Compare the2022 Cadillac XT6VS 2021 Buick Enclave

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Cargo Capacity
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages

Safety

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The XT6 Premium Luxury/Sport’s optional pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Enclave doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Cadillac XT6 are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The Buick Enclave doesn’t offer height-adjustable front seat belts.

The Cadillac XT6 has a standard driver’s side knee airbag mounted low on the dashboard. The knee airbag helps prevent the driver from sliding under the seatbelts or the main frontal airbag; this keeps the driver better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. A knee airbag also helps keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Enclave doesn’t offer knee airbags.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The XT6 Premium Luxury/Sport offers optional Reverse Automatic Braking that uses rear sensors to monitor and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a rear collision. The Enclave doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

The XT6 offers all-wheel drive to maximize traction under poor conditions, especially in ice and snow. The Enclave doesn’t offer all-wheel drive.

A passive infrared night vision system optional on the XT6 Premium Luxury/Sport helps the driver to more easily detect people, animals or other objects in front of the vehicle at night. Using an infrared camera to detect heat, the system then displays the image on a monitor in the dashboard. The Enclave doesn’t offer a night vision system.

The XT6 has a standard blind spot warning system which uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. Only the Enclave Essence/Premium/Avenir offers a blind spot warning system.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the XT6 has a standard cross-path warning system, which uses sensors in the rear bumper to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side, helping the driver avoid collisions. Only the Enclave Essence/Premium/Avenir has a cross-path warning system.

Both the XT6 and the Enclave have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, daytime running lights, rearview cameras and available around view monitors.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Cadillac XT6 is safer than the Buick Enclave:

	XT6	Enclave
OVERALL STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	167	216
Neck Stress	187 lbs.	198 lbs.
Neck Compression	28 lbs.	77 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	305	333
Chest Compression	.6 inches	.9 inches
Leg Forces (l/r)	9/6 lbs.	258/133 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Cadillac XT6 is safer than the Buick Enclave:

	XT6	Enclave
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Chest Movement	.7 inches	.9 inches
Abdominal Force	117 G’s	161 G’s
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Hip Force	249 lbs.	716 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	14 inches	14 inches

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, its standard vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, its standard vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its standard headlight’s “Acceptable” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the XT6 its highest rating: “Top Pick Plus” for 2021, a rating granted to only 63 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Enclave last would have qualified as only a standard “Top Pick” in 2017.

Warranty

The XT6 comes with a full 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck. The Enclave’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 14,000 miles sooner.

Cadillac’s powertrain warranty covers the XT6 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than Buick covers the Enclave. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 6 years or 70,000 miles. Coverage on the Enclave ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

The XT6’s 6 year corrosion warranty has no mileage limitations, but the corrosion warranty on the Enclave runs out after 100,000 miles.

Reliability

To reliably power the ignition and other systems and to recharge the battery, the XT6 has a standard 220-amp alternator. The Enclave’s 170-amp alternator isn’t as powerful.

Engine

The XT6 Premium Luxury/Sport’s standard 3.6 DOHC V6 produces 5 lbs.-ft. more torque (271 vs. 266) than the Enclave’s 3.6 DOHC V6.

As tested in Consumer Reports the XT6 Premium Luxury/Sport 3.6 DOHC V6 is faster than the Buick Enclave:

	XT6	Enclave
Zero to 30 MPH	3 sec	3.1 sec
Zero to 60 MPH	7.1 sec	7.4 sec
Quarter Mile	15.6 sec	15.8 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	93 MPH	92 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the XT6 gets better fuel mileage than the Enclave:

			MPG
XT6
	2WD	2.0 Turbo 4-cyl.	21 city/27 hwy
		3.6 DOHC V6	19 city/26 hwy
	4WD	2.0 Turbo 4-cyl.	21 city/26 hwy
		3.6 DOHC V6	18 city/25 hwy
Enclave
	2WD	3.6 DOHC V6	18 city/26 hwy
	4WD	3.6 DOHC V6	17 city/25 hwy

An engine control system that can shut down some of the engine’s cylinders helps improve the XT6’s fuel efficiency. The Enclave doesn’t offer a system that can shut down part of the engine.

Brakes and Stopping

The XT6 stops shorter than the Enclave:

	XT6	Enclave
70 to 0 MPH	171 feet	179 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	131 feet	134 feet	Motor Trend
60 to 0 MPH (Wet)	137 feet	141 feet	Consumer Reports

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the XT6 Premium Luxury/Sport’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Enclave (265/45R21 vs. 255/65R18).

The XT6 Premium Luxury/Sport’s optional tires provide better handling because they have a lower 45 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Enclave’s optional 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the XT6 Premium Luxury/Sport offers optional 21-inch wheels. The Enclave’s largest wheels are only 20-inches.

Suspension and Handling

The XT6 Sport AWD handles at .88 G’s, while the Enclave Essence pulls only .82 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The XT6 Sport AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.2 seconds quicker than the Enclave Avenir (27.2 seconds @ .67 average G’s vs. 28.4 seconds @ .6 average G’s).

Chassis

The XT6 is 5.8 inches shorter than the Enclave, making the XT6 easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

Cargo Capacity

Pressing a switch automatically lowers the XT6’s second and third row seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Enclave doesn’t offer automatic folding second row seats.

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the XT6. The Enclave doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

Servicing Ease

J.D. Power and Associates surveys of service recipients show that Cadillac service is better than Buick. J.D. Power ranks Cadillac fourth in service department satisfaction. With a 24% lower rating, Buick is ranked 13th.

Ergonomics

The XT6 Premium Luxury/Sport offers an optional heads-up display that projects speed and other key instrumentation readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Enclave doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The XT6’s front power windows open or close with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside of the car. The Enclave’s front passenger window doesn’t close automatically.

The XT6 Premium Luxury/Sport’s standard wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically according to the amount of rainfall on the windshield. The Enclave’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducts detailed tests on headlights for their range both straight ahead and in curves and to be certain they don’t exceed acceptable amounts of glare to oncoming drivers. The XT6’s headlights were rated “Good” to “Acceptable” by the IIHS, while the Enclave’s headlights are rated “Marginal.”

To help drivers avoid possible obstacles, the XT6 has standard cornering lights to illuminate around corners when the turn signals are activated. The Enclave doesn’t offer cornering lights.

The XT6 Premium Luxury/Sport’s optional Automatic Park Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting and stopping automatically, with the driver only responsible for switching from reverse to drive. The Enclave doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

Economic Advantages

The XT6 will cost the buyer less in the long run because of its superior resale value. The IntelliChoice estimates that the XT6 will retain 38.34% to 38.37% of its original price after five years, while the Enclave only retains 33.96% to 37.87%.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the XT6 is less expensive to operate than the Enclave because typical repairs cost much less on the XT6 than the Enclave, including $170 less for a water pump, $90 less for front brake pads, $230 less for a fuel pump and $428 less for a power steering pump.

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