The Buick Encore GX 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 XT5 doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.
To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Encore GX has standard Rear Cross Traffic Alert, helping the driver avoid collisions. Only the XT5 Premium Luxury/Sport offers Rear Cross Traffic Alert.
The Encore GX has a standard blind spot warning system that uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them and moves the vehicle back into its lane. Only the XT5 Premium Luxury and XT5 Sport offer a system to reveal vehicles in the XT5’s blind spot.
Both the Encore GX and the XT5 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, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, 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 Encore GX is safer than the Cadillac XT5:
|
Encore GX |
XT5 |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Neck Injury Risk |
24% |
24% |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
83/261 lbs. |
213/542 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 GX is safer than the Cadillac XT5:
|
Encore GX |
XT5 |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
91 |
112 |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Spine Acceleration |
41 G’s |
43 G’s |
Hip Force |
517 lbs. |
825 lbs. |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
337 |
399 |
Spine Acceleration |
38 G’s |
39 G’s |
Hip Force |
591 lbs. |
799 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, its standard vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, its standard vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its available headlight’s “Acceptable” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Encore GX the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2022, a rating granted to only 176 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The XT5 last would have qualified as a “Top Safety Pick” in 2017.