Owned three enclaves between 2010 and 2022, the last one being a 2016 that we bough new and drove to about a 115k miles. They generally rode good and the roominess was great having a midsize suv with three rows of seating and the rear row would fold flat so you had lots of cargo room. rear buckets were nice and fit our family of 4 very good as the kids grew up. Put struts and the "stearing gear" aka rack and pinion in our 2010 between 70k-100k miles which wasn't cheap. The 2016 transmission shit the bed to the tune of $7k at about a 100k and needed suspension work also. Drove it for another year and sold it. I was never impressed with the powertrain or mileage. transmissions shifted like a slush box, and the 3.8 V6 really didn't have that much power for the mileage it got. It motivated it fine but was not like it was fun or inspiring to drive. Everyday driving was 16 mpg and on the highway 19-23 mpg. We drive lots of highway and generally push the limit a little. found them to be a bit shifty in the wind and hills.
Went to buy a new one in 2022 and hated the new redesign. Smaller interior, didn't like the dash layout or center console at all, neither the wife or I were impressed. After driving it and telling the dealer we really weren't impressed for a $70k vehicle, they suggested we should look at the Cadillac XT6 which was another $10k. As soon as I opened the door and found it had the EXACT same interior dash / front console layout as the Enclave and had the same powertrain, I just shut the door and didn't even take it for a drive. The older body style was much better in that regard. Ended up buying a 2022 Lincoln Aviator Researve with the Jet Package and after 50k miles, it is far and away my favorite vehicle my wife has owned. It's actually fun to drive, ride is fantastic, has great power and the trans shifts crisp and clean like it should, much roomier to the point that two people can put there arm on the center console and not be touching for arms, has quite a few more options and the bonus, it gets better mileage than the enclaves ever got. Best part, paid less than the cadi and not much more than the enclave. Unless they go f' it up when they redeisgn them, I can see another in our future. The explorer Platnium was another contender at the time but liked the body style, the upscale yet simple interior, and the suspension of the Aviator a bit better.
