Here’s Why 2025 Buick Enclave Uses 2.5L Turbo Engine And Not A V6
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The 2025 Buick Enclave got its big debut this past April, with GM revealing an all-new third generation for the crossover. Among the highlights is new styling, an overhauled interior, bigger dimensions, and a new turbocharged engine. Of course, the fact that the 2025 Enclave only offers a turbocharged four-cylinder may leave some wondering why GM left the V6 in the dust. Now, GM Authority has an answer.
In a recent interview, GM Authority Executive Editor Alex Luft spoke with GM’s engineering team about the decision to fit the automaker’s various full-size crossovers with a turbocharged four-cylinder, rather than a V6. The models in question include the 2025 Buick Enclave, as well as the 2024 GMC Acadia, and the 2024 Chevy Traverse. All three models are equipped as standard with the turbocharged 2.5L I4 LK0 gasoline engine, replacing the V6 engine offered for the preceding model year.
According to GM’s engineers, the decision to equip the 2025 Buick Enclave with a turbocharged four-cylinder rather than a V6 came down to two specific reasons – emissions and efficiency. With tightening restrictions from the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards and other guidelines set forth by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the four-cylinder was simply the better choice for the new Enclave.
Interestingly, the four-cylinder LK0 produces more power and torque than the naturally aspirated 3.6L V6 LFY gasoline engine it replaces, delivering 328 horsepower and 326 pound-feet of torque, or 18 horsepower and 60 pound-feet of torque more than the LFY.
| 2.5L I-4 LK0 | 3.6L V-6 LFY | + / – LK0 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aspiration: | Turbocharged | Atmospheric | |
| Power (hp / kW @ RPM): | 328 | 310 | +18 |
| Torque (lb-ft / Nm @ RPM): | 326 | 266 | +60 |
While some may argue that GM’s rivals still offer a V6, it bears mentioning that CAFE rules apply to the entirety of a vehicle lineup, and that those GM rivals do not necessarily have the same breadth of full-size pickups and SUVs as GM when considering the CAFE equation. Additionally, GM’s rivals may also not have the boosted four-cylinder options that GM has at its disposal, otherwise, those rivals would likely be using them.
Finally, we should say that the GM atmospheric V6 is more or less extinct at this point, as GM Authority covered previously.
Put it all together, and it looks like the problem has to do with government regulation and how it’s affecting GM in a particular way, rather than a problem with GM itself. Of course, that regulation will likely impact GM’s rivals in the future, as well.
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Probably be less reliable, offer basically the same fuel economy and be shunned by buyers in this price class.
Vote Republican!
It doesn’t matter who you vote for. GM has and will continue to follow CARB regulations. The federal government has no influence.
If the fuel economy is the same, isn’t the emissions the same as well? Making a 4 cylinder engine is cheaper. A 4 cylinder won’t last as long, and we will have to buy cars more frequently. All car manufacturers are saying, “The government made us do this.” No, this is the most profitable path for them.
gas mileage on the new 2025 is reportedly 20/27 – slightly better than the current 18/26.
Every review I’ve seen of the Acadia/Traverse/Enclave demonstrate how loud and laggy this new engine is. I could get on board with that if the fuel economy was substantially improved but everything I’ve seen indicates that is about the same as the 3.6 V6.
There is no comparison in driveability. The 2.5 is loud (almost intrusive) in comparison to the V6. The 3.6L offered a smooth quiet ride with a long deep torque curve. It’s not that the 2.5 lacks power, it’s just noisy and annoying to drive. Not what you want when spending this type of money. Clearly Noise Vibration and Harshness is no longer on GMs concern list. Disappointing.
