A year after a 2012 Detroit Auto Show debut, you can now buy a 2013 Buick Encore at your friendly GM dealer. Should you?
Like its engineering twin, the Chevrolet Trax, the Encore is based on the Chevrolet Sonic compact car platform. So if you can live with (or you actually desire) a crossover about the length of a Toyota Matrix, but want the creature comforts of a premium brand then the Encore should definitely be on your shopping list.
As advertised, the 2013 Buick Encore has the comfort and high-seating position of a larger crossover, with the nimbleness and maneuverability of a smaller one. GM says the Buick Encore was expressly designed for urban environments, where nimbleness and compactness are virtues.
And if you spring for one, you’ll be joining a leading edge social group; more and more people seem to want their luxury in just such a small, SUV-like form: witness recent entries like the BMW X1 and Audi Q3.
However, Buick feels that the more direct competition for Encore are more mainstream -- and slightly larger -- crossovers like the VW Tiguan and Hyundai Tucson, both of which can easily be optioned into Encore’s price territory: $26,895 to $35,000-plus.
Price as Tested
At its Canadian press launch in Toronto, we took off in a pearl white “Leather” model -- the middle trim between “Convenience” and “Premium.” With AWD ($1,950) and various high-end options like 18” chrome wheels, premium sound package, and power sunroof, it represents $36,105 worth of Buick Encore. That seems like a lot, and it still didn’t have navigation (a $995 option).
However, it was packing pretty much everything else: dual zone HVAC, leather, heated seats and steering wheel, remote start, rear camera, A/C, 10 air bags, IntelliLink, power driver seat, cruise, 7” display monitor, etc.
The only notable Encore options our tester was missing (besides navigation) were high-end safety items such as Lane Departure Warning, Park Assist, and Forward Collision Alert.
Big pluses: High level cabin comforts
From the driver’s perch the 2013 Buick Encore feels bigger than it is -- in a good way. You’re at eye level with most other crossovers and SUVs.
The driver’s seat is supportive and comfortable, with a nice right armrest.
The 2013 Buick Encore has a full suite of connectivity features to keep digital-age buyers in their technological bubble. Like other new GM models, Encore uses the next generation of voice command software.
The interior is filled with wood trim, faux metal accents, leather stitching, etc.; all befitting a Buick.
The rear cargo area in the 2013 Buick Encore is obviously not cavernous, but it’s a very useful 533 litres of space. With the rear seats folded forward, the Encore offers 1,365 litres, which betters both German rivals.
More pluses: On road dynamics
For such a small vehicle, I was impressed by the cushy ride over bumps, and its overall quietness. Certainly helping matters is Buick’s “Quiet Tuning” process, and the brand’s first application of active noise control -- ceiling mounted microphones detect unwanted noises, then a computer directs counteracting sound waves through the audio system’s speakers and subwoofers. Seems to work.
The engine in the 2013 Buick Encore definitely needs to rev a bit to fulfill the driver’s request for immediate motivation. The 139-hp 1.4L four with turbo, mated to a 6-speed automatic, is otherwise smooth and refined, and certainly adequate for this type of vehicle.
Our AWD Encore was rated at an excellent 8.9L/100km city, 6.7L/100km highway.
The “on demand” AWD system keeps you in FWD until the system detects front-wheel slippage. But it always launches the Encore from a dead stop in AWD, before quickly going back to FWD -- a process that aids driveability.
Where the pluses stop
The rear doors of the 2013 Buick Encore are not very wide, so rear-seat ingress and egress is a bit of a challenge.
The rear seat cushions are also a bit short, pushing your knees in the air. However, your feet slide nicely under the front seats, and there is ample knee and headroom -- at least for me.
The overall visual effect of a tallish, short-ish vehicle means we won’t be using the word “sleek” to describe the styling. But, I guess it’s cute in its own way, and it actually does look like a Buick.
It also feels like the 2013 Buick Encore should be a foot longer and a half foot wider for better style, and for a bit more elbowroom.
You have to pony up to the mid-level “Leather” trim line to get heated seats.
