Compare the2025 Kia SorentoVS 2024 Buick Enclave

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Transmission
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Towing
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front and second-row seat shoulder belts of the Kia Sorento have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Buick Enclave doesn’t offer pretensioners for its second-row seat belts.

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Kia Sorento 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 Sorento and Enclave have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Sorento S/EX/SX/Prestige/X-Line 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 Kia Sorento 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.

Both the Sorento and Enclave have rear cross-traffic warning, but the Sorento 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 Sorento’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 Sorento and the Enclave have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, 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 Kia Sorento is safer than the Buick Enclave:

	Sorento	Enclave
	Passenger
STARS	4 Stars	4 Stars
Chest Compression	.5 inches	.9 inches
Leg Forces (l/r)	81/191 lbs.	258/133 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 Kia Sorento is safer than the Buick Enclave:

	Sorento	Enclave
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Spine Acceleration	32 G’s	34 G’s

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 Kia Sorento is safer than the Enclave:

	Sorento	Enclave
Overall Evaluation	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Structure	GOOD	MARGINAL
	Driver Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Head Injury Criterion	64	141
Neck Tension	178 lbs.	446 lbs.
Neck Compression	-89 lbs.	45 lbs.
Torso	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Shoulder Deflection	.71 in	1.3 in
Shoulder Force	223 lbs.	312 lbs.
Torso Max Deflection	1.14 in	1.5 in
Pelvis	ACCEPTABLE	ACCEPTABLE
Pelvis Force	959 lbs.	1116 lbs.
Head Protection	GOOD	GOOD
	Passenger Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Head Injury Criterion	68	189
Neck Tension	89 lbs.	134 lbs.
Neck Compression	-67 lbs.	201 lbs.
Torso	GOOD	GOOD
Shoulder Deflection	.55 in	1.02 in
Shoulder Force	134 lbs.	290 lbs.
Torso Max Deflection	1.18 in	1.22 in
Torso Deflection Rate	4 MPH	10 MPH
Pelvis	GOOD	GOOD
Pelvis Force	580 lbs.	848 lbs.
Head Protection	GOOD	GOOD

The Kia Sorento 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.

Warranty

The Sorento comes with a full 5-year/60,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Enclave’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 2 years or 24,000 miles sooner.

Kia’s powertrain warranty covers the Sorento 5 years and 40,000 miles longer than Buick covers the Enclave. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Enclave ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

Reliability

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the Sorento has a standard 760-amp battery. The Enclave’s 730-amp battery isn’t as powerful.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Kia vehicles are better in initial quality than Buick vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia fourth in initial quality, above the industry average. With 1 more problems per 100 vehicles, Buick is ranked fifth.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2024 Auto Issue reports that Kia vehicles are more reliable than Buick vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Kia 2 places higher in reliability than Buick.

Engine

The Sorento EX/SX’s standard 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 45 lbs.-ft. more torque (311 vs. 266) than the Enclave’s 3.6 DOHC V6.

As tested in Consumer Reports the Sorento EX/SX 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder is faster than the Buick Enclave:

	Sorento	Enclave
Zero to 30 MPH	2.6 sec	3.1 sec
Zero to 60 MPH	6.5 sec	7.4 sec
45 to 65 MPH Passing	3.9 sec	4.7 sec
Quarter Mile	14.9 sec	15.8 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	99 MPH	92 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

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

			MPG
Sorento
	FWD	2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	23 city/31 hwy
		2.5 turbo 4-cyl.	20 city/29 hwy
	AWD	2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	23 city/28 hwy
		2.5 turbo 4-cyl.	20 city/27 hwy
Enclave
	FWD	3.6 DOHC V6	18 city/26 hwy
	AWD	3.6 DOHC V6	17 city/25 hwy

The Sorento has a standard locking fuel door which locks and unlocks with the power locks. The fuel filler door is not lockable on the Enclave. A locking fuel door helps prevent fuel theft and vandalism, such as sugar in the tank.

Transmission

The Sorento offers an available sequential manual gearbox (SMG). With no clutch pedal to worry about and a fully automatic mode, an SMG is much more efficient than a conventional automatic but just as easy to drive. The Enclave doesn’t offer an SMG or a conventional manual transmission.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the Sorento’s front brake rotors are larger than those on the Enclave:

	Sorento	Enclave
Front Rotors	12.8 inches	12.6 inches

The Sorento stops much shorter than the Enclave:

	Sorento	Enclave
60 to 0 MPH	115 feet	134 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

The Sorento EX/SX’s tires provide better handling because they have a lower 45 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Enclave’s optional 55 series tires.

Suspension and Handling

The Sorento X-Line SX Prestige handles at .85 G’s, while the Enclave Avenir pulls only .75 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Sorento X-Line SX Prestige executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.9 seconds quicker than the Enclave Avenir (26.5 seconds @ .67 average G’s vs. 28.4 seconds @ .6 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Sorento’s turning circle is 1.1 feet tighter than the Enclave’s (37.9 feet vs. 39 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Sorento X-Line/X-Pro has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Enclave (8.2 vs. 7.5 inches), allowing the Sorento to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

Chassis

The Kia Sorento may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 450 to 550 pounds less than the Buick Enclave.

The Sorento LX/S/EX/SX is 1 foot, 3.2 inches shorter than the Enclave, making the Sorento easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

Passenger Space

The Sorento has .2 inches more front legroom and 3.4 inches more rear legroom than the Enclave.

Cargo Capacity

The Sorento has a standard third row seat which folds flat into the floor. This completely clears a very large cargo area quickly. The Enclave doesn’t offer seats that fold into the floor.

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the Sorento. The Enclave doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

Towing

The Sorento’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Enclave’s (2000 vs. 1500 pounds).

Standard Trailer Stability Assist on the Sorento 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.

Ergonomics

The Sorento Prestige’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.

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

Economic Advantages

The Sorento will cost the buyer less in the long run because of its superior resale value. The IntelliChoice estimates that the Sorento will retain 52.6% to 54.37% of its original price after five years, while the Enclave only retains 48.75% to 49.82%.

Recommendations

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

The Kia Sorento outsold the Buick Enclave by over two to one during 2023.

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