The 2025 Buick Enclave ST AWD: A Question of Substance Over Sparkle
As an automotive expert with a decade immersed in the ever-evolving landscape of luxury and family vehicles, I’ve witnessed countless contenders vie for attention in the fiercely competitive three-row SUV segment. The year 2025 brings with it a refreshed cohort, and among them, the Buick Enclave makes a notable return. Specifically, our focus today is on the mid-tier ST (Sport Touring) AWD variant. Buick, traditionally positioned as a brand offering accessible luxury, often walks a tightrope between premium aspirations and mainstream practicality. The Enclave ST AWD, priced at a significant $61,475 as tested, forces a critical examination: does it deliver enough “sparkle” and tangible value to justify its premium cost, or does stripping away the top-tier “razzle-dazzle” of the Avenir trim expose a more forgettable proposition?
The midsize luxury SUV market in 2025 is a battlefield of innovation, comfort, and advanced technology. Consumers seeking a sophisticated family hauler have an embarrassment of riches, from European stalwarts to increasingly ambitious offerings from Asian and domestic brands. In this environment, every detail, from material quality to integrated tech, is scrutinized. The Enclave ST AWD’s mission is to provide an upscale experience without reaching the dizzying price points of full-blown luxury marques. But with the Avenir trim offering a more comprehensive premium package, does the ST trim simply fall into an awkward middle ground, where its attempts at luxury feel more like compromises than compelling features? Let’s delve into what the 2025 Buick Enclave ST AWD truly offers.
Design Language: A Step Forward, But Does It Resonate?
From an exterior perspective, the 2025 Buick Enclave proudly showcases a significant design overhaul that genuinely impresses. Drawing heavily from the stunning Wildcat concept car, the new styling imbues the Enclave with a modern, sculpted presence that feels fresh and confidently contemporary. The sleek lines, distinctive lighting signatures, and revised grille present a handsome face to the world, shedding some of the previous generation’s more staid aesthetics. It’s an eye-catching vehicle on the road, possessing a quiet confidence without resorting to overt aggression. Furthermore, the growth in physical dimensions is welcome, enhancing interior space without making the vehicle feel unwieldy in urban environments or during parking maneuvers. Buick has successfully broadened the Enclave’s stance, giving it a more planted and substantial appearance that aligns well with current design trends for premium SUVs.
However, the exterior’s promise of modern sophistication doesn’t entirely carry through to the interior, particularly in the ST trim. While the cabin benefits from the trend of large, curved display screens—a unit that appears to be a cleverly reconfigured version of what’s found in Cadillac’s Vistiq EV—the overall ambiance of the ST variant feels muted. The decision to offer only a monochrome black interior in the Sport Touring trim, while aiming for a sleek aesthetic, inadvertently strips away much-needed visual richness. In a segment where interior color, texture, and contrast play a crucial role in conveying luxury, this choice leaves the cabin feeling somewhat austere and, frankly, less inviting. Without the varied color palettes, richer materials, and distinctive trim accents found in higher trims or competing models, the ST’s interior struggles to make a lasting premium impression. It’s an interesting paradox: a striking exterior housing an interior that, while functional, lacks the vibrant character to truly “dazzle.” This contrast highlights a potential misstep in marketing, as prospective owners might expect a more cohesive luxury experience from a vehicle bearing the Buick badge and a premium price tag.
Power, Performance, and the Road Ahead
Under the hood, the 2025 Enclave introduces a significant change with its new turbocharged four-cylinder engine, replacing the outgoing V6. For a discerning expert, this shift immediately brings up questions of capability and refinement. On paper, the new engine promises a welcome improvement in EPA fuel economy, a critical consideration for many family SUV buyers in 2025. This efficiency gain is certainly a positive for daily commuting and long-haul trips, directly impacting the long-term cost of ownership, a factor that weighs heavily on “luxury SUV lease deals” and finance options. While there’s a slight, almost imperceptible penalty in outright acceleration compared to the V6, the new four-cylinder is admirably capable, providing sufficient power for merging onto highways and navigating city traffic with confidence. The transmission shifts smoothly, ensuring a refined power delivery that doesn’t draw undue attention to itself – precisely what one expects from a family-oriented premium SUV.
