Besides his long tenure with Driving, he was the deputy editor of the National Post’s Driving automotive section for 11 years as well as managing editor of Autovision magazine for 25 years. As it is now, with the as-tested price bumping up on $38K, there’s a lot of compelling reasons to look at the more powerful and less expensive competition.īrian Harper: The Man, the Myth, the Legend Brian Harper is one of Driving.ca’s more senior contributors, having covered various aspects of the automotive business for 45 years. The new Chevy Trailblazer - the GX’s corporate brother - offers the same powertrain setup having a higher-output engine in its pocket would help the Buick further distance itself as an upmarket product. One thoughtful touch is that the Encore GX’s front passenger seat folds flat to better accommodate an eight-foot long object diagonally from the passenger seat to the rear driver’s side.Īs much as the Encore GX deserves consideration, it would be a whole lot easier to like if I could come to terms with Buick’s choice of engines, because the rest of crossover is pretty good. As for storage, there’s 665 litres for cargo behind the second row, and 1,421 litres with the back seat folded.

My knees were firmly shoved into the front seatback when I tried sitting behind myself. The cabin is relatively roomy, certainly for front-seat occupants but less so for taller rear-seat occupants, especially if those up front are also on the tall side. From a marketing standpoint, this won’t be an easy sell GM’s decision to go this route likely having something to do with improving its Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) numbers and/or a weight-savings program. that’s a mouse motor under the GX’s hood, even if its power rating is rather impressive in relation to its size. But, compared with other small crossovers - the Mazda CX-30 and Subaru Crosstrek, Kia’s new Seltos, the Hyundai Kona, Honda HR-V, etc. Sure, at 155 horsepower, it has 17 more ponies than the subcompact Encore. If you are trying to decipher the logic of the larger, Korean-built GX having less displacement and one less cylinder than its smaller sibling, which itself is powered by a turbocharged 1.4L four-cylinder, then you’re not alone. Oh, yeah, both engines boast just three cylinders - something GM has been very low-key about revealing. The Encore GX is powered by a turbocharged 1.2-litre engine for the front-wheel-drive models, a turbo 1.3L for the three (Preferred, Select and Essence) all-wheel-drive versions.

Compare the Buick Encore GX against its key competitors right hereīut the biggest difference, and what turns out to be the elephant in the room is Buick’s choice of powertrain options for the new crossover.

2020 buick encore gx