2020 Buick Enclave Avenir First Drive: Your Luxury Minivan Replacement

Let's get real: Minivans are the best family haulers, and the latest top-end trim level on the Chrysler Pacifica is pretty luxurious. You're still not going to buy one, though, because there's a silly stigma around driving a minivan. A three-row crossover is basically a minivan without sliding doors, and not only does it not come with baggage, but it's also actually in vogue. And if you're looking to take the kids camping this summer (because let's be even more real, you're not flying anywhere), it's hard to do better than the 2020 Buick Enclave Avenir when it comes to luxurious family transportation.

Take stock of what you really need here. You're shopping for three-row, seven-seat crossovers because you've got more than two kids or need a lot of space for luggage, gear, or dogs. You're not buying a sports car, so handling isn't a top priority. You're not buying a Jeep, so ground clearance isn't much of an issue, either. No, what you need is comfort, quietness, convenience, and connectivity. You need the ultimate road trip vehicle, one that rides smoothly on the interstate and the unpaved access road, one with plugs for all the family phones, one with all the bells and whistles to keep everyone happy. You need a living room on wheels. But not a minivan. You need a Buick Enclave Avenir.

If you ask me, the Enclave Avenir got shorted when it was up for SUV of the Year consideration in 2017. My fellow judges thought it wasn't luxurious enough and didn't offer enough space inside to justify its $60,000 as-tested price tag. Although their gripes were not without merit, I felt the phenomenal engineering that went into the ride quality, noise blocking, and comfort was deserving of a finalist nod. Yes, its platform twin, the Chevrolet Traverse, does most of what the Buick does for less money, but its personality is entirely different, focused on containing, not coddling you. I was outvoted, but this is my review, and I'm in charge here [That's what you think—Ed.], so I say the Enclave Avenir is great.

OK, you say, but is it really that much nicer than the Traverse? And do I really need to pay for the Avenir trim level when the Premium trim level has most of the same stuff for $5,400 less? Yes, and yes. Look, I get it. The Traverse will get the job done, if that's all you're trying to do. But a loaded Traverse High Country costs as much as an Enclave Premium, so you've really got to want slightly sportier handling on your 2.5-ton, three-row family truckster to go for the Chevy. And yes, the Avenir trim level is mostly a grille, wheels, badges, extra paint and interior color options, and nicer leather. But it also grants you the privilege of spending an extra $2,100 on the Avenir Technology package. Why on earth would you want to spend even more money? Because that buys you active dampers and adaptive cruise control.

We're talking about several hours on the road to the lake or the campsite or whatever, right? With the significant other, the kids, and the dogs. Meltdowns are already on the agenda, and driving a vehicle that's loud, bumpy, or car sickness-inducing is the last thing you need. The Enclave Avenir equipped with active dampers wipes all those issues off the table. The upgraded suspension irons out all those freeway expansion joints, cracked and crumbling roadways, and the dirt road down to your favorite spot. It does this without making the vehicle wallowy and uncomposed. In fact, the Avenir has excellent body control and handles quite nicely for a big crossover. It's just plain relaxing to drive and to ride around in.

Further easing your mind is the adaptive cruise control, a godsend on road trips. With adaptive cruise and the other options made standard on the Avenir trim level, such as lane keeping assistance, automatic headlights and high-beams, blind-spot monitoring, and an auto-dimming rearview mirror, you're guiding the vehicle more than you're really driving it. When you do get to the campsite, the upgraded all-wheel-drive system on top-trim Enclaves should get you anywhere you ought to be taking a vehicle like this. Just make sure it's turned on, because to game its EPA ratings, Buick gives you a button on the dash to that defaults to "off" rather than just handling it automatically like almost every other all- or four-wheel-drive vehicle in existence.