However, when it comes to the actual driving experience, the Enclave ST AWD lands squarely in the “competent but uninspired” category. The ride quality is generally comfortable, effectively soaking up most road imperfections, but it doesn’t offer the serene isolation or dynamic prowess found in some rivals. The Avenir trim, with its upgraded active shocks, undoubtedly refines this aspect, but our ST test vehicle lacked these enhancements. Consequently, the Enclave ST’s ride, while agreeable, doesn’t convey the sense of elevated luxury or sophisticated damping that discerning drivers might expect. Exploring the various drive modes, particularly “Sport,” primarily resulted in an unpleasantly heavy steering feel rather than a truly engaging or responsive driving characteristic. It felt artificial, lacking the nuanced feedback that connects a driver to the road. For an SUV bearing a “Sport Touring” designation, the driving dynamics lean heavily towards touring and less towards sport. This lack of dynamic sparkle is a noticeable absence in a market increasingly populated by SUVs that blend comfort with genuinely engaging driving characteristics. While it capably performs its function as a mode of transport, it rarely excites or truly makes the journey memorable, positioning it as a good and decent servant, but not a stand-out performer in terms of enthusiast appeal.
Navigating the Future: Tech and Driver Assistance
In the 2025 automotive landscape, technology isn’t just a perk; it’s a fundamental expectation, particularly in the premium segment. The Enclave ST AWD makes a strong statement with the availability of Super Cruise, GM’s acclaimed hands-free driver assistance system. Having earned a 2025 MotorTrend Best Tech award, Super Cruise’s inclusion in a Buick is a significant draw. The system operates with impressive caution and precision, functioning flawlessly on its extensive network of pre-mapped roads. Its ability to take over steering, acceleration, and braking, allowing the driver to truly relax (while remaining attentive), is a testament to advanced automotive engineering. For families embarking on long road trips, this feature can be a game-changer, reducing driver fatigue significantly. It’s a compelling addition that genuinely elevates the driving experience on suitable routes and is a key selling point for those considering high-tech SUV features and “advanced driver assistance systems cost” as part of their vehicle evaluation.
However, the technological narrative of the Enclave ST AWD isn’t without its caveats. A perplexing decision by Buick is the complete absence of any lane-centering functionality when Super Cruise isn’t engaged or when operating on an unmapped road. Many similarly priced, similarly sized SUVs in 2025 offer some form of hands-on lane-keeping assist that actively helps center the vehicle within its lane, providing a constant layer of convenience and safety. The Enclave’s reliance solely on Super Cruise for this advanced functionality feels short-sighted. While Cadillac models equipped with Super Cruise often retain a hands-on variant for broader utility, its omission from the Enclave ST puts it at a disadvantage against competitors that integrate comprehensive driver assistance features across more driving scenarios. This disparity represents a crucial weakness, as driver assistance systems are becoming a benchmark for assessing “premium SUV features” and overall vehicle value.
On the infotainment front, the integration of Google Assistant and the Google Built-in operating system is a modern triumph. The idea of installing common phone applications directly onto the car’s system (Spotify, Waze, etc.) streamlines the user experience, making smartphone mirroring less of a necessity. The system is responsive, intuitive, and the voice commands work exceptionally well, providing a seamless digital environment. However, for Apple CarPlay enthusiasts, the implementation restricts their preferred apps to a smaller window on the expansive curved screen, an unfortunate compromise. While the screen itself is visually impressive, the execution of the surrounding interior elements raises questions. The center console, in particular, looks and feels like an afterthought, a somewhat generic piece that lacks the thoughtful design and premium integration one would expect from a vehicle aspiring to luxury status. Its plastic surfaces and utilitarian aesthetic stand in stark contrast to the sophisticated digital display, creating an incongruity that undermines the overall cabin’s sense of refinement. This ergonomic oversight, combined with the driver assist limitations, suggests a focus on headline-grabbing tech at the expense of holistic interior design and feature parity within the segment.
Interior Comfort, Practicality, and the Luxury Conundrum
From a purely functional standpoint, the 2025 Enclave ST AWD performs its duties as a family hauler with commendable efficiency. The balance of second and third-row room is well-executed, offering usable space for varying passenger configurations. The second row is genuinely comfortable, providing ample legroom and headroom for adults, while the third row, though not a limousine-like experience, is perfectly adequate for smaller children and even non-confrontational adults on shorter journeys. The flexibility of the interior is a strong suit; with all seats deployed, there’s a reasonable amount of luggage space, and transforming the Enclave into a cargo-friendly moving van is a breeze, thanks to rear seats that fold flat with the touch of a button. This adaptability enhances its appeal for families who frequently juggle passengers and gear.
