Pressing the button to start the engine makes it do just that, and in this case my car was equipped with the larger of the two engines. The base engine is a 1.2liter turbocharged 3-cylinder. The optional engine increases the displacement to a whopping 1.3liters. Yes, 0.1liter more. Or 78 instead of 72 cubic inches for those more in tune with numbers such as 455 when talking about Buicks.
In any case it did fire right up and then the automatic shifter practically slid itself into gear and we were off. Two big takeaways – It took me three days to realize the transmission was actually a CVT when I perused the Monroney sticker in detail. It may be the best disguised one of these that I’ve experienced in some time, or ever. No droning, good simulated shifting but very smooth, ready to go and ready for anything. (Note here that if AWD was opted for the transmission changes to a 9-speed automatic instead of a CVT.)
The second takeaway was remembering that smaller cars with smaller turbocharged engines are FUN. The total power output of the ECOTEC 1.3l here is 155hp @ 5,600rpm and 174lb-ft of torque at a low 1,600rpm. The car as equipped weighs around 3150 pounds as far as I could determine, which of course always helps.
Driving it is very enjoyable, the car is tossable even if there isn’t a ton of feel when turning. It gets up and goes, but with the active noise cancellation the sound levels in the cabin stay very tolerable. The 18″ wheels with Hankook Kinergy GT tires in 225/55-18 size help it to stay planted in higher speed corners while affording a quiet ride.
Bumps due to the shorter wheelbase do result in a bit of a bounciness but it’s well controlled and obvious as to the cause. Bump, bounce once, and then it’s over and you move on. Brakes worked as expected without issues, not feeling grabby and slowing down from high speeds as expected when needed.
The Buick was sent to me right after we received a huge snowfall (that thankfully melted very fast), and the FWD format with fairly sporting tires didn’t really like the slippery stuff, skittering sideways and invoking the traction and stability control programs when playing with the limits. It all operated as expected without surprises and if driven sensibly would do just fine in snowy weather, however around here I would likely opt for the AWD version or at the very least good winter tires (and most likely both).
Even at higher speeds there is generally still more to give, the joy of a modern turbo force-feeding the air into those little lungs is one that doesn’t get old. I enjoyed the 3800V6 in my LeSabre T-Type and the Supercharged 3800 V6 in my Regal GS but this Encore GX was much more fun overall. Maybe they should offer a more tuned version and call it the Encore GNX to blow a few minds. (They do actually offer a “Sport Touring” package but it’s mainly an appearance package, no powertrain differences).
Driving this on the freeway is not torture, it keeps up just fine, in fact I was leading a couple of friends around one day for several hours in their fullsize pickup truck after which they starting calling me “Charlie Hustle”. And when stopped with the engine in stop/start mode, this featured one of the least (almost non-) noticeable transitions back to life that I’ve experienced to date in a non-electrified vehicle. It’s just smooth.
In the end I logged 405 miles in the Encore GX, and with the exception of a quick and fast trip to Laramie and back to fix a tenant’s broken dishwasher which accounted for 145 miles, the other 260 were mostly around town with some quick freeway and highway jaunts, but not of any significant distances, more of the on and off after a few ramps variety so plenty of slowing down and speeding up. The car displayed an average of 30.6mpg (and I filled up in between at which point I was able to hand calculate that the computer was almost exactly correct).
Officially it is rated at 30City, 32Highway and 31Average so right on the money. That narrow spread is interesting but seems to be common with small engines paired to a CVT, however low 30’s mileage isn’t really anything special these days. I suppose historically for a Buick it’s tremendous though! The fuel filler is of the capless variety which I always like to use but never like the idea of owning for some reason, I still prefer the tight seal of a manual cap.
Of the four Buicks in the current line-up, only the Enclave SUV is actually built in the United States. This one (as is the case with the smaller Encore “OG”) is built in Korea. Interestingly the engine and transmission are manufactured in Mexico, then shipped to Korea and installed, and then the whole car is shipped back here for sale. Korean content is 45%, Mexica provides 26% and the US/Canada another 3%. The remaining 26% is undefined.
I assume this all kind of works out for Buick as it is still ostensibly considered by many shoppers to be an absolutely “American” brand, including many who would likely never overtly consider anything branded with a Korean manufacturer’s badge built in either Korea or the United States. Paint and assembly quality were excellent, the only item of any note was that the front door handle was slightly misaligned between the movable handle portion and the fixed portion of the assembly to the right on the driver’s door, which may have been caused post-assembly for all I know since this car came to me with almost 5,000 miles on the odometer.
