10 Things You Need to Know About the 2017 Buick Encore

2017 Buick Encore ・ Photo by Buick

The Encore is the smallest of Buicks and also the division’s U.S. bestseller. It competes in a rapidly expanding class of subcompact crossover SUVs that embraces offerings from Europe and Asia, as well as North America, a class that’s evolving at a dizzying pace. Buick’s strategy is to position the Encore at the top of the class, distinguishing it from the pack as a small-scale luxury vehicle. Here are 10 things you need to know about the 2017 Buick Encore.

1) What's New?

Updated for 2017, the Buick Encore sports a fresh face, with new headlamps, new fenders, new hood, and a trio of new exterior colors. Interior appointments have been upgraded, the doors respond to a new keyless remote unlocking feature, and there's keyless pushbutton start. Under the hood the optional upgrade engine gets direct fuel injection, improving both output and fuel efficiency.

2) The Universal Foundation

In a broad conceptual sense, the 2017 Buick Encore is the same as all its competitors. The design is based on a front-wheel-drive platform, the chassis and body shell are unitized (as distinct from body-on-frame, generally limited to fullsize SUVs), there’s more ground clearance than you’ll find in, say, a compact hatchback, and all-wheel drive is available as an option. Like all SUVs, great and small, the Encore has four passenger doors and a rear hatch.

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3) What It's Not

Another trait the Encore shares with almost every vehicle in this class is this: It is not designed for serious off-road use. (The exception is the Jeep Renegade.) The Encore will perform adequately on unpaved surfaces such as Forest Service graded roads, or the track leading to a getaway cabin, and it can deal pretty well with mud and snow, particularly when equipped with all-wheel drive. But like its contemporaries, it’s what the serious rock-crawlers disdainfully refer to as a soft-roader, and it is happiest on pavement.

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4) Ho-Hum to Adequate Power

The Encore offers two engine choices, both 4-cylinders, both of modest displacement (1.4 liters), both turbocharged. But they are not identical. The base version—1364 cc—has a less sophisticated intake system and other distinctions that limit its output to 138 horsepower and 148 lb.-ft. of torque. With a little more displacement—1399 cc—and direct fuel injection, the upgrade engine develops 153 hp and 177 lb.-ft. That’s still pretty modest in a vehicle weighing almost 3400 pounds, but it’s a little more punch than some of the other small fry crossovers bring to the game. Both engines are paired with a 6-speed automatic transmission, and all-wheel drive is optional. EPA fuel economy ratings range from 26 mpg city to 31 mpg highway. As with a good many vehicles, your mileage may vary. We logged just over 24 mpg in our travels with the 2017 Buick Encore.

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5) Honey, they shrunk the Enclave.

As a styling exercise, Buick followed the successful design of the Enclave, biggest of the division’s crossovers, a look that’s echoed in the new Envision, which splits the difference in size between its two siblings. Shrinking the Enclave shape to Encore dimensions doesn’t entirely preserve the elegance of the bigger vehicle, but it achieves some distinction in its crowded field, particularly when viewed from the front. Buick’s waterfall grille is unmistakable, and the resculpted body panels give the Encore a more prestigious presence to reinforce its luxury ambitions.

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6) The Inside Story

Automotive luxury is about what you see and touch, what you feel when you climb in the driver’s seat, and the updates to the Encore’s interior take Buick’s bestseller a little closer to the L word, as well as a little further ahead of the subcompact pack. Materials have been upgraded, there are more soft-touch surfaces, the leather-wrapped steering wheel has a satisfying grip, and in higher trim levels the center dash is enhanced by an 8-inch color touchscreen with navigation and Buick’s Intellilink infotainment system. Starting is achieved by a new pushbutton system, the redesigned instrument panel has a new 4.2-inch info screen tucked between the major gauges, and Apple Car Play and Android Auto have been added to the Encore’s connectivity options. The front buckets are relaxed fit—this isn’t a sports car—but comfortable, particularly in elegant leather, and the rear seats are roomy for two adults, though making a third person happy back there would require substantial bribes and endurance on the part of the recipient. Like all hatchbacks, the Encore is an adroit cargo carrier—19 cubic feet of capacity behind the rear seats, or over 48 cubic feet with the rear seats folded flat.  

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7) Zero to Whatever

The more potent of the Encore’s two turbo engines picks up the pace versus its 2016 counterpart, but calling its performance brisk requires the perception of a driver with a relaxed sense of urgency. With all-wheel drive, achieving 60 mph consumes well over eight seconds, and passing on a two-lane highway requires careful planning plus a long open stretch in the oncoming lane. We have yet to experience an Encore equipped with the more tepid of the two engines, but if the 158-hp version is only lukewarm, the 138-hp edition probably will qualify as sluggish. The dynamics that go with this are consistent with the leisurely acceleration: considerable body motion in cornering, and deliberate responses in attempts at rapid maneuvers.

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8) On the Other Hand...

If the Encore’s dynamics are deliberate, they’re also wholly predictable and totally devoid of unpleasant surprises. Moreover, the steering is reasonably quick—2.8 turns lock-to-lock—and provides a little more tactile information to the driver than many vehicles in this class. Above average also applies to braking performance—good pedal feel, respectable stopping distances, as well as no brake fade, stop after stop. Best of all, city street or interstate, the going is smooth with a supple ride and low interior noise levels.

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9) Safety

Safety is always high on the list of buyer priorities, and while the 2017 Buick Encore doesn’t break any new ground in terms of driver assist features it does qualify as contemporary. The list includes blind-zone alert, rear cross-traffic warning, lane departure warning, and forward collision alert. A rearview camera is standard. Conspicuous by its absence: an adaptive cruise control that included automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection. On the other hand, the 2017 Encore gets an overall 5-star crashworthiness score from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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10) Premium Pricing

Buick Encore MSRPs start at $23,915 for a basic front-drive version and climb across three more trim levels (Encore Convenience, Encore Leather, and Encore Premium) to almost $33,000 for a Sport Touring model with all-wheel drive. Our all-wheel drive Sport Touring tester carried a base price of $27,990, and an array of options—the 158-hp engine ($895), Bose premium audio ($595), 8-inch touchscreen with navigation ($495), safety package (blind-zone and rear cross-traffic alert, $495), dual-zone climate control ($275), electronic interior mirror ($80), and optional exterior color ($395)–added $3230. That puts the Encore into the price realm of small scale European crossover utes, and at the top of the MSRP register among the more affordable competitors. Nevertheless, it’s a package and strategy that seems to work. The Encore’s general performance tends toward the ho-hum, but its combination of distinctive Buick styling, upscale interior appointments, creamy ride, and quiet operation have hit a sweet spot in the market. The proof is in the numbers. As noted, the Encore was Buick’s U.S. bestseller in 2016, with 78,565 finding their way into the hands of (presumably) happy owners. Buick sales of passenger cars over the same period, all nameplates, came to just 84,845, with 30,277 of those sales recorded by the compact Verona sedan, which has been discontinued.

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