For the past few years, Buick has been trying to shake its old image by building cars more apt to be bought by a wide variety of age groups rather than just old timers. One of the new vehicles to emerge from this image building is the Encore, something I would call a crossover or half car/half sport utility.
My test Encore was a bare bones edition, with absolutely no options whatsoever, which I have to say I don’t get that often as manufactures love to load up the test fleet. Being a Buick, this vehicle is pretty well equipped right from the start so anything thing added would just be things you might personally like such as a sunroof or leather seats.
Getting into the Encore, you will note that the seating position is on the higher side, not that you have to step up but should I say step into the Encore. This makes getting in and out very easy and if you have back problems this might make your day, as there is no strain at all.
Once in the vehicle, all the controls are easy to see, find and reach lowering anyone’s learning curve when getting to know where everything is. Like most new vehicles, an LED screen in the centre dash area gives you all the data on heating, cooling and sound system functions.
Looking at the front seats before getting in the Encore, I didn’t think they would be that comfortable, but I was wrong. After a couple thousand kilometres in the car, I have to say they were better than average and allowed for a lot of adjustment for varying sized drivers. Rear seating was basically for two adults or three children as there are three belts in the rear.
As you might suspect, the rear seating is a 60/40 split, which is very helpful as the rear cargo space is not very big. In fact, on our trip my wife and I managed to fit an airline sized suitcase each with just a little room to spare. With the rear seats completely folded down a sizable load can be carried, considering the size of the vehicle.
What I believe is General Motors way of getting good fuel economy and keeping the weight of the vehicle down is the fact that the Encore comes equipped with a four-cylinder 1.4L double overhead cam turbo charged engine. Keeping things simple, this is the only engine available for the Encore.
My test Encore was the front drive model but it is also available in all-wheel-drive as well. To my surprise, the Encore pulled well through the steep hills of Kentucky. The only down side to this smaller engine was that it worked hard which contributed to an increase to the posted fuel consumption.
After spending a good week travelling around in the Encore, my wife and I both agreed that it would make a great, small family hauler. With a base price of about $27,000, it is a vehicle worth considering if a crossover is in your thoughts.
