On the downside, the Encore’s confines are cramped. While some of the harder trim materials aren’t the most luxurious, they (piano black, satin finish plastics) at least look good. Same goes for the leather-wrapped steering wheel and gear shifter and most of the knobs, switches and buttons on the dash and centre stack. The mixed leather / cloth seating surfaces feel good to the touch and have a tasteful appearance. On the plus side, the Encore offers easy entry and exit, and its seats are comfortable. Not drop-dead gorgeous exactly, but not ugly either. Combined with the upsweep of the beltline towards the rear, rakish windshield angle and 18-inch aluminum wheels, the Encore is reasonably handsome. The 2017 facelift replaced the bulbous headlights and giant grille found on early Encores with smaller, sharper looking versions of both. In the looks department, Buick designers have done a good job of shaping the Encore in an attractive fashion despite its short proportions. The two biggest tickets are the more powerful 1.4-litre turbocharged engine ($1,030) and sunroof ($1,150) on a list that also includes navigation ($795), premium Bose audio ($685), Ebony Twilight paint ($495), and automatic dual-zone climate control ($405). Like many press vehicles I drive, my Encore tester is well-optioned. For the time being, the first-gen Encore will continue to be sold in North America.įor the purposes of this review GM Canada loaned me a Sport Touring AWD model finished in Ebony Twilight Metallic with a Medium Titanium (tan) / Ebony interior. Interestingly, the second-gen Encore revealed at the Shanghai Auto Show last April is intended for China and other emerging markets only. The Encore range will expand in 2020 when the slightly larger Encore GX joins the Buick lineup. Front-wheel drive is standard across the range, but all-wheel drive is available on all trims. A more powerful 1.4-litre EcoTec turbocharged 4-cylinder engine with variable valve timing and direct injection (153 hp / 177 lb-ft.) can be ordered as an option for Sport Touring and Essence models. All models come with a standard 1.4-litre EcoTec turbocharged 4-cylinder that produces 138 horsepower and 148 lb-ft of torque and is paired with a 6-speed automatic, the only transmission available. The Encore is available in three trims in Canada: Preferred, Sport Touring and Essence. All North American-bound Encores are built in Bupyeong District, Incheon, South Korea. A 2017 facelift delivered new headlights, bumpers and taillights, along with a revised dash, instrument cluster and 8-inch infotainment screen. Both are based on the Opel Mokka and were first shown at the 2012 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.īuilt on GM’s Global Small Vehicle (GSV) Gamma II architecture developed by GM Korea (née GM Daewoo), the Encore has been in production since the 2013 model year. The Encore is one half of GM’s subcompact crossover portfolio in North America the Chevrolet Trax is the other. Put another way, the Encore accounted for almost two thirds of Buick’s Canadian sales last year. The disparity was even more pronounced in Canada, where the Encore (10,637) tripled the sales of the Enclave (3,511). In 2018, Buick sold 93,073 Encores in the U.S., a figure that almost doubles the second-best seller, which happens to be a large SUV (Enclave – 49,647). I mean, Americans love their big SUVs, right? True, but they’ve also taken a real shine to the littlest Buick crossover. I’ll admit I was somewhat surprised to learn that the subcompact Encore SUV is the bestselling Buick not only in Canada, but in North America as well.
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