Compare the2023 Buick EnclaveVS 2021 Kia Sedona

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Environmental Friendliness
Transmission
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Towing
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

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In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Enclave are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Sedona doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Enclave has a standard front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The Sedona doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

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

The Buick Enclave has Daytime Running Lights to help keep it more visible under all conditions. Canadian government studies show that driving with lights during the day reduces accidents by 11% by making vehicles more conspicuous. The Sedona doesn’t offer Daytime Running Lights.

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 Sedona and is not available with LX.

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. Only the Sedona EX/SX offers a blind spot warning system.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Enclave has a standard rear 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 Sedona EX/SX has a rear cross-path warning system.

Both the Enclave and the Sedona 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, 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 Buick Enclave is safer than the Kia Sedona:

	Enclave	Sedona
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	216	236
Neck Injury Risk	15.6%	23%
Leg Forces (l/r)	53/40 lbs.	18/876 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 Enclave is safer than the Kia Sedona:

	Enclave	Sedona
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Hip Force	204 lbs.	253 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Spine Acceleration	39 G’s	46 G’s
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	14 inches	15 inches
HIC	251	256
Hip Force	554 lbs.	619 lbs.

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

Warranty

The Enclave’s corrosion warranty is 1 year longer than the Sedona’s (6/100,000 vs. 5/100,000).

There are almost 3 times as many Buick dealers as there are Kia dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Enclave’s warranty.

Reliability

To reliably power the ignition and other systems and to recharge the battery, the Enclave has a standard 170-amp alternator. The Sedona’s 150-amp alternator isn’t as powerful.

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the Enclave has a 730-amp battery. The Sedona only offers a standard 660-amp battery.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2021 Auto Issue reports that Buick vehicles are more reliable than Kia vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Buick fourth in overall reliability. Kia is ranked 15th.

Engine

The Enclave’s 3.6 DOHC V6 produces 34 more horsepower (310 vs. 276) and 18 lbs.-ft. more torque (266 vs. 248) than the Sedona’s 3.3 DOHC V6.

As tested in Car and Driver the Buick Enclave is faster than the Kia Sedona:

	Enclave	Sedona
Zero to 60 MPH	6.5 sec	7.4 sec
Zero to 100 MPH	17.2 sec	19.4 sec
5 to 60 MPH Rolling Start	6.8 sec	7.7 sec
Quarter Mile	15 sec	15.8 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	94 MPH	91 MPH
Top Speed	130 MPH	122 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Enclave FWD gets better fuel mileage than the Sedona (18 city/26 hwy vs. 18 city/24 hwy).

In heavy traffic or at stoplights the Enclave’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. The engine is automatically restarted when the driver gets ready to move again. If the conditions warrant or the driver wishes, the system can be manually disabled at any time for the duration of a trip. The Sedona doesn’t offer an automatic engine start/stop system.

The Enclave has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The Sedona doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

Environmental Friendliness

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

Transmission

A nine-speed automatic is standard on the Buick Enclave, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only an eight-speed automatic is available for the Sedona.

Brakes and Stopping

The Enclave’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the Sedona are solid, not vented.

The Enclave stops shorter than the Sedona:

	Enclave	Sedona
60 to 0 MPH	130 feet	133 feet	Consumer Reports
60 to 0 MPH (Wet)	141 feet	144 feet	Consumer Reports

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the Enclave has larger tires than the Sedona (255/65R18 vs. 235/65R17).

The Enclave’s optional tires provide better handling because they have a lower 55 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Sedona EX/SX’s 60 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Enclave has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Sedona LX. The Enclave’s optional 20-inch wheels are larger than the 18-inch wheels on the Sedona EX/SX.

The Buick Enclave’s wheels have 6 lugs for longer wheel bearing life, less chance of rotor warping and greater strength. The Kia Sedona only has 5 wheel lugs per wheel.

The Enclave has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The Sedona doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

Suspension and Handling

The Enclave offers an available driver-adjustable suspension system. It allows the driver to choose between an extra-supple ride, reducing fatigue on long trips, or a sport setting, which allows maximum control for tricky roads or off-road. The Sedona’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.

Chassis

The front grille of the Enclave uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The Sedona doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

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

Passenger Space

The Enclave has 2.8 inches more front headroom, .3 inches more front legroom and .5 inches more rear headroom than the Sedona.

Cargo Capacity

Pressing a button automatically lowers or raises the Enclave Premium/Avenir’s third row seats, to make changing between cargo and passengers easier. The Sedona doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

Towing

Maximum trailer towing in the Kia Sedona is limited to 3500 pounds. The Enclave offers up to a 5000 lbs. towing capacity.

Servicing Ease

The Enclave uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Sedona uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

J.D. Power and Associates surveys of service recipients show that Buick service is better than Kia. J.D. Power ranks Buick fifth in service department satisfaction. With a 38% lower rating, Kia is ranked 26th.

Ergonomics

The Enclave Premium/Avenir has a standard heads-up display that projects speed and tachometer readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Sedona doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The Enclave’s power parking brake sets with one touch and releases with one touch or automatically. The Sedona’s parking brake has to be released manually.

The Enclave’s front and rear power windows all lower 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 Sedona’s standard power windows’ passenger windows don’t open automatically.

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 Sedona can only operate 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 Sedona doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system.

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

The Enclave’s standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Heated mirrors cost extra on the Sedona and aren’t offered on the Sedona LX.

The Enclave’s standard rear and side view mirrors have an automatic dimming feature. These mirrors can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The Sedona offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

The Enclave has standard heated front seats. Heated front seats are only available on the Sedona EX/SX. The Enclave Premium/Avenir also has standard heated second row seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated second row seats aren’t available in the Sedona.

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 Sedona.

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 Sedona.

The Enclave has a standard dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won’t have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. Dual zone air conditioning is only available on the Sedona EX/SX.

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 Sedona EX/SX offers wireless charging.

Economic Advantages

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Enclave is less expensive to operate than the Sedona because typical repairs cost less on the Enclave than the Sedona, including $62 less for front struts.

Recommendations

The Buick Enclave outsold the Kia Sedona by almost two to one during the 2021 model year.

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