It is loud when being revved high, which most don’t need to do. The 3.6 absolutely did not offer a “long deep torque curve” as that is where it was really lacking. We have a 3.6 and have driven many, including our closest friends Traverse, that was the worst as it needed to rev to keep up with traffic and would downshift at the slightest breeze or hill. This 2.5 is reviewing well. It’s being knocked for noise when revved, but crusiing on the highway and at slower speeds where the torque is hitting it is reviewing better than the 3.6 which is exactly what it needed to do. All the while getting 1mpg better with a ton more power is a solid win. Not sure why people are upset over a 1mpg increase with the big power bump. Not to mention it gives GM credits to offset with the big trucks they sell and help keep costs down.
V6 is quiet and silky smooth. Power pulse ever 60*, not 180*. You can’t change the dynamics between the engines just because you disagree. 4cyl are buzzy, sound like crap and don’t belong in anything trying to be “luxury” IMO. The 3.6 in our Enclave went 180k miles without a single complaint outside of a single coil pack and starter. That’s it. Plenty of power, no complaints.
Sounds to me like you are trying to hold 90mph on a 3-5% grade. Of course the car is going to downshift. At 65-80mph it was fine.
If you think lugging a 4cyl at low rpm under high boost is a recipe for longevity – you don’t know what you’re talking about. Big boost and low rpm makes torque, but kills engines. You can only do so much to replace displacement. If anything, they should have put the 2.7 from the Silverado. I still think a 4cyl has no place in the segment, but at least it wouldn’t struggle so hard and rely on big boost to move.
It seems that government regulation is forcing us into things that are not in our best interest. And that goes beyond cars and trucks.
Talk about blowing smoke. This can change if the GM customer boycotts this engine. If people quit buying for a year because of EPA standards and voted anti-EPA candidates in office the people don’t rid themselves of the dreaded EPA.
I really, really wanted to upgrade our older Enclave equipped with the 3.6 liter V6 to the new Enclave Avenir but I absolutely hate the sound of the turbo 4 banger. If gas mileage is no better under real world conditions, we may just keep what we have until Uncle Sugar forces us to go electric.
This has been the character of GM for the past 50 years. When they make a mistake they either spin it or blame someone else. In this case they choose to blame the government. You know GM has made these decisions over the years despite the fact that consumers made it clear they don’t want it! They pushed the Cadillac Cimarron which was a total bust. In the mid 80’s they downsized the Cadillac which looked like Chevy, Oldsmobile, Pontiacs etc. This is why GM went from almost 50% U.S. market share and is now about 16%! Not everyone can afford to buy a Escalade, Tahoe or Yukon and get a powerful V-8 engine. They just carved out another group of buyers who buy a less expensive Chevy, Buick and GMC by putting an untested loud 4 cylinder in these vehicles due to their arrogance!
If you vote for the right party they will lift these stupid regulations
Crazy that seven people downvoted this even though it is the truth.
Denial is a real thing. Many will vote for a certain party no matter what even if the world was ending due to their policies. It’s truly mind blowing!
Get rid of mary
Needed the 3.0 to be competitive.
I have a 2023 Buick Enclave it is a perfect SUV with the V6 so nice and quiet and plenty of smooth power I was thinking of getting another one in a few years …. BUT DO NOT WANT A 4 CYL. My V6 gets great fuel mileage the 4 Cyl will just kill the Buick
Poor Mary decisions
So it will kill it by offering better mpg, tons more power and drive better day to day with out having to rev to keep up with traffic or downshift at the slightest hill or headwind. Yup, that is going to kill BUICK LOL. Not to mention, the 4 cylinder is over built, I bet it outlasts the car motor of a 3.6 long term. But hey, you keep that dated and incorrect train of thought…
Owned the Enclave for 10 years. Never experienced what you claim. Vehicle cruises quiet, smooth with plenty of power and was never on the verge of a downshift, unless going up a steep grade at 75mph+. Period.
What you don’t get is 4cyl are not naturally harmonically balanced. That’s why they are limited to size, and anything over 2.4 liters is pushing it and demands a balance shaft to keep from literally vibrating to death. The engines are buzzy and $hitty sounding and belong in econo cars. NOTHING like a silky 60 degree V6. Period. No amount of stomping your feet or hyperventilating can change that fact. End of story. We don’t want one in such a quiet, smooth driving vehicle.
