The 2011 Buick Enclave is a luxury mid-size SUV that can hold up to eight passengers and gets fairly good fuel economy for its size. Many drivers like this Buick because of its upscale interior and its stylish exterior. The downside to the Enclave is its high cost compared to other SUVs in its class.
Buick doesn’t have the best track record of great SUVs but the Enclave is definitely worth considering. It has a 3.6-liter V6 under the hood that gets around 288 horsepower. It currently does not offer a V8 which may turn away some drivers. The front-wheel drive model gets 17 mpg in the city and 24 mpg highway. This is average gas mileage for a mid-size but is not the green we would hope for. The all-wheel drive drops to 16 mpg city and 22 mpg highway.
Even though, other SUVs can beat the Enclave for fuel economy they may not have the same luxury. The CXL model comes standard with heated leather seats throughout the vehicle but the less expensive CX model has cloth interior. The CXL2 model has both heated and cooled seats for even more luxury. The second row can come with two captain’s chairs or a bench seated for three. The third row fits three comfortably, but some reviewers say the Chevy Traverse has a better third row for adults.
Even though the 2011 Buick Enclave ranks #2 on the US News list for affordable mid-size SUVs were not sure why. Its starts at $35,615 which is much higher than many of its competitors. Some drivers may think it’s worth it but the Traverse, Explorer, and Mazda CX-9 come in with a price quite a bit lower. The luxury of the Enclave is phenomenal but it would have to have a bit better fuel stats to make our top mid-size list.
