The following new or redesigned models are scheduled to arrive in car dealership showrooms in the next few months.
2025 Buick Enclave
Buick’s new “Pure” design theme fronts the new Enclave; the oversize grille hews to current trends
Chic cabin of the new Enclave
General Motors is attempting to project an aura of real differences between its various brands that share the same platforms. When the new-generation Chevrolet Traverse and GMC Acadia were unveiled during the 2024 auto show season, a redesigned Buick Enclave was nowhere to be seen. Better late than never, the 2025 Buick Enclave has now broken cover anonymously, without any auto show fanfare.
GM Canada notes the new-generation model is slightly bigger than before. Along with its Acadia and Traverse showroom mates, it is in the XXXL club of crossover vehicles.
Exterior styling employs Buick’s new “Pure” design theme first seen on the Wildcat show car that has progressed to the Encore GX, Envista and Enclave production vehicles. The side profile is bulkier and partly echoes the Acura MDX.
In photos, the interior looks nicely executed. The dashboard in dominated by a 31-inch-diagonal screen that displays vehicle readouts in front of the driver and infotainment functions over the centre of the dash. Physical buttons that are more convenient than touchscreen controls trigger various functions. The rest of the cabin is visually spare and appears quite elegant. Cabin and cargo space were abundant on the last Enclave and this new one should be roomy as well.
Like its Traverse and Acadia platform mates, the Enclave has lost its silky V6 in favour of a new turbocharged four cylinder. In the Enclave, the 2.5T is rated at 328 horsepower. Power reaches all wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission. Standard equipment on all trims includes heated and power front seats, wireless iOS-Android connectivity, wireless cellphone charging and a Bose-branded audio system.
Standard active safety equipment includes a forward collision warning, autonomous emergency braking, junction turning intervention, traffic sign recognition, a lane departure warning and a lane keeping assist system.
GM’s limited self-driving system, marketed as “Super Cruise” is optional.
GM has promised to launch the Enclave this summer but their litany of failed product launches over the last couple of years suggests waiting a while to determine if the bugs have been worked out.
2025 RAM 1500
The 2025 RAM 1500 — not all new, but heavily revised
Among the full-size pickups, Ram maintains its leadership in cabin design
The updated RAM, built on the same wheelbase as last year, is marginally shorter and lower. Frontal styling is new but oh-so- familiar, with the side profile essentially unchanged. Each trim will be fronted by a unique grille. The overall look is sleek for a pickup, and the RAM is looks less intimidating than it once was.
The cabin is significantly updated. Driver’s face a crisply-marked 12.3 inch digital gauge cluster. The centre of the dashboard is dominated by a 14.5 inch, vertically-oriented screen, and on premium trims front passengers can gaze at a 10 inch screen. RAM employs a rotary gear selector once again. With a combination of physical buttons and logical touchscreen surfaces, drivers should be comfortable with the controls. Cabin space is vast. Features and trim appearance vary from adequate and plain on the base Tradesman trim to overwhelming and sumptuous on the range-topping Tungsten model.
Extended cab and crew cab models are available; almost all non-commercial buyers pick the crew cab.
New features available for 2025 include a head-up display, a power tailgate and Hands-free Driving Assist, a Level 2 limited automated driving capability.
The 3.6L-V6 eTorque mild hybrid engine returns as the base engine for 2025. The long-serving 5.7L-V8 has been replaced by a new 3L inline six turbo engine. The base SST cranks out 420 horsepower, with the SST HO version of the engine rated at 540 horsepower. A hyper-performance variant will follow by the end of 2024. Power is sent to the rear, or optionally, all wheels, via an eight-speed automatic in all cases.
The 2025 RAM 1500 was scheduled to go on sale this spring. If you choose the new inline six, the APA recommends the purchase of an extended warranty from the manufacturer for as long as you plan to own the vehicle (or the longest available warranty if you’re planning to hold on to the pickup). It’s expensive, but a form of insurance against introductory bugs that bedeviled the Ram diesel for years.
2025 Volkswagen ID.7
Clean, elegant styling of the new Volkswagen ID.7
Cabin design is significantly different than the closely-related ID.4
Built on VW’s MEB electric car architecture, the ID.7 fastback sedan is built on a 205 mm longer wheelbase, is 376 mm longer, marginally wider and lower than its crossover stablemate, the ID.4. Early-release details indicate the use of an 82-kWh battery pack. Power output is rated at 282 horsepower for rear-wheel drive ID.7s and 335 with dual-motor all-wheel drive. Using a level 3 charger, VW claims the battery pack can be charged from 10 percent to 80 percent in 28 minutes. Range of the related ID.4 is 468 kilometers with rear-wheel drive and 423 kilometers with the dual-motor all-wheel drive setup.