Above I stated what the basic Encore GX lists for, this Essence trim in FWD guise starts a bit higher, at $28,500 before incentives etc. That includes the Keyless Entry/Start, the 8″ Touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and AndroidAuto, OnStar and 4G LTE WiFi capability, all the Powered stuff, Leather seats, Heated steering wheel, 18″ wheels, LED lighting front and rear, Roof rack side rails, and the Buick Driver Confidence package consisting of Auto Emergency Braking, Front Pedestrian Braking, Forward Collision Alert, Following Distance Indicator, Lane Keep Assist with Lane Departure Warning and Intellibeam automatic high beams. Also included is a Teen Driver program that appears to limit some of the performance parameters.
The installed options on this car included the Deep Azure Metallic paint for a whopping $495 (it was pretty, but…), the engine upgrade for $395, Power Liftgate Package for $520 and then two larger ones. The first of those was the Advanced Technology Package for $1,750 comprising a High Definition Surround Camera (useful when backing up to see what’s around you), Head-Up Display, Adaptive Cruise Control (Camera based) and the Buick Information System/Navigation.
And then the Convenience Package inconvenienced the bank account a further $770 for Automatic Parking Assist with Braking, Wireless Charging, Rear Camera Mirror with Washer, and Rain-Sensing Windshield Wipers. The Destination Charge is a further $995 worth of cherries on top for a grand total of $33,465.
$33,465 is not an insignificant sum and undoubtedly the “Buy the car by the pound” crowd may have some trouble with it. However this is a bona fide semi-luxury car as many Buicks have been for decades, just in a smaller format. The leather is there, the tech is there, the build quality is there, the “Buick Quiet Tuning” is there, and perhaps most importantly to some your friendly small-town Buick dealer is there as well. And for me at least, the fun was there which at the end of the day is a most excellent reason to purchase a car.
A sincere Thank You to Buick for the loan of this car and for sending it to us with a full tank of gas.
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It’s interesting that an “American brand” vehicle has so little content, 3% is negligible and that assembly occurs in Korea, while many Korean cars sold in the US are assembled in the US by American workers.
I’m not sure what the value proposition is here versus a Hyundai or Kia, with their long warranties. Perhaps nostalgia for Buicks of yore, but we are a long way from a Park Avenue or Electra, baby.
I see a lot of seniors in Korean cars, not only the Soul. I think they appreciate the warranty and for the number of miles they drive typically, 10 yrs/100K miles won’t be reached before they get a new car, or stop driving altogether.
It really makes no sense for separate divisions and dealers to exist (I know, the franchise laws in many states make consolidation difficult). I think the grand plan is to simply winnow down the product so eventually, there will be only GM dealers offering all of the brands. I mean why does Buick need to have so many SUVs?
Again, the real reason sedans are dying or dead is the styling and lack of practicality. It wasn’t always this way. Sedans weren’t always so low or hard to get into or out of. They didn’t always have useless trunk openings.
What Buick needs to do is design a tall sedan with a trunk – something different that doesn’t look like every other SUV on the road (as they all pretty much do look alike). Someone should do a test with all the badges removed and ask the public to identify each brand of SUV.
“What Buick needs to do is design a tall sedan with a trunk – something different that doesn’t look like every other SUV on the road (as they all pretty much do look alike). Someone should do a test with all the badges removed and ask the public to identify each brand of SUV.”
You mean, like the Ford D3 sedans (Five Hundred/Taurus, Taurus, Montego/Sable, MKS)? I owned a 2014 MKS myself. It did have the H-point of a subcompact crossover. It also had awkward proportions, was difficult to drive–because you didn’t know where the corners were–and handled poorly. It worked for Ford, until it didn’t…which is why every one of those vehicles is now gone and the automaker will soon be a truck-and-SUV company, apart from the Mustang.
“(as they all pretty much do look alike).Someone should do a test with all the badges removed and ask the public to identify each brand of SUV.”
How would that be any different than if you removed the badges on every sedan or hatchback and asked the (non-enthusiast) public to identify them? What is it about CUVs/SUVs that somehow makes them magically more generic in your eyes?
