But the Encore is a wholly different beast, a compact utility vehicle based on the same platform as the humble Chevrolet Sonic subcompact sedan. The Encore is a foot shorter than a Toyota RAV-4 and half a foot shorter than a Volkswagen Tiguan, making it a very compact vehicle indeed.
Under the hood is GM’s 1.4-liter Ecotec turbocharged four-cylinder engine, which connects via a six-speed automatic transmission to your choice of either front- or all-wheel drive. Buick says that the Encore seats five, but it’s happier with four people, as are most small cars.
In terms of shortage, always critical in utility vehicles, the Encore has 18.8 cubic feet of space behind the rear seats or 48.4 cubic feet if you fold the back seats down. The bottom line is you can comfortably carry two people and a lot of stuff or four people and a more modest among of luggage or groceries.
One of the first questions that people ask when they see a car this small is: How safe is it? The answer is very safe. The Encore is an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety 2013 Top Safety pick, with the all-wheel drive variant earning a 5-star Overall Vehicle Score for safety from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration. The front-wheel-drive model earned a 4-star rating.
There are four trim levels available in the Encore, with our tester being a top-of-the-line model with the premium package known as the 1SN group. For an as-tested price of $31,475, including a $750 destination charge, our test car was loaded with options.
Among the myriad features were 10 airbags, Stabilitrak-stability control, four-wheel anti-lock disc brakes, forward collision alert, lane departure warning system, rain-sensing windshield wipers and a rear vision camera.
The Buick Encore is very safe. (Photo: General Motors) On the comfort and convenience side of the ledger, there were heated leather seats, with the driver’s-side seat part of a memory package that also remembers settings for the outside mirrors, audio system and air conditioning. The steering wheel was nicely wrapped in leather, there was a-120 volt power outlet, a Bose premium audio system, and a navigation system with 7-inch diagonal screen and USB port and input jack. In other words, everything any sane person would ever need to feel like he/she was driving a luxury car.
In the real word, a couple of things stood out about the Encore. First, and most critically if you have family, it truly seats four adults comfortably. I’m 6’4” and my 5’9” son and I both had plenty of room with me driving and him right behind me.
Secondly, the Encore felt a lot more like a Buick than it did the Chevrolet Sonic it shares so much of its basic architecture with. If you look carefully at the Encore’s interior, it’s exactly what you would expect in any Buick: High-quality materials with intelligent design and ergonomics and outstanding build quality. There are no corners cut because this is a smaller, less expensive Buick than, say, the bigger Enclave.
To that end, the Encore ranked highest in the Sub-Compact CUV segment in a recent J.D. Power and Associates Initial Quality Study.
After just a few miles on the road, I was pleasant surprised by how quiet and sure-footed the Encore was and how much like a Buick it truly felt. Granted, with 138 horsepower, acceleration is leisurely and gets more so as you load up with people and cargo. But that was one of the few complaints I had with the car. And for that, the tradeoff is 28 miles per gallon combined in city and highway driving, which is excellent.
The Buick Encore has 18.8 cubic feet of space behind the rear seats or 48.4 cubic feet if you fold the back seats down. (Photo: General Motors) On the highway, I was again surprised by the Encore. It didn’t blown all around in crosswinds and it didn’t feel like you were going 20 mph faster than you really were, a common complaint with very small cars. The Encore was impressively stable at highway speeds.
Certainly, not everyone wants or needs a car as small as the Buick Encore. And let’s be realistic, as practical as the Encore is, it won’t replace a family minivan or big SUV/crossover in many situations.
But if you were one of the people who do value compact, affordable vehicles, the Encore would be an excellent choice. It would be particularly appealing in an urban setting, where space is at a premium, and it would also be an excellent second car in the ‘burbs, or perhaps for a teen driver.
Buick officials said nearly half of the Encore’s early buyer came from brands outside of General Motors and it’s easy to see why: If you can keep an open-mind about what a subcompact is supposed to be and what a traditional Buick is supposed to be, you will be very impressed by the new Encore. I know I was.
VEHICLE TYPE: Five passenger, four-door CUV, front-wheel drive.
ENGINE: 1.4-liter Ecotec turbocharged four-cylinder, 138 horsepower, 148 pound-feet of torque.
TRANSMISSION: Six-speed automatic.
WHEELBASE: 100.6 inches.
OVERALL LENGTH: 168.5 inches.
CURB WEIGHT: 3,190 pounds.
EPA MILEAGE RATING: 25 city, 33 highway.
Source: speed.com
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