For enhanced safety, the front shoulder belts of the Buick Encore are height-adjustable, and the rear seat shoulder belts have child comfort guides to move the belt to properly fit children. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages children to buckle up. The Kia Niro has only front height-adjustable seat belts.
The Buick Encore has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Niro doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.
The Encore offers all-wheel drive to maximize traction under poor conditions, especially in ice and snow. The Niro doesn’t offer all-wheel drive.
The Encore offers optional Ultrasonic Park Assist to help warn the driver about vehicles, pedestrians or other obstacles behind or in front of their vehicle. The Niro doesn’t offer a front parking aid.
The Encore has standard OnStar®, which uses a global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver and a cellular system to get turn-by-turn driving directions, remotely unlock your doors if you lock your keys in, help track down your vehicle if it’s stolen or send emergency personnel to the scene if any airbags deploy. The Niro doesn’t offer a GPS response system, only a navigation computer with no live response for emergencies, so if you’re involved in an accident and you’re incapacitated help may not come as quickly.
Both the Encore and the Niro have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, daytime running lights, rearview cameras, available collision warning systems, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems and rear cross-path warning.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Buick Encore is safer than the Kia Niro:
|
Encore |
Niro |
OVERALL STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
HIC |
122 |
139 |
Neck Injury Risk |
26% |
27% |
Neck Compression |
12 lbs. |
37 lbs. |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
3 Stars |
HIC |
207 |
224 |
Chest Compression |
.3 inches |
.5 inches |
Neck Injury Risk |
38% |
80% |
Neck Stress |
122 lbs. |
207 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 Buick Encore is safer than the Kia Niro:
|
Encore |
Niro |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
73 |
138 |
Chest Movement |
.7 inches |
.9 inches |
Abdominal Force |
120 G’s |
196 G’s |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
100 |
170 |
Spine Acceleration |
33 G’s |
77 G’s |
Hip Force |
672 lbs. |
993 lbs. |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Hip Force |
707 lbs. |
712 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.