Compare the2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee LVS 2024 Buick Enclave

For enhanced safety, the front and middle seat shoulder belts of the Jeep Grand Cherokee L 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 Jeep Grand Cherokee L 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.

The Grand Cherokee L has standard Active Head Restraints, which use a specially designed headrest to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Active Head Restraints system moves the headrests forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Enclave doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

A passive infrared night vision system optional on the Grand Cherokee L Overland/Summit helps the driver to more easily detect people, animals or other objects in front of the vehicle at night. Using an infrared camera to detect heat, the system then displays the image on a monitor in the dashboard. The Enclave doesn’t offer a night vision system.

The Grand Cherokee L Summit’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 Grand Cherokee L and the Enclave 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.

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 Jeep Grand Cherokee L is safer than the Enclave:

For its performance in IIHS driver-side and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, updated side impact, headlight, daytime pedestrian crash prevention, and nighttime pedestrian crash prevention testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Grand Cherokee L its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2023, a rating granted to only 36 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Enclave has not been fully tested, yet.

The Grand Cherokee L’s corrosion warranty is unlimited miles longer than the Enclave’s (unlimited vs. 100,000 miles).

Jeep pays for scheduled maintenance on the Grand Cherokee L for 3 years and unlimited miles. Jeep will pay for oil changes, tire rotations, air filter replacements, cabin filter replacement, brake fluid replacement, inspections, and any other required maintenance (up to 3 visits). Buick doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Enclave.

There are over 22 percent more Jeep dealers than there are Buick dealers, which makes it easier should you ever need service under the Grand Cherokee L’s warranty.

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the Grand Cherokee L has a standard 850-amp battery. The Enclave only offers a 730-amp battery.

The battery on the Grand Cherokee L is under the seat, which protects it from hot underhood temperatures that can degrade battery life. By keeping the Grand Cherokee L’s battery 20 to 30 degrees cooler, its life is increased by years. The Enclave’s battery is in the hot engine compartment.

The Grand Cherokee L’s optional 5.7 V8 produces 47 more horsepower (357 vs. 310) and 124 lbs.-ft. more torque (390 vs. 266) than the Enclave’s 3.6 DOHC V6.

As tested in Motor Trend the Jeep Grand Cherokee L V8 is faster than the Buick Enclave:

On the EPA test cycle the Grand Cherokee L gets better mileage than the Enclave:

An engine control system that can shut down some of the engine’s cylinders helps improve the Grand Cherokee L V8’s fuel efficiency. The Enclave doesn’t offer a system that can shut down part of the engine.

The Grand Cherokee L has 3.6 gallons more fuel capacity than the Enclave FWD’s standard fuel tank (23 vs. 19.4 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups. The Grand Cherokee L has 1.3 gallons more fuel capacity than the Enclave AWD’s standard fuel tank (23 vs. 21.7 gallons).

For better stopping power the Grand Cherokee L’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Enclave:

The Grand Cherokee L stops much shorter than the Enclave:

For better traction, the Grand Cherokee L has larger standard tires than the Enclave (265/60R18 vs. 255/65R18). The Grand Cherokee L Summit’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Enclave (275/45R21 vs. 255/65R18).

The Grand Cherokee L’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 60 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Enclave’s standard 65 series tires. The Grand Cherokee L Summit’s optional tires have a lower 45 series profile than the Enclave’s optional 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Grand Cherokee L Summit offers optional 21-inch wheels. The Enclave’s largest wheels are only 20-inches.

The Grand Cherokee L offers an optional full size spare tire so a flat doesn’t interrupt your trip. A full size spare isn’t available on the Enclave; it requires you to depend on a temporary spare, which limits mileage and speed before replacement.

The Grand Cherokee L offers an optional automatic front and rear load leveling suspension to keep ride height level with a heavy load or when towing. The Grand Cherokee L’s height leveling suspension allows the driver to raise ride height for better off-road clearance and then lower it again for easier entering and exiting and better on-road handling. The Enclave doesn’t offer a load leveling suspension.

The Grand Cherokee L’s front to rear weight distribution is more even (50% to 50%) than the Enclave’s (57% to 43%). This gives the Grand Cherokee L more stable handling and braking.

The Grand Cherokee L Overland 4x4 handles at .82 G’s, while the Enclave Avenir pulls only .75 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Grand Cherokee L Overland 4x4 executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.1 seconds quicker than the Enclave Avenir (27.3 seconds @ .61 average G’s vs. 28.4 seconds @ .6 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Grand Cherokee L’s turning circle is .6 feet tighter than the Enclave’s (38.4 feet vs. 39 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Grand Cherokee L Laredo/Limited has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Enclave (8.5 vs. 7.5 inches), allowing the Grand Cherokee L to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Grand Cherokee L Overland/Summit’s minimum ground clearance is 3.4 inches higher than on the Enclave (10.9 vs. 7.5 inches).

The Grand Cherokee L has .1 inches more front legroom and 1.1 inches more rear legroom than the Enclave.

Pressing a button automatically lowers the Grand Cherokee L Overland/Summit’s second and third row seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Enclave doesn’t offer automatic folding second row seats.

A standard locking glovebox keeps your small valuables safer in the Grand Cherokee L. The Enclave doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

The Grand Cherokee L’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Enclave’s (3500 vs. 1500 pounds). Maximum trailer towing in the Buick Enclave is only 5000 pounds. The Grand Cherokee L 4x4 offers up to a 7200 lbs. towing capacity.

The Grand Cherokee L 4WD with optional equipment can be flat towed on all four wheels (dinghy towed), allowing recreational vehicle owners to bring it with them on the road. When they reach their destination, the Grand Cherokee L can be unhitched and driven around locally. The Enclave can’t be towed flat on the ground.

Standard Trailer Sway Control on the Grand Cherokee L uses the Electronic Stability Control sensors to detect trailer sway, then uses individual brakes to counteract any swaying and help keep the tow vehicle and trailer steady. The Enclave doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

The engine in the Grand Cherokee L is mounted longitudinally (North-South), instead of sideways, as in the Enclave. This makes it easier to service and maintain, because there are no rear spark plugs and the accessory belts are in front.

Unlike the driver-only memory system in the Enclave Premium/Avenir, the Grand Cherokee L Limited/Overland/Summit offers an optional passenger memory, so that when drivers switch, the memory setting adjusts the driver’s seat, steering wheel position (with optional power wheel adjuster), outside mirror angle and radio stations and the front passenger seat also adjusts to the new passenger’s preset preferences.

The Grand Cherokee L’s instruments include an oil pressure gauge and a temperature gauge - which could save your engine! Often ‘idiot lights’ don’t warn you until damage has been done. The Enclave does not have an oil pressure gauge.

The Grand Cherokee L Overland/Summit’s front and rear power windows all open or close with one touch of the switches. The Enclave’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to close them fully.

The Grand Cherokee L’s standard speed-sensitive wipers speed up when the vehicle does, so that the driver doesn’t have to continually adjust the speed of the wipers. The Enclave’s standard manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

To help drivers avoid possible obstacles, the Grand Cherokee L has standard cornering lights to illuminate around corners when the turn signals are activated. The Enclave doesn’t offer cornering lights.

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the Grand Cherokee L to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The Enclave doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

Optional air conditioned front and second row seats keep the Grand Cherokee L’s passengers comfortable and take the sting out of hot leather in summer. The Enclave doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats for the second row.

The Grand Cherokee L Summit’s Parallel and Perpendicular Park Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, with the driver only controlling speed with the brake pedal. The Enclave doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee outsold the Buick Enclave by over seven to one during 2022.