2026 Land Rover Defender vs 2026 Buick Enclave

Heavily updated for the 2025 model year, the Enclave three-row crossover SUV enters 2026 unchanged. It shares a platform with the Chevrolet Traverse and GMC Acadia, carving out its own niche with a greater emphasis on luxury and comfort than ruggedness and active-lifestyle pretensions.

Verdict: The 2026 Buick Enclave finds a middle ground between standard three-row SUVs and their more expensive luxury-branded counterparts. While it's not particularly exciting to look at or drive, it gets the fundamentals right with a spacious cabin in all three rows, a large cargo capacity, high levels of comfort, and easy-to-use tech.

As the rest of the lineup has trended toward luxury, the Land Rover Defender has stayed true to the brand’s roots of tough off-roaders ideal for the military and farmers alike. That’s mainly because Land Rover put off updates for decades, but a redesigned Defender that’s more passenger car than farm implement arrived for 2020, bringing the nameplate back to the U.S. Changes for 2026 include subtle styling changes, a larger touchscreen, and new color and accessory options.

Verdict: The Defender offers an unmatched combination of off-road capability and everyday civility.