The 2013 Buick Encore has a very small glove box, though there are over 20 other cubbyholes, and small pockets, throughout the interior.
Like its engineering twin, the Chevrolet Trax, the Encore is based on the Chevrolet Sonic compact car platform. So if you can live with (or you actually desire) a crossover about the length of a Toyota Matrix, but want the creature comforts of a premium brand then the Encore should definitely be on your shopping list.
As advertised, the 2013 Buick Encore has the comfort and high-seating position of a larger crossover, with the nimbleness and maneuverability of a smaller one. GM says the Buick Encore was expressly designed for urban environments, where nimbleness and compactness are virtues.
And if you spring for one, you’ll be joining a leading edge social group; more and more people seem to want their luxury in just such a small, SUV-like form: witness recent entries like the BMW X1 and Audi Q3.
However, Buick feels that the more direct competition for Encore are more mainstream -- and slightly larger -- crossovers like the VW Tiguan and Hyundai Tucson, both of which can easily be optioned into Encore’s price territory: $26,895 to $35,000-plus.
Price as Tested
At its Canadian press launch in Toronto, we took off in a pearl white “Leather” model -- the middle trim between “Convenience” and “Premium.” With AWD ($1,950) and various high-end options like 18” chrome wheels, premium sound package, and power sunroof, it represents $36,105 worth of Buick Encore. That seems like a lot, and it still didn’t have navigation (a $995 option).
However, it was packing pretty much everything else: dual zone HVAC, leather, heated seats and steering wheel, remote start, rear camera, A/C, 10 air bags, IntelliLink, power driver seat, cruise, 7” display monitor, etc.
The only notable Encore options our tester was missing (besides navigation) were high-end safety items such as Lane Departure Warning, Park Assist, and Forward Collision Alert.
Big pluses: High level cabin comforts
From the driver’s perch the 2013 Buick Encore feels bigger than it is -- in a good way. You’re at eye level with most other crossovers and SUVs.
The driver’s seat is supportive and comfortable, with a nice right armrest.
The 2013 Buick Encore has a full suite of connectivity features to keep digital-age buyers in their technological bubble. Like other new GM models, Encore uses the next generation of voice command software.
The interior is filled with wood trim, faux metal accents, leather stitching, etc.; all befitting a Buick.
The rear cargo area in the 2013 Buick Encore is obviously not cavernous, but it’s a very useful 533 litres of space. With the rear seats folded forward, the Encore offers 1,365 litres, which betters both German rivals.
More pluses: On road dynamics
For such a small vehicle, I was impressed by the cushy ride over bumps, and its overall quietness. Certainly helping matters is Buick’s “Quiet Tuning” process, and the brand’s first application of active noise control -- ceiling mounted microphones detect unwanted noises, then a computer directs counteracting sound waves through the audio system’s speakers and subwoofers. Seems to work.
The engine in the 2013 Buick Encore definitely needs to rev a bit to fulfill the driver’s request for immediate motivation. The 139-hp 1.4L four with turbo, mated to a 6-speed automatic, is otherwise smooth and refined, and certainly adequate for this type of vehicle.
Our AWD Encore was rated at an excellent 8.9L/100km city, 6.7L/100km highway.
The “on demand” AWD system keeps you in FWD until the system detects front-wheel slippage. But it always launches the Encore from a dead stop in AWD, before quickly going back to FWD -- a process that aids driveability.
Where the pluses stop
The rear doors of the 2013 Buick Encore are not very wide, so rear-seat ingress and egress is a bit of a challenge.
The rear seat cushions are also a bit short, pushing your knees in the air. However, your feet slide nicely under the front seats, and there is ample knee and headroom -- at least for me.
The overall visual effect of a tallish, short-ish vehicle means we won’t be using the word “sleek” to describe the styling. But, I guess it’s cute in its own way, and it actually does look like a Buick.
It also feels like the 2013 Buick Encore should be a foot longer and a half foot wider for better style, and for a bit more elbowroom.
You have to pony up to the mid-level “Leather” trim line to get heated seats.
The 2013 Buick Encore has a very small glove box, though there are over 20 other cubbyholes, and small pockets, throughout the interior.
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