2023 Buick Enclave Safety and Reliability

The NHTSA is yet to conduct a complete review of the Buick Enclave, and for 2023 has only evaluated the model for the rollover test, for which it attained four starts. The IIHS has not provided 2023 data, but the previous year model was given the best possible score of 'Good' in most categories, but the car failed to achieve the organization's Top Safety Pick or Safety Pick+ rating. In an update side crash test, the Buick's 'Good' rating was downgraded to 'Acceptable'.

The Buick Enclave has seven airbags; dual front, curtain (for all three rows), front side-impact, and a driver's inboard seat-mounted side-impact airbag. The three respective trims are blessed with high levels of safety equipment, courtesy of the standard Buick Driver Confidence Plus Package.

This comprehensive safety suite includes automatic emergency braking, rear park assist, automatic high beam assist, lane-keep assist, lane change alert (with a blind spot monitor), and lane departure warning, among other things. Adaptive cruise control is standard fitment on the Avenir but is available on the Essence and Premium optionally. A rearview camera is standard on all but the top two trims also have a surround-view monitor.

Parents will be pleased to know the LATCH child seat tethering system is also standard across the range.

Owners of the Enclave rate the crossover very highly. According to J.D. Power, the dealership experience is superb (93/100), and quality and reliability has improved by a few points over the previous year model - now up to 81/100 rating. The overall Buick Enclave rating sits at 84/100.

Although the 2023 lineup was recall-free at the time of writing, the 2022 models were recalled for a problem relating to the roof rail side airbags. Incompatible electrical components could lead to the airbag not deploying in a crash and, while that's serious, just 89 units are affected. Some 2021 models were affected by this too, along with front airbag deployment issues. Things do seem to be getting better, though; 2020 models were recalled for as many as six issues, ranging from airbag to fuel supply issues.

Should you choose to sign on the dotted line, you'll be pleased to know that the Enclave is offered with a three-year/36,000-mile limited warranty, as well as a powertrain/drivetrain limited warranty and roadside assistance for five years/60,000 miles. One scheduled maintenance visit should keep running costs down in the first year.