My last 3 cars have had the 3.6L V-6….Cadillac SRX, XT5 & my current 2021 GMC AT4. One of the things I’ve loved about it in addition to being smooth adequately powerful (and gas not been mentioned in this thread, is the fact that it takes regular fuel which these days with there often being a 50 cent swing from reg to prem on a 20 gal tank adds up. I’m guessing the 4-banger in the 2024 models will require premium like most turbos do?
All 3 gm midsize suv’s with the 4 cyl engine use regular gas.
Realist, Good to know. Thx!
But at what cost? Crappy performance on a 90* day with 5 people and cargo with the AC on. Not to mention compromised long term reliability because the engine is constantly regarding timing and running pig rich to cool combustion…that leads to severely contaminated oil, washed down cylinders, premature turbo wear due to elevated exhaust gas temps, premature failure of catalytic converters…and the G damned throttle response of a sponge.
That’s just scratching the surface. I literally spent decades in the motorsports world as a head engineer. I’m not pulling this out of thin air or a 10 minute Google search to try and sound smart or win some stupid internet argument. There are compromises, always. TANSTAAFL. (Look it up.)
Even if they don’t “require” it…a 4cyl huffing big boost at low rpm SHOULD have high octane or performance and long term reliability will suffer. You can only push small engines so much. If it was a 4cyl turbo diesel, no issue…but that’s comparing apples and bluefish.
PS. I spent decades boosting and racing 4cyl engines professionally, so I’m not biased against them, just realistic. This car demands a silky V6 not a buzzy 4cyl.
I have had 2012, 2015 amd 2021 Enclaves and was planning to get a 2025 model bit will not purchase a 4 cylinder model
Get rid of mary
What has she done? She just brought you a 1,000 HP corvette. Has improved the GM interiors, made class leading trucks (ZR2 HD anyone), has brought GM stock up compared to the other US automakers among any others. But yeah, because she is a women lets get rid of her…
V6 with long single row timing chain has not been dependable for me. I wish they had improved it instead of going with the 4. Will they downsize to a 3 next?
Get rid of mary
I happen to own an Enclave with the V6 and it has been a very good engine, delivering nearly a 22mpg avg over its now 118k life.
Had GM not abandoned it’s sedan line up perhaps the overall blend would still allow them to offer that competent workhorse engine.
NO. I won’t buy one. Have a 2024 Enclave with the V6. NO FOURS in my future purchases!
It’s going to make all the 24 models leave the dealerships in numbers as Enclave owners don’t want a 4 banger under the hood. And I don’t either so I traded my 23 model Enclave for a 24 model. Want have to worry about it for a long time. And love the car also.
Nice to see you speak for ALL ENCLAVE owners. Even though this four outperforms the V6 handedly while getting better mpg and is over built so I bet it lasts longer than the car derived V6, But you do you and your dated thought process only a few agree with.
TMI, what do you mean by “over built?”
This is based heavily on the 2.7 in the full size trucks. Those motors are built like a diesel and have been noted by engineers are one of the hardest to kill in torture and durability testing. It has forged crank and rods, cart iron inserts and a ton of other durable parts from head and crank bolts to cooling sprays and oiling channels. It is built tough. Motors like this are what made things like the Supra and Cobra so easy to mod to big power levels, they were over built and last. This 2.5 is in the same category.
But at what cost? Crappy performance on a 90* day with 5 people and cargo with the AC on. Not to mention compromised long term reliability because the engine is constantly regarding timing and running pig rich to cool combustion…that leads to severely contaminated oil, washed down cylinders, premature turbo wear due to elevated exhaust gas temps, premature failure of catalytic converters…and the G damned throttle response of a sponge.
