Buick Enclave vs Subaru Ascent: which is more reliable?
The Buick Enclave and the Subaru Ascent are level on the federal record — 73/100 against 70/100 across the years we score. Which one to buy is decided by the model year, not the badge.
The record, side by side
Buick Enclave
- 15 model years scored
- 1,457 owner complaints on record
- about 12 complaints per year on the road
- 45 recall campaigns, 32 safety-critical
- best year 2019 (92/100) · worst 2014 (30/100)
Subaru Ascent
- 7 model years scored
- 1,029 owner complaints on record
- about 29 complaints per year on the road
- 24 recall campaigns, 8 safety-critical
- best year 2025 (87/100) · worst 2019 (32/100)
Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.
Year by year: Enclave against Ascent
The comparison that decides the purchase. A nameplate is not one car — a redesign can move the record sixty points inside two years, and the two nameplates rarely move together.
What owners actually complain about
Buick Enclave
- Air Bags — 634 complaints
- Engine — 164 complaints
- Electrical System — 157 complaints
Subaru Ascent
- Electrical System — 289 complaints
- Power Train — 179 complaints
- Visibility/Wiper — 152 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the Enclave's complaints concentrate in Air Bags, the Ascent's in Electrical System. That difference matters more to a buyer than the score gap, because it says which repair bill you are taking on.
Years to avoid on each
Buick Enclave — avoid: 2014, 2025.
Subaru Ascent — avoid: 2019, 2020.
A year scores below 45 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. Every car’s years to avoid.
What each costs today
A recent used Buick Enclave prices at about $44,100 and a Subaru Ascent at about $44,100 — they price within $1 of each other, which at this level is the same money, and they return 21.0 against 22.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Buick Enclave or the Subaru Ascent more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Buick Enclave scores 73/100 against the Subaru Ascent's 70/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The gap is small enough that the model year matters more than the badge.
Which Buick Enclave and Subaru Ascent years should I avoid?
Buick Enclave: 2014, 2025. Subaru Ascent: 2019, 2020. Each of those scores under 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns.
What goes wrong on the Buick Enclave and the Subaru Ascent?
The largest complaint group on the Buick Enclave is Air Bags (634 complaints); on the Subaru Ascent it is Electrical System (289).
Is the Buick Enclave or the Subaru Ascent cheaper to own?
A recent used Buick Enclave prices at about $44,100 and a Subaru Ascent at about $44,100, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.