However, this functional competence must be viewed through the lens of Buick’s purported luxury positioning and the vehicle’s price tag. Is Buick truly a luxury brand? When examining the Enclave ST’s cabin, especially the elements beyond the impressive dashboard screen, the answer becomes less clear. Our eyes were repeatedly drawn to hard plastics and rough edges in areas that, in a genuinely premium vehicle, would feature soft-touch materials, thoughtful stitching, and impeccable finishes. There’s a noticeable lack of tactile richness, particularly on the lower door panels, center console, and certain dash elements. Compared to what one expects from a $60,000+ vehicle, these details are disappointing. Nothing aft of the main infotainment display truly strikes one as “nicer” or more “premium” than what could be found in a well-equipped mainstream SUV. For instance, a Chevrolet Traverse High Country, a direct sibling on a similar platform, often delivers a comparable sense of quality and comfort, sometimes at a lower price point. This raises a fundamental question of perceived value and authenticity for the “premium family SUV finance” market. If the differentiating factors for a Buick Enclave ST are not readily apparent in the tangible quality of its interior, where does its luxury claim truly lie? The monochrome interior exacerbates this issue, as vibrant color palettes and contrasting textures often serve to mask less-than-premium materials, making the ST’s understated design feel more like an omission than an aesthetic choice.
The Value Proposition: Where Does the ST Stand?
This brings us to the crux of the matter: the 2025 Buick Enclave ST AWD, at an as-tested price of $61,475, forces a rigorous evaluation of its value proposition within the broader “best luxury 3-row SUV” category. While the Enclave is undoubtedly a good, decent, and highly functional vehicle, its ST trim struggles to justify this premium asking price. The Avenir model, with its standard panoramic roof, more sophisticated active suspension, and a demonstrably more attractive and refined interior package, does a far better job of living up to its mid-$60,000s price tag. The Avenir truly embodies the “accessible luxury” Buick aims for, providing a cohesive and elevated experience.
The ST, however, is left in a challenging position. Without those crucial upgrades, it finds itself caught between the more upscale ambitions of its Avenir sibling and the formidable value propositions of its competitors. Consider the Hyundai Palisade, for example. Often priced similarly or even below the Enclave ST, the Palisade consistently delivers an interior that feels more opulent, with richer materials, more imaginative design, and a greater sense of overall refinement. Even the top-of-the-line Enclave Avenir can appear a little “tatty” when placed directly alongside a well-appointed Palisade, but the contrast is even starker with the ST. The Chevrolet Traverse High Country, as mentioned earlier, also presents a compelling alternative, offering a robust package of features and comfort on a shared platform, often with a more attractive sticker price. This highlights the Enclave ST’s predicament: it doesn’t quite out-luxury its direct segment rivals in terms of perceived quality, nor does it significantly undercut them on price. Its efficiency gains and Super Cruise functionality are strong points, but are they enough to sway a buyer looking for a truly “premium” or “luxury” experience? The “resale value luxury SUV” market is also highly sensitive to perceived quality and feature richness, and a less-than-dazzling interior could impact long-term ownership costs. Ultimately, while the Enclave ST AWD functions admirably, it often feels like a well-dressed mainstream SUV rather than a genuinely premium offering, leaving potential buyers to ponder whether the investment truly aligns with their expectations for a sophisticated 2025 family vehicle.
The Verdict: A Capable Contender, But Lacking That Distinctive Edge
The 2025 Buick Enclave ST AWD presents a compelling exterior redesign, a capable new turbocharged engine that boosts fuel economy, and the truly impressive Super Cruise system for hands-free highway driving. It’s a spacious and practical family SUV, performing its fundamental duties with competence. However, the ST trim, stripped of the Avenir’s crucial upgrades, struggles to fully embody the “luxury” aspect that Buick often promises. The monochrome interior, the uninspired driving dynamics outside of straight-line cruising, the lack of standard lane-centering, and an interior finish that falls short of its premium price point all contribute to an experience that is more functional than fantastic. In a 2025 market teeming with sophisticated three-row SUVs, the Enclave ST AWD, while undeniably a good vehicle, lacks that distinctive spark, that consistent sense of elevated craftsmanship and design that would truly set it apart. It’s a solid option for those prioritizing space, a handsome exterior, and hands-free driving on mapped routes, but for buyers seeking a genuinely premium or exciting experience that fully justifies its significant investment, the ST trim leaves a bit to be desired.
Take the Next Step Towards Your Ideal Family SUV
Choosing the perfect three-row SUV for your family is a significant decision that balances practical needs with emotional appeal. If the blend of distinctive design, advanced technology like Super Cruise, and ample space of the 2025 Buick Enclave ST AWD has piqued your interest, we encourage you to experience it firsthand. However, we also urge you to thoroughly explore its competition. Visit your local Buick dealership to test drive the Enclave ST AWD and compare it directly with the Avenir trim to understand the true value of its premium upgrades. Consider how its features align with your daily driving needs and long-term expectations for luxury and performance. For a truly informed choice, also arrange test drives of key rivals like the Hyundai Palisade and Chevrolet Traverse to compare interior quality, driving dynamics, and overall value. Make an appointment today to embark on your comprehensive SUV comparison journey and discover the vehicle that truly delivers the “dazzle” you deserve.