The overall driving and performance of this transportation device reminds me quite a bit of the 2020 Malibu 1.5 I just rented. It works insanely well, quiet, efficient, plenty of power, well designed ergonomically, comfortable yet well controlled suspension (a GM strong point for several years now). Fewer creature comforts in a base Malibu, but way more than even a loaded sedan of a decade ago. Mine had heated cloth seats and remote start, but I couldn’t identify anything else that doesn’t seem to come standard. But there just isn’t any feeling anymore. Motor vehicles are largely detail-based cerebral purchases now. I can’t think of anything other than maybe the justification for some of the unreliable, expensive Italian upper mid-market cars that even involves the senses in car buying now. I fear for the longevity of this tiny turbo engine, though the fears of first-gen small displacement turbos of 8 years ago seems to have gone largely unfounded (Hyundai and Kia having the only major problems with longevity, and it applied to their 2.4 and 2.0 n/a engines, too; GM and Ford have had design-related major issues with new cars rather than long term longevity issues). And even the manufacturers wouldn’t admit to expecting cars to last more than a decade before being disposed of. So I guess for 10 years of cerebral, unobtrusive, comfortable, efficient, emotion-free and relatively trouble-free transportation, pick your grille pattern and financing deal and sign on pretty much anybody’s dotted line. The car is dead, long live the perfectly-honed transport pod.
The concern now is a load “bang” noise from the front end. A friends 2020 Encore GX has been back to the dealership and the GM service representative couldn’t fix it. Any bodies thoughts on this?.
Lose motor mount? Turbo blowoff valve malfunctioning? Climate control door slamming?
Thanks for the review.
My wife and I are shocked on how much we love our 2018 OG Encore. We went from Minis and “downgraded” to the Buick, but it just might be my favorite car we’ve ever owned. Maybe I’m having my anti-mid-life-crisis and I’m going to start getting a taste for Old Country Buffet?
This is, admittedly a much better looking car than the OG Encore, although I’m not thrilled with the extra-dimensionality thing (we have a pretty tight shared garage space so every inch counts, especially in the width department) and it’ll be on the short list next new-car-shopping-go-around, but that might be a while. The OG version is so good I’m not looking to trade in anytime soon.
This is interesting on many levels. Micro-upsizing seems to be a thing with these. This one is on a 1.6 inch longer wheelbase than the “regular” Encore, and the engine upgrade gets you another .1 liter. My intuition says that such minor variation would be hard to justify for the higher tooling, manufacturing and parts inventory costs, but it seems to be working for them, so what do I know?
Soooo, this is – what – a Korean car without the good warranty? In its favor, it seems to have done a good job on driver engagement and a nice “feel” to the interior appointments. I have seen a reasonable number of Encores around – now I am going to have to start looking closer to see which Encores they are.
FWIW, we shopped the OG Encore against the Hyundai Kona at a very similar price point. The Hyundai had a slightly smoother powertrain but the cabin in the Buick was much nicer, and along with the Hyundai dealer royally pissing my wife off, was the tipping point to sign on the Buick.
Rumor has it that the OG Encore (the truly tiny one) might be on it’s way out. Just go ahead and discontinue it rather than make a gen 2 (or essentially the Encore GX IS the 2nd GEN vehicle.)
I had figured that was always the intention, along with the Trax vs. Trailblazer.
If true, that’s too bad as the original Encore has increased its sales numbers every year since it was introduced in 2013 from 32k back then to over 100k in 2019 for a cumulative total of over 500k units. Add the significant volume in China for the same car and then the Opel Mokka when that was still owned by GM along with the Chevy Trax and all things considered it was a resounding success especially as the Encore at least was likely profitable and not just developed and sold as a bargain driver.
Of course the GX likely does cannibalize it to some degree due to some people wanting just a skosh more room while the outside dimensions are barely larger.
Looks like this will probably be GM’s strategy; I looked it up and the slightly more powerful turbo engine (which we have in ours) is no longer available in 2020, so they’ll probably segment the lower trim levels to OG and the higher trim levels to GX.
When I bought ours I thought the power on tap was “slightly above tolerable” (then again, coming from a Mini) but maybe it’s a recalibration of the lead in my foot, or a breaking-in of the drivetrain, but it holds its own. I’ve had to make a couple emergency maneuvers and it had the power to do so. I definitely though would think twice about getting the lower-power 4, that would probably put me more in the GX fold already. Which is probably what GM wants.
For undisclosed reasons, I have made four trips to Kansas City in the last eight weeks. While the road is not littered with these I knew they were reasonably popular.
