Compare the2024 Buick EnclaveVS 2023 Kia Sorento Hybrid

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 Kia Sorento Hybrid 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 Sorento Hybrid doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

Both the Enclave and the Sorento Hybrid 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, 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 Kia Sorento Hybrid:

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 Kia Sorento Hybrid:

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

The Enclave’s corrosion warranty is 1 year longer than the Sorento Hybrid’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.

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

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 Kia vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Buick fourth in initial quality, above the industry average. With 8 more problems per 100 vehicles, Kia is ranked 8th.

The Enclave’s 3.6 DOHC V6 produces 83 more horsepower (310 vs. 227) and 8 lbs.-ft. more torque (266 vs. 258) than the Sorento Hybrid’s 1.6 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid.

As tested in Motor Trend the Buick Enclave is faster than the Kia Sorento Hybrid:

The Enclave FWD’s standard fuel tank has 1.7 gallons more fuel capacity than the Sorento Hybrid (19.4 vs. 17.7 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups. The Enclave AWD’s standard fuel tank has 4 gallons more fuel capacity than the Sorento Hybrid (21.7 vs. 17.7 gallons).

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 Sorento Hybrid doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

A nine-speed automatic is standard on the Buick Enclave, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only a six-speed automatic is available for the Sorento Hybrid.

The Enclave stops shorter than the Sorento Hybrid:

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

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Enclave has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Sorento Hybrid. The Enclave’s optional 20-inch wheels are larger than the 19-inch wheels optional on the Sorento Hybrid.

The Buick Enclave’s wheels have 6 lugs for longer wheel bearing life, less chance of rotor warping and greater strength. The Kia Sorento Hybrid 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 Sorento Hybrid doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

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 Sorento Hybrid’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Enclave’s wheelbase is 10.1 inches longer than on the Sorento Hybrid (120.9 inches vs. 110.8 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Enclave is 2.3 inches wider in the front and 1.6 inches wider in the rear than on the Sorento Hybrid.

For greater off-road capability the Enclave has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Sorento Hybrid (7.5 vs. 6.85 inches), allowing the Enclave to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

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 Sorento Hybrid 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 Sorento Hybrid doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

The Enclave has standard seating for 7 passengers; the Sorento Hybrid can only carry 6.

The Enclave has 52 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Sorento Hybrid (157.3 vs. 105.3).

The Enclave has 2.3 inches more front headroom, 3.4 inches more front hip room, 3.1 inches more front shoulder room, .8 inches more rear headroom, 2.6 inches more rear hip room, 3.5 inches more rear shoulder room, .8 inches more third row headroom, 3.9 inches more third row legroom, 6 inches more third row hip room and 4.3 inches more third row shoulder room than the Sorento Hybrid.

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

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 Sorento Hybrid’s liftover is 31.7 inches.

The Enclave’s cargo area is larger than the Sorento Hybrid’s in almost every dimension:

Maximum trailer towing in the Kia Sorento Hybrid is limited to 2000 pounds. The Enclave offers up to a 5000 lbs. towing capacity.

The Enclave uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Sorento Hybrid 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.

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 Sorento Hybrid 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 Sorento Hybrid’s 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 Sorento Hybrid 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 Sorento Hybrid doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system.

Consumer Reports rated the Enclave’s headlight performance “Very Good,” a higher rating than the Sorento Hybrid’s headlights, which were rated “Good.”

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 Sorento Hybrid offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

Both the Enclave and the Sorento Hybrid have standard heated front seats. 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 Sorento Hybrid.

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 is only available on the Sorento Hybrid SX Prestige.

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 Sorento Hybrid.

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Buick Enclave and the Kia Sorento Hybrid, based on reliability, safety and performance.