We’ve all heard the jokes. “Buicks are for old people”. But lately, Buick has been designing their vehicles to be more appealing to younger buyers. The Envista, which was introduced late last year, is a stylish and inexpensive coupe-crossover. This 2024 Encore GX is a more traditional looking crossover SUV with the same stylish looks and inexpensive price tag. So is it enough to entice younger shoppers away from the Mazda CX-30, Honda HR-V or Toyota Corolla Cross?
Performance
Engine – Unlike the Envista, this 2024 Buick Encore GX receives a larger 1.3L turbocharged 3-cylinder engine. It produces 155 hp & 174 lb-ft of torque (115 kW & 236 Nm). With this crossover tipping the scales at 1,476 kg (3,254 lbs), the engine’s power will not provide the thrill of the turbocharged 2.5L engine that is found in the Mazda CX-30. Having said that, this 3-cylinder engine has a lot of low end grunt which makes it feel peppy off the line and up to a speed of around 80 km/h (50 mph). This characteristic makes the Encore GX a fabulous city crossover because the speeds rarely exceed 70-ish km/h in that environment. After which, the rate of acceleration tapers off once you’re traveling beyond 100 km/h on a highway. But you still get the sense that this 1.3L engine isn’t working as hard as the 1.2L engine is at highway speeds in the Envista. Generally, I noticed the rpms being about 500 less than in the Envista under normal acceleration from a stop or when overtaking traffic on a highway. In the United States, the 1.2L engine is available on the Encore GX but only on the Preferred trim.
Fuel Economy – This 2024 Buick Encore GX is rated for 9.1 L/100km (25.8 MPG) in a city and 8.4 L/100km (28 MPG) on a highway. In reality, it’s possible to get even better highway fuel economy as I managed to get as low as 6.6 L/100km (35.6 MPG) during some highway-only trips. But the city fuel economy is very believable as I saw my average fuel economy numbers steadily increase with each minute I spent in city traffic. But because I took more highway trips than city trips during the roughly 450 km (280 miles) that I drove the Encore GX, I averaged 8 L/100km (29.4 MPG) during my time with the car.
Transmission – Perhaps the reason why the Encore GX is capable of achieving such good highway fuel efficiency is because it has a lot of gears to choose from; 9 to be specific. The 9-speed automatic transmission that is paired with this engine changes gears smoothly and in a reasonable amount of time. The car does not have any paddle shifters but there are two buttons on the gear selector to manually change gears. FWD variants of the Encore GX are equipped with a CVT automatic instead of this 9-speed auto.
Braking – Some may find the brake pedal to be a bit too sensitive in a city environment. Light braking applications quickly bring the car to a stop, perhaps a bit too quickly for some. This can result in inconsistent stops and a bit of head bobbing for the occupants.
Handling – Despite its appearance, the 2024 Buick Encore GX is not geared as a sporty driving crossover SUV. The steering is very, very light with a numb feeling. This is not so great when you’re on twisting and winding mountain roads. But it is great when you’re in a parking lot or trying to get around rush hour traffic. Body roll is kept well under check and the car feels pretty stable through higher speed turns. Additionally, the Encore GX is available with an AWD system. This is a driver selectable AWD system with a little button on the center console that connects or disconnects the back wheels from receiving the engine’s power.
Comfort
Ride Comfort – Generally over most road surfaces, the Buick Encore GX is a comfortable crossover. The suspension effectively absorbs bumps. But over sharp and deep potholes, the ride feels harsh.
Furthermore, the seats are on the firm side. They’re ok for shorter commutes to work but long road trips will require frequent stops to stretch and let some feeling in your back side return.
Interior Space – The Encore GX has a wheelbase that is approximately 4” shorter than that of the Envista. As a result, legroom is not as plentiful in this as compared with the Envista. It’s more akin to the Mazda CX-30.
For my 6’4” height, it’s not an issue in the front seats. The issue arises in the back seats behind my taller than average driving position. I can’t fit comfortably back there. Headroom is ok across both rows of seats with more of it for the front occupants than the rear occupants.
