Compare the2022 Buick EnclaveVS 2021 Chevrolet Tahoe

The Enclave’s standard lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane and gently nudges the vehicle back towards its lane. A lane departure warning system costs extra on the Tahoe.

The Enclave 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. A system to reveal vehicles in the Tahoe’s blind spot costs extra.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Enclave 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. Cross-path warning costs extra on the Tahoe.

For better protection of the passenger compartment, the Enclave uses safety cell construction with a three-dimensional high-strength frame that surrounds the passenger compartment. It provides extra impact protection and a sturdy mounting location for door hardware and side impact beams. The Tahoe uses a body-on-frame design, which has no frame members above the floor of the vehicle.

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

For its top level performance in all IIHS frontal, side, rear impact and roof-crush tests, and with its optional front crash prevention system, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Enclave the rating of “Top Pick” for 2017, a rating granted to only 213 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Tahoe has not been tested, yet.

For smoother operation, better efficiency and fewer moving parts, the Enclave has an overhead cam design, rather than the old pushrod design of some of the engines in the Tahoe.

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it’s being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the Enclave’s reliability 20 points higher than the Tahoe.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2021 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Buick vehicles are more reliable than Chevrolet vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Buick fifth in reliability, above the industry average. With 15 more problems per 100 vehicles, Chevrolet is ranked 12th.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2021 Auto Issue reports that Buick vehicles are more reliable than Chevrolet vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Buick fourth in reliability. Chevrolet is ranked 17th.

As tested in Car and Driver the Buick Enclave is faster than the Chevrolet Tahoe 5.3 V8:

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

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Buick Enclave uses regular unleaded gasoline. The Tahoe High Country requires premium for maximum efficiency, which can cost 20 to 55 cents more per gallon.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Buick Enclave higher (6 out of 10) than the Chevrolet Tahoe (3 to 5). This means the Enclave produces up to 23.4 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Tahoe every 15,000 miles.

The Enclave stops much shorter than the Tahoe:

The Enclave Essence handles at .82 G’s, while the Tahoe Z71 4x4 pulls only .63 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Enclave Avenir executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1 seconds quicker than the Tahoe LT 4x4 (28.4 seconds @ .6 average G’s vs. 29.4 seconds @ .54 average G’s).

The Buick Enclave may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 1100 to 1150 pounds less than the Chevrolet Tahoe.

The Enclave is 5.9 inches shorter than the Tahoe, making the Enclave easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

Unibody construction lowers the Enclave’s center of gravity significantly without reducing ground clearance. This contributes to better on the road handling and better off-road performance and stability. In addition, unibody construction makes the chassis stiffer, improving handling and reducing squeaks and rattles. The Tahoe uses body-on-frame design instead.

The Enclave uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The Tahoe doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

The Enclave has .3 inches more front headroom and 1 inch more rear headroom than the Tahoe.

A low lift-over cargo hatch design makes loading and unloading the Enclave easier. The Enclave’s cargo hatch lift-over height is 30.5 inches, while the Tahoe’s liftover is 37 inches.

If the windows are left open on the Enclave the driver can close them all from a distance using the remote. On a hot day the driver can also lower the windows the same way. The driver of the Tahoe can only close the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Enclave’s available exterior PIN entry system. The Tahoe doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system, and its OnStar® can’t unlock the doors if the vehicle doesn’t have cell phone reception or the driver can’t contact the service.

The Enclave has a standard heated steering wheel to take the chill out of steering on extremely cold winter days before the vehicle heater warms up. A heated steering wheel costs extra on the Tahoe.

The Enclave Premium/Avenir has standard massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the Tahoe.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Buick Enclave has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. Only the Tahoe LT/RST/Z71/Premier/High Country offers wireless charging.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Enclave is less expensive to operate than the Tahoe because it costs $73 less to do the manufacturer’s suggested maintenance for 50,000 miles. Typical repairs cost much less on the Enclave than the Tahoe, including $482 less for a muffler, $62 less for a fuel pump, $49 less for front struts and $450 less for a timing belt/chain.