Compare the2024 Buick EnclaveVS 2023 Ford Expedition

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

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the Buick Enclave’s middle seat shoulder belts have child comfort guides to move the belt to properly fit children. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages children to buckle up. The Ford Expedition doesn’t offer comfort guides on its middle seat belts.

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 Expedition doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

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 Expedition uses a body-on-frame design, which has no frame members above the floor of the vehicle.

Both the Enclave and the Expedition have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, 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, 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 Buick Enclave is safer than the Ford Expedition:

	Enclave	Expedition
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Neck Injury Risk	15.6%	32%
Neck Stress	198 lbs.	361 lbs.
Neck Compression	77 lbs.	147 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 post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Buick Enclave is safer than the Ford Expedition:

	Enclave	Expedition
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Spine Acceleration	34 G’s	47 G’s
Hip Force	554 lbs.	569 lbs.

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

Instrumented handling tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and analysis of its dimensions indicate that the Enclave is 2.4% to 5.8% less likely to roll over than the Expedition.

Warranty

The Enclave’s corrosion warranty is 1 year longer than the Expedition’s (6 vs. 5 years).

Reliability

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Enclave second among midsize suvs in their 2023 Initial Quality Study. The Expedition isn’t in the top three in its category.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2023 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Buick vehicles are better in initial quality than Ford vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Buick fourth in initial quality, above the industry average. With 39 more problems per 100 vehicles, Ford is ranked 23rd, below the industry average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the statistics that show that Buick vehicles are more reliable than Ford vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Buick second in reliability, above the industry average. With 41 more problems per 100 vehicles, Ford is ranked 16th.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that Buick vehicles are more reliable than Ford vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Buick 7 places higher in reliability than Ford.

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Enclave gets better mileage than the Expedition:

			MPG
Enclave
	FWD	3.6 DOHC V6	18 city/26 hwy
	AWD	3.6 DOHC V6	17 city/25 hwy
Expedition
	RWD	3.5 turbo V6	17 city/23 hwy
	AWD	0	15 city/ hwy
		3.5 turbo V6	16 city/22 hwy
		Timberline 3.5 turbo V6	16 city/19 hwy
		Timberline 3.5 turbo V6	15 city/19 hwy

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Buick Enclave uses regular unleaded gasoline. The Expedition requires premium for maximum efficiency, which can cost on average about 82.8 cents more per gallon.

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 Ford Expedition (5). This means the Enclave produces up to 6.9 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Expedition every 15,000 miles.

Tires and Wheels

The Enclave’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 65 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Expedition Timberline’s standard 70 series tires.

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 Expedition doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

Suspension and Handling

For better maneuverability, the Enclave’s turning circle is 2 feet tighter than the Expedition’s (39 feet vs. 41 feet).

Chassis

The Buick Enclave may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 950 to 1000 pounds less than the Ford Expedition.

The Enclave is 5.2 inches shorter than the Expedition, 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 Expedition doesn’t use unibody construction, but a body-on-frame design.

Passenger Space

The Enclave has .6 inches more front headroom and .3 inches more third row headroom than the Expedition.

Cargo Capacity

The Enclave’s cargo area provides more volume than the Expedition.

	Enclave	Expedition
Behind Third Seat	23.6 cubic feet	19.3 cubic feet
Third Seat Folded	57.7 cubic feet	57.5 cubic feet

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 Expedition’s liftover is 34.7 inches.

Servicing Ease

J.D. Power and Associates surveys of service recipients show that Buick service is better than Ford. J.D. Power ranks Buick fifth in service department satisfaction. With a 34% lower rating, Ford is ranked 22nd.

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 Expedition doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

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 Expedition’s standard power windows’ rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to open them fully.

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 Expedition can only close the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

When the Enclave Premium/Avenir is put in reverse, both rearview mirrors tilt from their original position. This gives the driver a better view of the curb during parallel parking maneuvers. Shifting out of reverse puts the mirrors into their original positions. The Expedition’s mirrors don’t automatically adjust for backing.

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 Expedition.

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. Wireless charging costs extra on the Expedition and isn’t available on the Expedition STX.

Economic Advantages

Insurance will cost less for the Enclave owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the Enclave will cost $475 to $2270 less than the Expedition over a five-year period.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Enclave is less expensive to operate than the Expedition because typical repairs cost less on the Enclave than the Expedition, including $35 less for front struts.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Buick Enclave will be $6615 to $20705 less than for the Ford Expedition.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends the Buick Enclave, based on reliability, safety and performance.

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