I’ll be honest, the last Buick I was interested in was the GNX. That quickly changed after I had a week with the Encore. Even though silver cars can get lost in a world of plain, the lines helped bring some life to the color. The youthful styling of the front bumper made me consider the brand I’d normally associate with an older fanbase. The hood’s mohawk-like shape added to some of the youthful essence of the Encore. One of the most surprising things about the Encore is the ground clearance it had which rivals some more “off-road” trimmed CUVs and even SUVs. 

Once you hop into the more lifted Encore, I was greeted with their Whisper Beige leather interior. I’m typically not a fan of lighter colored interiors but the Buick’s design was done extremely well to give a luxury feel. The only issue I did encounter was the color of my jeans that I started to see on seats. The ergonomics of the seats and armrests made the 600 miles the we drove, extremely easy and comfortable.

Getting under the hood, the 1.3L 4-cylinder turbo engine made for some youthful power. Although the turbo was fairly large compared to the engine, it didn’t have any inherent lag. The CVT transmission was also surprisingly responsive from a stop.

Overall I was extremely impressed with the Buick Encore. I never thought I’d consider a modern day Buick as my next possible vehicle but it really checked a lot of boxes for my needs.