior Review: What’s in an Avenir?

The second-generation Buick Enclave launched for the 2018 model year, and was updated for 2022. The Avenir is the highest and most expensive trim of the 2022 Buick Enclave. At $56,295 (including the $1,195 destination charge), it is $12,300 more than the base Essence trim, and $5,300 more than the Premium trim. Adding all-wheel drive increases that price to $58,495. While still not our favorite three-row luxury pick, we can’t help but appreciate the design, comfort and space of the 2022 Buick Enclave Avenir. Regardless of trim level, the Enclave comes standard with front-wheel drive, offering all-wheel drive as an option. Each Enclave has a 3.6-liter V6 paired with a nine-speed automatic transmission. Despite the AvenirÂ’s 4,469-pound curb weight, which outdoes those of the Premium and Essence trims by 71 and 110 pounds, respectively, it shares the same fuel economy ratings: 21-miles-per-gallon combined (18 city, 26 highway) for FWD, and 20 combined (17 city, 25 highway) for AWD. So, what does the Avenir include? There are a few features standard on the Avenir that are also standard on the Premium trim. These include a Bose 10-speaker premium audio system, head-up display, navigation, surround-view parking camera, rear camera washer, rear pedestrian alert, four-way power lumbar adjustments for the driver and front passenger, ventilated front seats, power steering column, driver memory settings , heated second-row outboard seats, power 60/40 split-folding third row, an 8-inch digital display between the gauges and power-folding side-mirrors with auto-dimming driverÂ’s side. Some features come standard on Avenir that are options on other trims. Inside, the Avenir gets a standard power sunroof with fixed rear skylight. Adaptive cruise control comes standard, as does enhanced automatic emergency braking. It also has a 120-volt outlet on the rear of the center console. But the Avenir has some exclusive features that make it stand out from the rest. It has nicer trim and quilted leather upholstery that help make it feel considerably more upscale than the rest of the lineup. The Avenir is the only trim with rain-sensing windshield wipers, and embroidery for the first-row floor mats (an indispensable feature, we know). It gets standard 20-inch aluminum wheels with Avenir Pearl Nickel finish. Twenty-inch wheels are available as an option on the other trims, but those are limited to polished aluminum or chrome finishes. It also has its own unique mesh grille.

2020 Buick Encore GX pricing makes it a better bargain than the smaller Encore

In April, Buick revealed the Encore GX at Auto Shanghai. At the time, we thought there was a chance the slightly larger GX would supplant the Encore in the U.S. By August, we learned that wouldn't happen, the Encore GX slotting into the lineup between the Encore and the Envision. With nearly $8,000 between the starting prices of the Encore and the Envision, there'd be plenty of room for the GX to find a good home leaving plenty of MSRP daylight between the crossover bookends. That doesn't appear to be what's happened, though. CarsDirect got hold of an early order guide for the Encore GX, and writes that the Encore GX in Preferred trim will cost $24,100 before a $995 destination charge, totaling $25,095. That's $900 more than the entry-level Encore in 1SV trim, but $500 less than the Encore in comparable Preferred trim.    The Encore offers an intermediate Sport Touring trim between Preferred and top-level Essence trims. The Encore GX will come in an intermediate Select trim, which CarsDirect didn't mention a price for. Stepping up to the top Essence variant with front-wheel drive costs $29,495 for the Encore GX, $800 less than a similar Encore, which costs $30,295.   If these are the figures that show up on dealer lots, the Encore GX seems like a no-brainer. The Encore rides on an older GM platform called GEM, for Global Emerging Markets, the GX model is built on GM's new VSS-F architecture. Both are fine looking vehicles, but the GX is a little more handsome. The Encore offers one engine, a 1.4-liter four-cylinder with 138 horsepower and 148 pound-feet of torque, shifting through a six-speed transmission. The base engine on the Encore GX will be a 1.2-liter turbocharged three-cylinder with an estimated 137 hp and 166 lb-ft, shifting through a CVT. The second GX engine is a 1.3-liter turbocharged three-cylinder with an estimated 155 hp and 174 lb-ft, optional on the front-wheel drive Select and Essence trims, standard on every all-wheel-drive model. That more powerful motor shifts through a nine-speed automatic.  As if all that weren't enough, the GX's reason for being is that it offers more room. An additional three inches in length provides an extra 4.7 cubic feet of cargo room behind the second row. The GX wins on safety, too, coming standard with tech like forward collision alert, lane keep assist, lane departure warning, and automatic emergency braking.

Chevy Bolt-based prototype may be a Buick EV for China

Late last spring, we got a look at a GM prototype that was clearly based on the Chevy Bolt EV, but with updated styling. It seemed like it could be a more crossover-styled Bolt, given the recently trademarked name of EUV. Now we get another look at the prototype, but the bodywork seems less suggestive of a Chevy, and more of a Buick. This vehicle definitely still appears to be based on the Bolt, rather than on another small GM platform. In the photos of it next to the current model, the size, wheelbase and profile are extremely similar. There are differences, though. The nose isn't as sloped or as rounded, and the rear window kicks up a little earlier. The biggest changes are in the front and rear fascias, and it's here that we see hints of Buick. There are prominent air inlets on each side of the front bumper that give the car a more aggressive look. The headlights still have a fairly rounded, organic look, but with little extensions like fangs underneath. The styled running-light section, rounded shape and the smoked lenses seem very Buick-like. The grille features a large badge that doesn't fit the shape of a bow-tie, and is more that of a round logo like Buick's. Around at the back, the full-width taillights stand out, and in the middle there is obviously a round badge, again like a Buick. The wide taillights would also be a natural evolution of Buick's current light design language that uses somewhat wide and thin lights. The rear bumper has been redesigned with new lower taillights. Now that we've established that this seems very much like a Buick, we don't think we'll see this particular version offered here with the badge. This is more likely a Buick version of the Bolt for the Chinese market, where the brand is associated with luxury and has been the spearhead for GM's electric and hybrid models. In fact, the Chevy Volt hybrid was sold there as the Buick Velite 5, which was part of a family of a electrified Velite models. This would probably also carry a Velite badge as well. While we might not see this specific Buick variant, we probably will see it offered as a Chevy in some form. With its more aggressive, crossover shape, it could be the rumored EUV model. Or it could be just a refresh of the current Bolt, since the model has been largely unchanged since its introduction for the 2017 model year. And extrapolating from this prototype, we can see how the headlights could be tweaked to tie into those air scoops as on the Suburban and Silverado.