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2021 Chevrolet Trailblazer vs. 2021 Buick Encore GX
2021 Chevrolet Trailblazer Activ ・ Photo by Brady Holt
The first Chevrolet Trailblazer was a big, rugged, traditional SUV with clumsy handling and lousy gas mileage. Chevy revived the name for its newest crossover, a light-duty subcompact that slots just above the slightly smaller, slightly cheaper, much older Chevrolet Trax. Like the rest of its segment, today’s Trailblazer offers good gas mileage and easy maneuverability at reasonable prices. It’s also roomier than most of its competitors.
But before you buy a new 2021 Chevrolet Trailblazer, there’s a key competitor to consider: the 2021 Buick Encore GX. The two vehicles don’t look much alike, but these corporate cousins share the same engines and other mechanical underpinnings. (Don’t confuse the Encore GX with the Buick Encore, a twin to the old Chevy Trax.) The Trailblazer costs less, but the Encore GX has other advantages. We tested both vehicles to help you choose between them. Keep reading to learn how the two crossovers differ across eight categories — and where they don’t — and then see our overall winner.
Pricing and Features
The Trailblazer stations itself as the runaway leader in value for the money. It starts at just $19,000 for the base L model, compared with $24,200 for the cheapest Encore GX Preferred.
However, since Buick is positioned as a premium brand, the Encore GX also has a lot of standard equipment that’s missing from the entry-level Trailblazer models: automatic climate control, an 8-inch infotainment touchscreen, a six-speaker stereo, keyless entry with push-button starting, and 18-inch alloy wheels. That’s the most equivalent (if not a perfect alignment) to a mid-level Trailblazer LT model, which starts at $23,700 — a much more modest price difference. A fully optioned Encore GX also includes features unavailable on the Trailblazer at any price: genuine leather upholstery instead of the top Chevy’s leatherette, a built-in navigation system, a surround-view parking camera, rain-sensing windshield wipers, an automatic-parking system, or a rearview camera mirror. If you’re looking for the lowest possible price, the Trailblazer L or the $21,600 Trailblazer LS are the obvious choices, and that’s why Chevy wins this category. But Buick has a lot more options, and the price difference is smaller than it looks between comparably equipped vehicles.
Photo by Brady Holt
Exterior Design
Sometimes, two mechanically related vehicles look nearly identical to each other. That’s not the case with the Encore GX and Trailblazer. Each looks like a whole-hearted member of its own brand’s lineup, with no styling cues shared between them.
The Trailblazer is styled for funky fun, with squinty headlights, a pronounced grille, and hardy-looking gray plastic cladding. The Encore GX takes a more upscale approach, with simpler details, chrome trim, and flowing lines. If you want to avoid the everyday blacks, whites, and grays, you can get both vehicles in fun colors like orange, blue-green, and red; the Trailblazer has a particularly bright Oasis Blue hue, while the Encore GX offers a rare purple Black Currant Metallic. We’ll let you choose between the Trailblazer’s mini-Camaro-on-stilts design and the Encore GX’s scaled-down luxury experience, declaring this category an official tie.
Tie
Photo by Brady Holt
Interior Design
Inside, the two crossovers are less wildly different than their exteriors. Swooping elements on the Encore GX’s dashboard do harmonize with the vehicle’s exterior and with other Buick models, but the Trailblazer’s straightforward cabin has little in common with the sporty vibe you see outside. The Chevy’s differences just feel like an attempt to avoid a carbon copy, and the result is user-friendly but generic.
We’re awarding this category to the Buick for some extra pizzazz and some nicer interior materials. Neither vehicle is quite luxurious, but the Encore GX comes closer, especially when you choose the optional genuine leather upholstery. The Trailblazer’s climate-control knobs felt wobbly and insubstantial to us, too. Both crossovers have easy-to-use controls, and their infotainment systems come standard with Wi-Fi hotspots and wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone integration. As we mentioned, though, every Encore GX includes an 8-inch infotainment touchscreen while the Trailblazer makes it an extra-cost option (included on our test vehicle) reserved for upper-level models.
Buick Encore GX
Photo by Brady Holt
Interior Comfort
Both the Encore GX and the Trailblazer are roomy for subcompact crossovers, letting you fit adults even into the backseat. The seats aren’t the best you’ll find in any vehicle, or even any subcompact crossover; the fronts felt hard and narrow to us, and the rears still don’t let you stretch out and relax. But between the two vehicles, it’s the less expensive Trailblazer that actually comes out a bit ahead.
