Brands are continually working to make their cars safer for consumers. They realize that consumers value safety above almost everything else when it comes to choosing a new car. Consumers look for vehicles that hold up well, will have high safety ratings from the IIHS and NHTSA, and that provide plenty of standard safety features to put their minds at ease as they drive.

Buick is no stranger to meeting customer needs and, like all other car brands, hopes to achieve top safety ratings and be deemed safe by consumers and reviewers.

Overview of the Buick Enclave

The Buick Enclave delivers when it comes to SUVs. Available in four trims, Preferred, Essence, Premium, and Avenir, the Enclave offers up a modern design along with its trademark styling of the past. All trims offer front or all-wheel drive, except the Preferred, which comes in front-wheel drive only. The 3.6-liter V6 engine and 9-speed automatic transmission bring power to this SUV. And you won’t sacrifice a quiet ride either.

No matter the trim, you’ll get a smooth ride with responsive handling and still ride high with SUV seating position. A third-row, seating for seven, and a luxurious interior, along with a long list of features and extras, make the Enclave a hot buy starting at $40,000.

Passengers will benefit from one of the roomiest SUVs in its class, and the 98 cubic feet of space lets you load up to the max. You’ll enjoy heated front seats, Bluetooth, OnStar, auto climate control, and available features such as a sunroof, premium sound system, navigation, and a rear DVD.

New in 2020, the Buick Enclave adds the Sport Touring package, exclusively on the Essence trim. The package adds some stylish exterior features such as a black mesh front grille, body-color surround grille, and 20-inch wheels.  

Safety features you can count on

The Buick Enclave comes with several standard safety features, including rear parking sensors, seven airbags, hands-free phone capabilities, cruise control, and blind-spot monitoring. You’ll also feel safer with forward-collision warning and rear-seat reminder, which come standard as well. 

Available advanced safety and driver-assist features can be added on, but often require the upper two trims. Features such as adaptive cruise control, lane-change alert, blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert, automatic emergency braking, safety alert seat, front parking sensors, available OnStar, and more can make the Enclave even safer.

With the rise in pedestrian-vehicle accidents, the optional pedestrian detection comes in handy, as does active lane control with lane-departure warnings and a surround-view camera system.

Some of the favorite features of reviewers included the following distance indicator, lane change and blind zone alert, and safety alert seat, and consumers seem happy with the 2020 Enclave as well, rating it high on Kelley Blue Book and other review sites. 

How safe is the Buick Enclave?

Safety features are great, but they can only take a vehicle so far. Not only do they have to work, but they have to be reliable. According to the NTSHA, the 2020 Buick Enclave is a safe car, earning the highest rating of 5/5 for overall safety.

This included a frontal crash rating of 4/5, side crash rating of 5/5, and rollover rating of 4/5. To achieve these ratings, the NHTSA recommended buyers add on forward collision warning and lane departure warning.

The IIHS also rated the 2020 Buick Enclave, giving it the highest rating of ‘good’ in all areas. If you judge a car by these standards, it seems the Buick Enclave is a pretty safe bet.

Why safety matters

For all vehicles on the market, the NHTSA recommends driver assistance technologies, offering proof of how they make driving safer for everyone. The future of vehicle safety is changing for the better, and that’s because consumers have demanded better.