For enhanced safety, the front and second-row seat shoulder belts of the Ford Explorer have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Buick Enclave doesn’t offer pretensioners for its second-row seat belts.
For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Ford Explorer 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 Ford Explorer 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 Enclave doesn’t offer knee airbags.
The Explorer has standard Post Collision Braking, which automatically apply the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Enclave doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.
Both the Explorer and Enclave have rear cross-traffic warning, but the Explorer offers optional Cross Traffic Braking (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Enclave’s Rear Cross Traffic Alert doesn’t automatically brake.
The Explorer’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Enclave doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the Explorer and the Enclave have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, available all wheel drive and 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 Ford Explorer is safer than the Buick Enclave:
|
Explorer |
Enclave |
OVERALL STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
125 |
216 |
Neck Stress |
167 lbs. |
198 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
26 lbs. |
77 lbs. |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
HIC |
318 |
333 |
Chest Compression |
.4 inches |
.9 inches |
Neck Injury Risk |
29.2% |
35.2% |
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 Ford Explorer is safer than the Buick Enclave:
|
Explorer |
Enclave |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
65 |
69 |
Chest Movement |
.9 inches |
.9 inches |
Abdominal Force |
161 lbs. |
161 lbs. |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
86 |
134 |
Spine Acceleration |
38 G’s |
39 G’s |
Hip Force |
604 lbs. |
716 lbs. |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Max Damage Depth |
12 inches |
14 inches |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
Side impacts caused 23% of all road fatalities in 2018, down from 29% in 2003, when the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety introduced its side barrier test. In order to continue improving vehicle safety, the IIHS has started using a more severe side impact test: 37 MPH (up from 31 MPH), with a 4180-pound barrier (up from 3300 pounds). The results of this newly developed test demonstrates that the Ford Explorer is safer than the Enclave:
|
Explorer |
Enclave |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Structure |
GOOD |
MARGINAL |
|
Driver Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head Injury Criterion |
86 |
141 |
Neck Tension |
223 lbs. |
446 lbs. |
Torso |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Shoulder Deflection |
.91 in |
1.3 in |
Shoulder Force |
134 lbs. |
312 lbs. |
Torso Max Deflection |
1.06 in |
1.5 in |
Torso Deflection Rate |
5 MPH |
6 MPH |
Pelvis |
ACCEPTABLE |
ACCEPTABLE |
Pelvis Force |
982 lbs. |
1116 lbs. |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Passenger Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head Injury Criterion |
168 |
189 |
Neck Compression |
22 lbs. |
201 lbs. |
Torso |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Shoulder Deflection |
.98 in |
1.02 in |
Torso Deflection Rate |
9 MPH |
10 MPH |
Pelvis |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Pelvis Force |
825 lbs. |
848 lbs. |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
For its performance in IIHS driver-side and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, updated side impact, headlight, and daytime pedestrian crash prevention testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Explorer the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2023, a rating granted to only 55 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Enclave has not been fully tested, yet.