Millennial Mom’s Road Trip: 2022 Buick Enclave

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For a more in-depth review of the 2022 Buick Enclave, check out our First Drive.

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If you’re getting ready for a road trip with kids, then you’re probably frustrated, anxious, and annoyed a whole week before you’ve even begun packing for the trip. There’s a lot of over-thinking to be done. And if you’ve made the rookie mistake of telling the kids more than a day before the trip, then you’re constantly answering questions about departure time, which is ironic because as soon as you get in the car, they’re ready to get out.

Depending on the season and what you’ve got planned, there are some road trip essentials that tend to get swapped out. While summer road trips usually involve extra sunscreen and the occasional camping chair (with a drink holder), winter road trips require all the winter gear (snow pants, boots, toque, mittens, etc.) if you plan on enjoying the cold weather.

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A trip that involves the bulk of winter necessities often requires a vehicle that can effectively hold it all, kids included. For this road trip, we drove the 2022 Buick Enclave, a mid-size seven-seater — in the base Essence trim — upgraded with the $1,495 Sport Touring package and a few other features that bump the price from $51,998 ($1,200 less than the 2021 model year) to $58,513.

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Sure, it’s a bit pricey, but it’s got one of the largest trunks I’ve seen in a three-row SUV. Aside from the absence of sliding doors, the cargo space is my biggest gripe with big SUVs. Brands usually claim a number of litres that the trunk holds with all the seats up (in this case it’s 668L), but I’m not storing litres of milk in there, and I’m not stacking groceries on top of each other. I need a huge, flat area that provides space for a stroller and groceries — or in this case, duffel bags of overnight clothes. I was pleasantly surprised to see that everything fit, far better than it did in the trunks of full-size SUVs like the Chevrolet Tahoe and Lincoln Navigator.

I appreciate the sufficient space between the second-row captain’s chairs (not available with a bench seat) that make it easy for third-row passengers to get back there. There’s definitely enough space to easily fit younger children in the third row, or even some smaller teenagers, though they’d surely be more comfortable in those captain’s chairs.

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Once we all got comfortable in our “assigned” positions in the vehicle (three out of seven seats were labelled with a car seat, each belonging to a specific child), I had to double check my list that included snacks, wipes, tissues, and the throw-up bucket — you never know.

“Can you play some music?” “I want Sing 2.” “I want Encanto!” “No! I want High School Musical: The Musical: The Series!”

And so it begins.

With my phone wirelessly connected to Apple CarPlay, I can easily access Spotify, as well as the destination countdown on the vehicle’s navigation — roughly two hours and 30 minutes until we reach JW Marriott The Rosseau Muskoka Resort & Spa.

The touch screen options and climate control buttons are fairly simple, especially after driving the Enclave for a week; it was easy to get accustomed to the things I used most often.

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It’s a minor detail, but the vents are positioned partially behind the steering wheel. If the heated steering wheel is activated while the heat is blasting, the steering wheel gets rather hot.

I imagine the Premium or Avenir trim would have been enjoyable on this drive, as either can be equipped with massage seats. Note that the Avenir has a starting price of $62,998, and as previously mentioned, this tested Essence was upgraded to $58,513. If you’re willing to spend a bit extra, the Avenir may be the way to go; on the flip side, removing the extras from the Essence could bring it down to a more reasonable price of roughly $10,000 less than the Avenir. Personally, I’d take the savings where I can get them, especially since the fuel consumption is 13.6 L/100 km in the city and 9.6 on the highway.

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Several snacks and a little less than an hour into the drive, we stopped for lunch at a drive-through. Though the drive-through felt like a tight squeeze in this SUV, I received little vibrations to my derrière every time I got remotely close to anything and stayed on track. That said, while the backup camera is clear, and the turning radius is similar to comparable three-rows, I can’t seem to properly estimate backing into a parking spot in one try.

After several attempts, we ate in the spacious SUV, then were on our way again.

The leather-wrapped, heated steering wheel is a bit tight and the car feels heavy, but once you get it going on the highway, it’s not as noticeably heavy, especially when adaptive cruise control takes over.

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“I’m hot.” “I’m bored.” “UGH! When are we going to be there?!”

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Almost two hours — and a fairly smooth and quiet drive despite some bumpy and curvy roads — later, we pulled up to a snowy road and the Buick had to climb a small hill to get to the main entrance of the JW Marriott.

That evening, we planned on joining a few other guests around a fire pit, and the hotel provides a complimentary s’mores kit. However, due to temperatures being in the -20s, we decided s’mores could wait until we got home. Instead, we stayed indoors, made some popcorn and hot chocolate, and snuggled under a blanket.

Overall, despite doing things we could have easily done at home (and probably will), it was nice to get out of the house and enjoy a change of scenery — even if we spent more time getting ready to go to the hotel and drive than time actually spent there.

With our new destination set as home, we put the snack backpack in its rightful place, between the second row’s captain’s chairs where it’s easily accessible to everyone, and began the drive back to Mississauga.

“Can you play some music?” “I want Sing 2.” “I want Encanto!” “No! I want High School Musical: The Musical: The Series!”

Great, here we go, again.