For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Honda Odyssey 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 Honda Odyssey 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.
Using vehicle speed sensors and seat sensors, smart airbags in the Odyssey deploy with different levels of force or don’t deploy at all to help better protect passengers of all sizes in different collisions. The Odyssey’s side airbags will shut off if a child is leaning against the door. The Enclave’s side airbags don’t have smart features and will always deploy full force.
The Odyssey has a standard Whiplash Mitigation Front Seat Design, which use a specially designed headrest to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Whiplash Mitigation Front Seat Design system moves the headrests forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Enclave doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.
The Odyssey’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 Odyssey and the Enclave 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 and available rear parking sensors.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Honda Odyssey is safer than the Buick Enclave:
|
Odyssey |
Enclave |
OVERALL STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
176 |
216 |
Neck Stress |
184 lbs. |
198 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
18 lbs. |
77 lbs. |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
HIC |
247 |
333 |
Chest Compression |
.7 inches |
.9 inches |
Neck Injury Risk |
32% |
35.2% |
Neck Stress |
101 lbs. |
128 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 Honda Odyssey is safer than the Buick Enclave:
|
Odyssey |
Enclave |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
66 |
69 |
Chest Movement |
.5 inches |
.9 inches |
Abdominal Force |
83 lbs. |
161 lbs. |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
125 |
134 |
Hip Force |
709 lbs. |
716 lbs. |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Max Damage Depth |
12 inches |
14 inches |
Hip Force |
472 lbs. |
554 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 Honda Odyssey is safer than the Enclave:
|
Odyssey |
Enclave |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Structure |
GOOD |
MARGINAL |
|
Driver Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head Injury Criterion |
127 |
141 |
Neck Tension |
201 lbs. |
446 lbs. |
Torso |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Shoulder Deflection |
.87 in |
1.3 in |
Shoulder Force |
223 lbs. |
312 lbs. |
Torso Max Deflection |
1.26 in |
1.5 in |
Torso Deflection Rate |
5 MPH |
6 MPH |
Pelvis |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Pelvis Force |
625 lbs. |
1116 lbs. |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Passenger Injury Measures |
|
Head Injury Criterion |
142 |
189 |
Neck Tension |
112 lbs. |
134 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
67 lbs. |
201 lbs. |
Shoulder Deflection |
.98 in |
1.02 in |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Instrumented handling tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and analysis of its dimensions indicate that the Odyssey is 1.4% to 3.3% less likely to roll over than the Enclave.
The Honda Odyssey achieved a “Top Safety Pick” rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for the 2024 model year. This recognition was based on its impressive performance in the small overlap frontal crash test, updated side impact crash test, headlight evaluations, and pedestrian crash prevention testing. The Enclave is not a “Top Safety Pick” for 2024.