What really drove home their popularity was a large Buick/GM dealer on US 50 in a very rural area east of KC, although it was reasonably close to Whiteman AFB. The entire front row, and a goodly portion of the lot, had every color of Encore imaginable. When an Encore trumps pickups for front row space in rural America, it has something going for it.
From reading this it seems Buick has tapped into their core strength just in a different format.
Good review. FYI, the engines are 3-cylinders.
Yours must work very well for you not to notice, and given your comments about the unobtrusive stop/start. I have not driven the new ones and was hoping to get more perspective on the engine, so I will assume “no news is good news.”
I’ve driven a couple of the original version, including long trips. I think for most Americans, this is the perfect second car. You sit sort of high, it is sort of sporty, it is easy to park in one’s garage, and relatively fuel efficient, and if you fold the seats, it has a lot of room for all the stuff from Costco, if not, 4 doors and 4 seats for 4 people.
While a GTI it is definitely not, I found it a pleasant and very easy to live with car, quite impressive given it’s rather humble underpinnings, and preferable to most of the smaller four-cylinder cars and CUVs on the market. Factors I’m sure have contributed to its success–it’s sold quite well for GM, over 100k in 2019.
If GM had more imagination, they have the hardware and know-how to make GTI competitor, say an Encore GNX (much like once they had the Cobalt SS, which actually outperformed the benchmark GTI). GM has the hardware and the know-how, but not the imagination to make it. If they did, I’m sure it would be overpriced, unfortunately, as the General usually does with “winning” ideas, like the original Cadillac ATS, or the 6.0 V8 in their full-size trucks.
Note to those of you in a position to make a difference: NO ONE has manual-trans, sporting CUV. There is money waiting to be made with one that is reasonably priced (say a $2,000 to $3000 premium max over the everyday engine/suspension).
This “new” one has a nicer interior. The biggest benefit to me though is that the cargo area is 6 inches longer. It doesn’t sound like much, but it makes a big difference with the seats up.
In the original, you need to fold the seat cushion forward first, then the seatback down. Is this how the seats fold in this variant?
Doh! Of course it is an I-3, it just seems so alien to write that even though 3’s are becoming more common again in the market! Corrected, sorry. It was a delightful engine overall with nothing that stood out negatively. Enough power to do a one-wheel peel had there not been traction control, it pulled great.
No, the rear seats fold with just the backrest although you may have to adjust the headrest depending on front seat position. This short Buick video shows it very welll: https://www.buick.com/discover/connectivity/how-to/interior/configure-seating
One “positive” in a turbo 3 is that they sound like a V6 because of similar firing harmonics.
I haven’t been a fan of many recent Buicks, but for whatever reason I really like the look of this. Enough so that I’ve actually built one online. Of interest to me, a power liftgate is not standard in the mid-level trim. As someone who prefers to lift and lower a tailgate manually, this is enough to keep it on my list.
While building, one thing I found very interesting is that every color except Summit White is a premium, extra cost color. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen that before. Even black and silver were premium, extra cost colors.
GM is getting pretty terrible on anything other than a Chevy for making colors extra cost.
For many years the “standard” colors on GMCs were Red, White, and Black – basically “fleet” colors. Recently I’ve noticed it’s down to white and black. I guess even the Fire Chief would have to pay extra for red on his Sierra or Yukon.
A lot of fleet vehicles seem to be moving to white with just accents in the company’s former color. For example the blue of our local utility company, Forest Service green, etc. I am even seeing fire department pickups and SUV’s in white with red stripes. Presumably the accents are just vinyl. When they auction them off, just peel off the vinyl and no one knows you have a forest ranger’s truck. I’ll miss the old ones.
Being on the Buick forums I’m honestly just irritated by the constant Buick advertising there for their CUVs. Anyone who paid their own money for a Regal or a Lacrosse aren’t going to want one of your CUVs. Sorry. The people at my local Buick/GMC dealer are great but I doubt I’ll be darkening their doorstep again unless I’m having them hunt me a very specific CPO vehicle. (I know, I know, nobody makes money off enthusiasts.)
GM to me is now firmly a commodity vehicle company like Toyota. They could give two shakes if their vehicles have character or soul to them. I anticipate by the time I’m buying again (2025 ish) the only non truck/CUV/SUV GM vehicles will be the Corvette and Cadillac sedans (if they survive.)
Anyone who paid their own money for a Regal or a Lacrosse aren’t going to want one of your CUVs.
Then who’s buying these, in pretty healthy numbers at that? I assume this would make quite the ideal car for the older set, who were the main buyers of Regals and LaCrosses, given the upright seating and easy ingress/egress.