Though the fastback styling suggests the presence of a rear hatch, the ID.7 actually has a separate trunk. The exterior design is elegant and restrained with some nice bright detailing. With a low .23 coefficient of drag, the ID.7 is very slippery. The cabin of the ID.7 surprisingly shares little with that of the ID.4. The driver faces a very blocky, near featureless dashboard which incorporates a very slim speedometer right in front of the driver but places more information in a Tesla-style gigantic screen mounted at the centre of the dashboard. The long wheelbase should contribute to a roomy rear seat.
2025 Chevrolet Equinox
The new Equinox adopts a bulkier look. An odd “Shark Fin” body-coloured accent interrupts the side window line
After seven years, Chevrolet has unveiled the next-generation Equinox.
Like the larger Traverse, the new Equinox morphs from a sleek, uncluttered look to a bulkier, edgier design. Each trim level, the LT, Active and RS, boasts a unique front fascia. Like the Traverse, the Equinox greenhouse is interrupted by a an odd, triangular-like painted panel referred to as a “Shark fin”, by Chevrolet. The clean rear styling is the most pleasing aspect of the new Equinox.
Inside, the Equinox displays Chevrolet’s current cabin design. The driver faces a large digital gauge package, adjoining a large screen working the infotainment functions of the car. There are physical buttons for the climate system. The gear selector has been moved to the steering column, freeing up space on the centre console. The rest of the cabin is elegant and a number of two-tone colour combinations are available. Built on a marginally longer wheelbase for 2025, cabin space should be about the same as it was in 2024. GM claims there is 1798 litres of cargo capacity with the rear seat folded down, 11 litres less than last year.
GM’s familiar 1.5L turbo four returns as the sole engine for 2025. Rated at 175 horsepower, output is less than most competitors. On the front-wheel-drive LT trim, power reaches the wheels via a CVT, but the all-wheel drive system, optional on the LT and standard on the Active and RS, is mated with a conventional (and likely more durable) eight-speed automatic.
GM has upped their game regarding active safety equipment for the new Equinox. Forward collision warning, autonomous emergency braking, blind spot, rear cross traffic and lane departure warnings, side bicyclist alert, junction turning intervention, a lane-keep assist system and active cruise control, are all standard.
GM hints at a summer 2024 launch but if recent history repeats, there may be a delay.
Reflecting GM’s effort to differentiate models assembled off the same platform, there is no word yet on a replacement for the related GMC Terrain.
2025 Honda Prologue
Strong, clean lines of the Honda Prologue
Large touch screen augmented by plenty of physical buttons
The Honda is the result of a collaboration between Honda and General Motors. It’s based on General Motor’s Ultium electric vehicle platform. It was supposed to herald the start of a new partnership with several other GM-based Honda EVs to follow, but it now appears to be an evolutionary dead-end, as the deal is off for the future. (From 2004-2007 Honda supplied the V6 powertrain for GM’s Saturn Vue SUV, so there was some history of joint ventures between the two partners.)
Compared to the Honda Pilot, the Prologue has a longer wheelbase, but is 204 mm shorter overall, lower and a bit narrower. Like the related Acura ZDX, the clean-lined Prologue is an elegant machine; it looks nothing like the similarly-sized and chunky Chevrolet Blazer BEV built on the same platform.
The cabin features a wide, slim-line dashboard. The driver faces a small digital gauge pod and there is a large, free-standing screen hovering over the centre of the dashboard that works the infotainment functions. The rest of the cabin is visually clean and some two-tone colour combinations are offered. The long wheelbase should deliver excellent cabin room.
The 85-kWh battery pack provides energy to a dual-motor all-wheel drive system rated at 288 total system horsepower. Range under ideal conditions is stated to be 452 kilometers. Hooked up to a Level 3 charger, the Prologue can add 101 kilometers of range in 10 minutes, and can go from 20 percent charged to 80 percent in 35 minutes.
Active safety is well catered for in the Prologue. Forward collision warning, autonomous emergency braking, front pedestrian braking, active cruise control, blind spot and rear cross traffic monitors and reverse auto braking, are all standard. Front and rear parking sonars, rear pedestrian alert and a 360-degree camera, are optional.
The Prologue will be available only in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia, at least initially. Like GM-branded versions of this platform, production seems to be chaotic. The 2024 Prologue appears to be sold out, the 2025 can be ordered and Honda is recording names of those keen on learning about the 2026 model when details become available. Dealers expect delivery times to be from six months to a year. It’s unclear if quality control at launch is more Honda than GM; GM’s EVs have run into heaps of trouble at launch on a scale that Honda dealers have no experience managing. The learning curve with a new EV based on GM technology will be steep at Honda dealerships.
All photos provided by the manufacturers