The reason is simple enough: The Trailblazer is a bit bigger than the Encore GX. It’s about 2 inches longer, and that difference went straight to the rear legroom. We didn’t notice a night-and-day difference while sitting back there, but when they’re otherwise so similar, that’s enough to break the tie in the Chevy’s direction.
Photo by Brady Holt
Cargo and Utility
The Trailblazer’s slightly longer body also translates into slightly more cargo capacity. It gives you 25.3 cubic feet behind the rear seat — not huge, but among the best in the subcompact segment and plenty for your groceries or luggage — and 54.4 cubic feet with the rear seat folded. You can also fold down the front-passenger seat to fit long items, a rare perk.
The Encore GX comes up slightly shy of these figures. It has 23.5 cubic feet of cargo capacity with the rear seat in place and 50.2 cubic feet with the rear seat folded down. You won’t feel that difference often, but if you ever need to pack your car to the max, you’ll fit more in the Chevrolet than the Buick. Both crossovers can tow a modest 1,000 pounds, but that still beats some competitors that aren’t rated to tow a trailer at all.
Chevrolet Trailblazer
Photo by Brady Holt
Driving Experience
The Trailblazer and Encore GX ride on the same platform and share the same turbocharged three-cylinder engines: a 137-horsepower 1.2-liter that’s available only on certain front-wheel-drive models, and a more common 155-horsepower 1.3-liter. That’s the engine found in both our test cars, and we were pleasantly surprised by its eager acceleration and sporty yet subdued growl.
Neither vehicle has an extra-cushy ride or extra-sporty handling, but both ride and handle with agreeable composure, especially by the standards of a subcompact crossover. But the win goes to the Encore GX, which features Buick’s QuietTuning suite of refinement enhancements — including additional sound-suppressing materials and an advanced active noise cancellation system. Don’t expect miracles from a little three-cylinder SUV, but the Buick’s quieter cabin better complements the vehicle’s easy-to-drive nature.
Buick Encore GX
Photo by Brady Holt
Fuel Economy
Since they have the same engines and same approximate shape, fuel economy is basically a tie between the Encore GX and Trailblazer. On both, the best-performing engine is the 1.3-liter with front-wheel drive; it manages EPA estimates of 30 mpg in the city and 32 mpg on the highway on the Buick and 29 mpg city/33 mpg highway on the Chevrolet. With the base 1.2-liter engine, they have identical ratings of 28 mpg city/31 mpg highway.
Breaking the tie, the Trailblazer comes out just ahead with all-wheel drive; its EPA ratings are 26 mpg city/30 mpg highway, versus 26 mpg city/29 mpg highway on the Encore GX. As with many small turbocharged engines, expect to match or beat EPA estimates if you drive gently — and to come up significantly short if you keep a heavy foot on the throttle.
Chevrolet Trailblazer
Photo by Brady Holt
Safety
Both the Encore GX and Trailblazer come standard with a long list of safety features, including automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, automatic lane-keeping steering corrections, and automatic high beams. Both models have blind-spot monitoring as a widely available option as well, and they share the same five-star NHTSA crash-test score.
The Buick pulls ahead for its additional safety options. These include front and rear parking sensors (the Trailblazer only alerts you to obstacles behind you), a surround-view parking camera (the Trailblazer only has the federally mandated rear view), and a rear camera mirror (which converts the conventional reflection into a camera image that's unobstructed by rear passengers' heads, high-loaded cargo, or roof pillars). If you wouldn’t be paying up for these extra features, you can call this a tie, but our nod goes to the Buick.
Buick Encore GX
Photo by Brady Holt
Final Thoughts
We like the 2021 Buick Encore GX. It’s not the least expensive subcompact SUV you can buy, but it’s quiet, peppy, decently roomy, and packed with standard features. It looks and feels more expensive than most crossovers this size, which is great if maneuverability means more to you than maximum cargo capacity.
Still, we have to award the win to the cheaper but roomier 2021 Chevrolet TrailBlazer. When the less expensive vehicle actually gives you more, it’s impossible to ignore. If you’d be getting a model with a lot of options, we’d encourage you to consider the quieter, more richly finished Buick; at that point, the price difference may be smaller than you think, too. But for superior value and utility, the Trailblazer makes more sense for more people.
Chevrolet Trailblazer