Or maybe they’ve moved on to something else?
If you believe GMs press release hype, the original Encore has largely been bought by folks who never owned a Buick before.
The same GM PR machine claimed at one point that buyers of this final generation of Regal had a higher average household income than any other product that Buick was selling at that point. (Interesting in that it was priced largely in the middle of Buick’s line up, not the cheapest model and not the most expensive.)
If true it didn’t stop GM from abandoning them.
“Anyone who paid their own money for a Regal or a Lacrosse aren’t going to want one of your CUVs.”
Just because you have a car doesn’t mean that you have zero interest in utility vehicles. Many families have more than one vehicle and many of those choose to have some variety in the types of vehicles. So a CUV and a sedan isn’t an unlikely pairing.
I paid money for a Regal and a LeSabre and considered an Enclave some years ago. This seems to absolutely be the right move for Buick, people for the most part seem to have lost interest in the sedans. You yourself bought the Tour-X wagon that was semi-marketed as a crossover with the cladding and all over the sedan version.
As a fan of tall, short and narrow cars, I admit to seeing this as a pretty compelling package, and did so since the first Encore. And this one looks a bit better too.
I would have liked to see the back seat be able to slide in order to increase leg room back there at the expense of cargo room when carrying passengers.
That highway mileage seems kind of pitiful these days. I rented a Pacifica from Enterprise last week for a work trip up to Riverside (from San Diego). It got over 29 mpg on the freeway, rolling a safe and sane 74 mph. Granted around town is only low 20s, but still…
I’ll probably never buy a Buick, but as someone who has never owned a car with fewer than four cylinders, or wheels larger than 16” (and our fleet is quite late model, so the latter is unusual), that may not be true much longer. It reminds me of the Road & Track “Ampersand” humor photo, with a picture of a stout retired 1950’s Grand Prix driver (maybe Fangio?) looking at a newer race car, and captioned: “In our day, the drivers were fat and the tires were skinny”. Today, even Buick engines are skinnier and the tires fatter than an F1 car of the 1960’s 1.5 liter era.
I have no idea what buick means any more. Gm hasn’t, in my opinion, given Buick a brand identity. Blah blah buick China China Buick blah blah but in the united states, is buick considered premium any more? Nobody under the age of dead seems to think so. The last people I remember thinking of buick as aspirational were my greatest generation neighbours. My baby boomer parents think of buick as for the olds with floppy lesabres and think of Lexus or infiniti as aspirational. Buick for a while was offering a longer warranty than chevy so that was a reason to go buick. Honestly, the two things I know about the encore are that it gets good consumer reports ratings and has whacking rebates on them. I’d definitely recommend it as a cheaper alternative to its Honda or toyota equivalent, or even a better known hyundai or kia. But that seems like a bad marketing position for buick. It’s considerably cheaper than the equivalent toyota and just as reliable! Ughhhhh.
I don’t think the sedan is coming back just because this is considerably roomier and has more cargo capacity than an equivalent sedan would be and this ends up being a world car and can be sold all around the globe. Perhaps the better solution is do what buick was always good at, and add layers of extra plush to the existing chevy. It wouldn’t hurt to offer a better warranty, lexus dealer service, and more prestigious styling.
I think Buick did a good job here. The styling is smooth and not at all overwrought or dorky–unlike that of the regular Encore–it seems to make the best use of the available space, and it feels like a premium product.
And are those honest-to-goodness *amber* rear indicators? Be still my beating heart.
My grandmother bought a brand-new Soul Plus w/navigation in 2014. Were she still alive and were she shopping for a new car in 2020, I’d have steered her toward this. It’s a lot more livable and comfortable, from the sound of it.
A very appealing house. The first of this architectural style that I have found attractive.
There was an Encore at the dealer while I was getting a recall notice looked at today and I gotta tell you, it looked really good, and wasn’t any longer than the car I have now. Lots more room to carry things for camping and trips and it sits higher than my car. I think an Encore just moved to my short list for when I go car shopping in 2024.
Oh oh.
Straddling a train track in the lead photo initially lead me to believe a bad review is coming.
…and these decisions to cater only to the SUV crazed sickness of the populace is why I’ll NEVER purchase a new American branded vehicle.
Laws of physics cannot be trumped by technology.
Nothing like giving away a market to your competitors.
I guess I’ll buy used (and old!) only or do Toyota again.