For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Genesis GV80 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.
Both the GV80 and Enclave have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The GV80 has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Enclave’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.
The Genesis GV80 has a standard driver’s side knee airbag mounted low on the dashboard. The knee airbag helps prevent the driver from sliding under the seatbelts or the main frontal airbag; this keeps the driver better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. A knee airbag also helps 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.
To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the GV80. But it costs extra on the Enclave.
Both the GV80 and Enclave have rear cross-traffic warning, but the GV80 has Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist (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 GV80’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 GV80 and the Enclave have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, front seat center airbag, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, 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 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 Genesis GV80 is safer than the Buick Enclave:
|
GV80 |
Enclave |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
4 Stars |
4 Stars |
HIC |
263 |
333 |
Chest Compression |
.6 inches |
.9 inches |
Neck Injury Risk |
34% |
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, results indicate that the Genesis GV80 is safer than the Buick Enclave:
|
GV80 |
Enclave |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
29 |
69 |
Chest Movement |
.5 inches |
.9 inches |
Abdominal Force |
101 lbs. |
161 lbs. |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
70 |
134 |
Spine Acceleration |
26 G’s |
39 G’s |
Hip Force |
458 lbs. |
716 lbs. |
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 Genesis GV80 is safer than the Enclave:
|
GV80 |
Enclave |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Structure |
GOOD |
MARGINAL |
|
Driver Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head Injury Criterion |
67 |
141 |
Neck Tension |
178 lbs. |
446 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
-45 lbs. |
45 lbs. |
Torso |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Shoulder Deflection |
.39 in |
1.3 in |
Shoulder Force |
223 lbs. |
312 lbs. |
Torso Max Deflection |
.75 in |
1.5 in |
Pelvis |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Pelvis Force |
669 lbs. |
1116 lbs. |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Passenger Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head Injury Criterion |
49 |
189 |
Neck Tension |
89 lbs. |
134 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
-22 lbs. |
201 lbs. |
Torso |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Shoulder Deflection |
.55 in |
1.02 in |
Shoulder Force |
268 lbs. |
290 lbs. |
Torso Max Deflection |
.67 in |
1.22 in |
Torso Deflection Rate |
3 MPH |
10 MPH |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
The Genesis GV80 (built after August 2023) has achieved the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) highest rating of “Top Safety Pick Plus” for the 2024 model year. This distinction is based on its exceptional performance in IIHS’ rigorous battery of safety tests. Specifically, it earned a “Good” rating in the latest, more stringent moderate overlap front crash test, a “Good” result in the updated side impact test, and an “Acceptable” score in the revised pedestrian crash prevention test. The Enclave is not even a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2024.