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 Nissan Kicks has only front height-adjustable seat belts.
The Encore offers all-wheel drive to maximize traction under poor conditions, especially in ice and snow. The Kicks doesn’t offer all-wheel drive.
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 Kicks doesn’t offer a GPS response system, so if you’re involved in an accident and you’re incapacitated help may not come as quickly.
Both the Encore and the Kicks have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger 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, rearview cameras, available collision warning systems, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rear parking sensors and rear cross-path warning.
The Buick Encore weighs 493 to 676 pounds more than the Nissan Kicks. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts. Crosswinds also affect lighter cars more.
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 Nissan Kicks:
|
Encore |
Kicks |
OVERALL STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
122 |
191 |
Neck Injury Risk |
26% |
32% |
Neck Stress |
298 lbs. |
374 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
12 lbs. |
27 lbs. |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
HIC |
207 |
326 |
Chest Compression |
.3 inches |
.6 inches |
Neck Injury Risk |
38% |
79% |
Neck Stress |
122 lbs. |
392 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
104 lbs. |
138 lbs. |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
249/289 lbs. |
370/209 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, results indicate that the Buick Encore is safer than the Nissan Kicks:
|
Encore |
Kicks |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
73 |
139 |
Chest Movement |
.7 inches |
.9 inches |
Abdominal Force |
120 G’s |
172 G’s |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
100 |
318 |
Spine Acceleration |
33 G’s |
47 G’s |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.