That’s just scratching the surface. I literally spent decades in the motorsports world as a head engineer. I’m not pulling this out of thin air or a 10 minute Google search to try and sound smart or win some stupid internet argument. There are compromises, always. TANSTAAFL. (Look it up.)
First off, unless you talked 1-1 with the GM power train engineer who worked on this 2.5, or held the rods and pistons in your hands you truly have no idea what’s inside that engine. It’s pure speculation.
Secondly, we are not talking about people trying to double or triple the power output of this engine, so forged internals are not changing much here. We are talking about people who are going to change their oil at the recommended intervals…maybe. people who are going to load this sucker up with 7 people and 400lbs of gear and drive up MT Washington on a 90* day with AC blasting on 87 octane…and shut it down HOT at the top with no cool down.
IOW real world usage, not an enthusiast who changes the oil after a track day and cares for it like his baby. This sucker is getting used hard and put away wet.
See my post above about some of the real world issues boosting a small engine brings. Or just go ask all the blown up Ford Ecoboost owners that have their F150s stacked up at the dealer service department. Everyone wants the 5.0 for a reason.
As much as we’d like to rag on GM for dropping the V-6, most manufacturers, domestic and foreign, are doing the same. Some just do it better than others. While I test drove many 4 cyl. mid-size SUV’s when I got my 2021 GMC AT4, they were all under powered, and gave the car a tinny ride, because they weigh less but my wife’s BMW 530e plug-in hybrid drives great once it switches from electric to gas after it’s 30 mile charge. So while I am probably going to buy my AT4 when the lease is up in December as the residual is $8-10K under mkt value, if I was going to be in the mkt for a new vehicle, I would still test drive the Acadia/Traverse/Enclave 4 cyl just to try it on for size. Ya never know!
“As much as we’d like to rag on GM for dropping the V-6, most manufacturers, domestic and foreign, are doing the same.”
Same logic GM tried to apply to the Express van: “Nobody else has a V8 so why should we?”. NO NO NO!!! People bought the Express precisely because it had a V8, and people bought the previous Traverse/Enclave because it had a solid V6.
If you’re building the same thing as everyone else, what makes you stand out? And no, trying to differentiate with “Biggest in class touch screen!” etc. marketing doesn’t make up for mediocre mechanicals.
After reading these comments, I’m glad I bit the bullet and bought a 2023 Avenir in June 2023.
Unelected bureaucrats are ruining the car industry. That’s the truth. I used to be excited about new models. Now I hate them because it means we’re paying more money for less.
So true JLP,
I used to be a “car enthusiast” who looked forward to any new models but now there is nothing to be enthused about. The styling is overwrought and all the same, they’re either EVs or powered by inferior engines and the only improvements are tech related (bigger screens) which are things that will quickly become dated.
I don’t consider the Enclave to be improved or more desirable and although I know it’s partially due to government regulations GM has powerful lobbyists and could’ve pushed back from those but elected not to. Thus, when I read about tough times on the horizon for General Motors (as outlined in the CNBC story today, for example) I have to think it’s somewhat of their own making. The current government is forcing them to build products consumers don’t want but GM is still backing that same government to stay in power.
Wanted GMs highly rated Super Cruise and now there is no GM suv with the advanced version of Super Cruise (the XT6 is on the old system) AND a proper V6 engine. I drove the firat Acadia Denali at dealer and this had the full active noise cancellation option as part of the package, and even with that, it is horribly noisy frome engine and tranny for the fiirst 2 or 3 high reviing gears in the 4 cyl. Who cares if it has more power or better economy when the vehi le is unrefined. I hope sales tank. So i looked at Lincoln Nautilis and their hyway cruise sysyem is also high rated, but sadly their mapping system does not have most of the roads i need that super cruise has …otherwise that would be my first non GM car
If the government wants these overworked 4 cylinder motors let them buy them for the rest of us we will look elsewhere
I think the turbo 4 is a good move. Our 2010 Enclave has good power but the city gas mileage is not great.