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2022 Buick Enclave To Lose Base Preferred Trim Level

The Buick Enclave crossover will enter its 2022 model year – the fifth of the second generation – without the Preferred trim level which sits at the base of the 2021 Buick Enclave line-up.

In the current range, the Preferred trim level is difficult to justify. It is not especially affordable, being only $2,000 cheaper than the second-tier Essence. In return for paying less money, customers miss out on advanced safety features, including Lane Change Alert, Side Blind Zone Alert and Rear Cross Traffic Alert, plus SiriusXM with 360L.

All Buick Enclave trim levels are available with front-wheel drive, but Preferred is the only one without all-wheel drive as an option. The Trailering Package, which raises the towing capacity to 5,000 pounds, is likewise optional on every Enclave except this one. Furthermore, some LPO (dealer-installed) options, including the rear-seat infotainment system, are denied to the Preferred.

The demise of Preferred in the Buick Enclave range is part of a wider GM strategy to discontinue lower trim levels for the 2022 model year. As GM Authority has exclusively reported in recent weeks, the same applies to the Buick Encore, Chevy Blazer, Chevy Equinox, Chevy Malibu, Chevy Traverse, GMC Acadia and GMC Terrain.

The Buick Enclave was scheduled for a refresh for the 2021 model year, but this had to be pushed back due to complications arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. The new model will feature revised exterior styling and several new features and options. As previously reported, it will also lose three exterior colors but gain three more.

Mechanically, the vehicle will remain unchanged. As now, the only available engine will be the naturally aspirated 3.6L V6 LFY, which produces 310 horsepower and 266 pound-feet of torque and is paired with GM’s nine-speed automatic transmission. Like the current model, it will be built at the GM Lansing Delta Township plant in Michigan for all three North American markets.

Be sure to subscribe to GM Authority for more Buick Enclave news, Buick news and obsessively updated GM news coverage.

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David has been writing about motoring and motorsport since he was 13 and racing since he was 19. He is British, and therefore apologizes for taking up too much of your time.

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Comments

  1. Side is okay, but that front end is WAY to busy!

    Reply
    1. They seem to be copying Toyota: gills, slots, holes, creases, folds… The Enclave WAS a really fine-looking vehicle; that front end is – as you say – far too busy.

      Reply
  2. We own a 2020 Premium. These are amazing vehicles. Only wish there was a little more front leg room. I love the refresh and the new lines. Love the front end. Will probably trade for a new Avenir. Love the Rich Garnet color.

    Reply
    1. Were it not for the leg-cramping size of the console I’d have bought one in an instant. But, it is too much like a jet fighter inside, and not enough like a car should be.

      Reply
  3. No loss, GM never actually wants customers to buy these packages. They put a lower on them price and than leave out some essential option that you can’t get unless you select a higher package. As a customer this bait and switch always pissed me off.

    Reply
    1. Then, buy something else. I had a vehicle in mind where, to get a $600 option I wanted meant buying a $5,600 package with a bunch of things I didn’t want or need. I bought something else.

      Reply
  4. The Enclave is surprisingly easy to sell, even Traverse owners are open to the Enclave. It would be nice to see a “GNX” version with a 2.7L or even a 3.0L from Cadillac. No reason we can’t have a sporty Buick again.

    Reply
  5. There goes the cloth seats and about a 2000 dollar price increase! The dealers rarely order them this way but I’m sure they would sell if they did.

    Reply
  6. Fewer “base models” means a higher transaction price, which means more profit for GM and the dealers. Fewer trims also means fewer configurations to manufacturer, which reduces manufacturing costs. There is a method to the madness. Carmakers don’t make much on the “base models”, which is why they are/were difficult to find.

    Reply
  7. Good Buick is supposed to be a premium brand anyway, why have a trim with fwd and cloth seats thats not Premium.

    Reply
  8. I like the refresh especially in Avenir form. I just wish Buick would of made the nav screen larger maybe 10 inches. I like the new seat design, but I hope they kept the chestnut brown seats – those were beautiful. I think this version will sell really well.

    This SUV is better than the XT6. How does the XT6 not have massaging seats but the Enclave does?

    Reply
  9. When I buy a car I want everything the car offers!!!!

    Reply

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