There's more to keeping the family comfortable than just smooth sailing, though. That's where all the other extras standard on the Avenir trim level come into play. Foremost are the heaping pounds of sound deadening tucked into every crevice, the active noise canceling system, and the acoustic laminated windshield. Whether its your partner or your kids trying to take a nap, the Enclave Avenir is whisper quiet inside. Almost no outside noise makes it in the cabin unless you're driving on really bad pavement. Other vehicles? Wind? Ambient noise? Forget it.

As you enjoy the quiet, all y'all will be settling into soft leather seats (which are easier to clean than cloth seats when your kids get done with them). In row one, where the people who paid for the vehicle sit, the thrones are heated and cooled and give massages. In row two, where the older and therefore senior children ride, the captain's chairs are heated. Row three? Sorry, kids, hand-me-downs.

No matter who's sitting where, there's a USB port nearby to charge a phone or iPad. If your kids aren't old enough to work either of those things, Buick will sell you a second-row entertainment system that can accept all kinds of inputs, including a built-in DVD player if you want. Otherwise, if you can all agree, the upgraded Bose stereo sounds pretty good.

The seats aren't perfect, though. The second row seats fold and slide in such a way that a rear-facing child seat can remain strapped in place while the seat is moved out of the way for third-row access. Great idea, but it does limit how far the seat can slide forward and thus how much space there is for climbing in the third row. Because the seat back can also fold flat to increase cargo space, it would be nice if the folded seat could tumble forward to make more room for getting in and out of the way back. You can also just climb over the second row seats and walk between them, so long as there isn't a rear-facing child seat in them.

Once you're in the way back, you'd better be on the shorter side. The Buick's sleeker roofline relative to the Traverse means you lose 2.3 inches of headroom compared to the second row. If you're planning on putting kids in the third row, no big, but if you're going to have the grandparents sit back there with the car seats strapped into the second row, their hair is going to touch the ceiling. (The Traverse has a 0.6-inch headroom advantage back here.)

That's for the people who aren't carrying a 60 grand note to care about. Back up front in the VIP seats, there's also an automatic heated steering wheel for the driver and a wireless charger, which will free up a USB port for yet another device. Plugging in up front also puts CarPlay or Android Auto on the screen, both of which come standard. When you're not using them, Buick's parent company has finally got its infotainment screen user interface sorted out, and it's now intuitive and easy to operate at a glance.

Glancing around, though, you'll run across the other demerit I mentioned. The Avenir trim level coats the top of the dash in a nice cut of leather, but as you look lower, you start to notice not every material is up to the same standard. The wood has so much veneer on it you can't be sure it's real. (I'm honestly not sure it is; Buick describes it as "wood-tone trim" in public materials and has not provided us with confirmation either way) The brushed metal trim is a long-overdue upgrade from the chromed plastic Buick used to use for trim, but the sections around the vents at either end of the dash tend to catch the sun and shine it in your eyes at certain times of the day. Below the leather, wood, and trim, the plastic bits all have the finish of a fancied-up Chevrolet, not a frugal Cadillac.

Downmarket plastic and reduced headroom in the way back are hardly disqualifying drawbacks in an otherwise excellent upscale people mover. If we're to be real for a final time, what else are you going to get for $60,000 that checks all the boxes this does? No full-boat luxury brand sells a seven-seat crossover with this much interior space at this price. All the ones in this price range have a joke of a third row. What of the near-premium competition? The Infiniti QX60 is not as spacious, as well equipped, or as comfortable. The Acura MDX is pretty good but can't match the features list of the Enclave Avenir, isn't as quiet inside, and has a significantly smaller third row. The Lincoln Aviator comes the closest in style, features, and quietness, but it, too, has a much smaller third row. The Acura and Infiniti get slightly better fuel economy, but it's a negligible difference (though Acura and Lincoln will sell you hybrid models if that's a priority).

No, if you aren't willing to compromise on space for your family, on a rich features list, or on comfort and quietness, the Buick Enclave Avenir is the luxury family car for your summer road trip.