However, in the trunk, the Encore GX has a bit more space than most of its competitors. Behind the rear seats, it can accommodate 665 L (23.5 cu-ft) of space. With the 60/40 rear seats folded, the cargo volume increases to 1,422 L (50.2 cu-ft). Under the trunk floor, you’ll find a temporary spare wheel.
Noise, Vibration, & Harshness – For the most part, the cabin is insulated from exterior noises. Be it from the engine, or the tires, or other vehicles, you don’t need to turn up the radio volume too much to drown out unwanted noises. But tire noise is more evident on highways, especially if your car is equipped with snow tires as this demo vehicle was.
The little 3-cylinder engine doesn’t produce too many vibrations but they can be felt through the steering wheel, particularly when it’s running at a stop light. Speaking of stop lights, the auto start/stop system is intrusive when it fires up the engine. Thankfully, there’s a dedicated off button on the center console.
Odds and Ends
Pricing – The 2024 Buick Encore GX is not quite as cheap as its sibling; the Buick Envista. However, it still undercuts a lot of other crossover SUVs. The Preferred FWD starts at $29,649 CAD ($25,600 USD) while this Sport Touring starts at $33,299 CAD ($28,400 USD, AWD). The top spec Avenir trim starts at $36,579 CAD ($33,500 USD, AWD). In the United States, all trim levels are available as either FWD or AWD while here in Canada, only the base Preferred trim is available with FWD. All others are AWD.
Gadgets – The 2024 Buick Encore GX doesn’t come lavishly equipped with convenience features such as massaging seats or a built-in fragrance system. But it has just the right amount of amenities for a city vehicle such as this. Some of these features include heated front seats, heated steering wheel, leather upholstery, 8-way power driver’s seat, optional 6-way power passenger seat, a panoramic sunroof, wireless phone charging, surround view cameras, a power liftgate, dual zone automatic climate control (this demo car did not have this option), keyless entry with push button start and remote start to name a few.
The infotainment system is straightforward and simple to use. Just like the Envista, it doesn’t have too many features & functions for you to play around with like in the GMC Canyon. But it has the essentials; WiFi, wireless Apple CarPlay, wireless Android Auto, Media, and settings. Unfortunately it’s not customizable like some other infotainment systems but I have not had any issues while using it.
One thing I like about this infotainment in this Buick over the Chevrolet version is that the darker graphics hide the screen edges very well. Particularly in the day time and for the driver display. Sadly at night, you can clearly see where the screen ends and where the gloss black surround begins. In my opinion, the large amount of black surround, especially around the driver display, is too much and a waste of space.
Interior Design – The Buick Encore GX has a design language that is on par with other current Buick vehicles. There are simple physical controls for the climate, simple controls on the steering wheel, and a simple to use traditional gear selector. Everything is simple! Most of the materials that you touch feel nice on your fingertips with the lower portions of the cabin being made out of harder plastics to withstand hard knocks.
Exterior Design – The Encore GX definitely looks the part of a modern day Buick. It wears the new Buick logo and has the trendy “upside down” headlight design. As in, the low and high-beam headlights are underneath the LED daytime running lights.Thankfully, the taillights and brake lights are not separated like how they are on the Envista. I just think that this design looks a bit better than its sister.
Safety – The 2024 Buick Encore GX has a long list of safety features. In fact, every safety & driver aid that is available on this car is standard equipment regardless of the trim. Additionally, this being a GM product, it is also equipped with GM specific features such as OnStar, Teen Driver, and Buckle to Drive. The latter of which prevents the driver from temporarily shifting out of Park unless they’ve buckled up.
Warranty – The 2024 Buick Envista is covered by a 3 year / 60,000 km new vehicle basic and 5 year / 100,000 km powertrain warranties.
Conclusion – Overall, the 2024 Buick Encore GX has all the right ingredients to attract younger shoppers. It’s small size makes it easy to navigate around a busy city or suburb. Its peppy engine allows it to accelerate quickly from a stop. It’s efficient on highways. It can be equipped with just the right amount of gadgets. And it’s relatively inexpensive with pretty good looks. The hard part now is convincing younger buyers that Buicks are no longer just for their grandparents.
Thank you to Buick Canada for providing the vehicle. www.Buick.ca
2024 Buick Encore GX Gallery
