Blowing warm breath and rubbing your hands together before touching the wheel will generate nearly the same effect. Heated seats are a given, and the heated steering wheel is a nice touch, though it does have the world’s feeblest heater element. The pricey Premium-trim Encore is at least well equipped with technology and amenities. What’s more, even though there’s power actuation for the fore–aft movement, reclining the seats is done manually after hunting around for a small lever. We liked the two-tone appearance of the interior with the saddle-coloured leather seats lending a premium feel, even if the hides themselves are a bit stiff to the touch. Assembly of the Korean-built Encore appears well sorted with seams lining up and no squeaks or rattles apparent. The interior styling fits well within the Buick family, and most of the materials are soft-touch. It also means that rear-seat passengers are afforded modest space, and the cargo capacity with the rear seats up is only 532 L.įolding the rear seats down gives you 1,370 L, but it is a convoluted, multi-step affair, wherein the seat bottoms need to be flipped forward before the seatbacks can be dropped down. Of course, these diminutive dimensions (it’s only 4,278 mm long and 1,774 mm wide) mean the littlest Buick fits into urban spaces very well. Overall, with such tall, stubby dimensions, the Encore resembles a cartoon version of a larger Buick Enclave, though admittedly, stubby aesthetics are shared by most of the Encore’s competitors. The 18-inch chrome wheels – a style that’s grown out of fashion for most – at least help fill out the wheel wells. It looks good and is well-applied, lending to a premium feel, at least from the outside, and is nicely complemented by the titanium-coloured rocker panel trim. Our test model wore $1,195 worth of White Frost Tri-coat paint. Heck, for those seeking a show-off brand, even the larger Mercedes-Benz GLA 250 has an entry price of $38,500, and it’s bigger and more powerful, so on the surface, it’s a bit of a head-scratcher why someone would choose the little Buick. Mazda, Honda, and Ford all offer subcompact SUVs like the Encore, but with better performance or more interior space (not to mention arguably better styling), and cost thousands of dollars less. Sure, most SUVs cost at least that much these days, but the Encore shares a lot of its guts with the tiny Chevrolet Sonic econo-box, and what’s more, most of the Encore’s competitors cost a few thousand bucks less for their top-of-the-line trims. The interior measures up against the best in class for quality, design, and features, but it’s driving the Encore that actually impresses more. With the options and $1,795 destination charge added in, this Buick is over $40,000. The problem is, this 2018 Buick Encore Premium isn’t around thirty-grand. At around thirty grand, Buick’s top-trim Encore looks like a really good value.
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