$24,950 For A 2013 Buick Encore

Pricey for the size, but should be in our range (especially since we're planning to lease this).

Verano is a better deal. If the Encore had some more motor I would say the price is worth it, but with some options you are looking at $30k for a 1.4 liter with 138 hp. If the Encore had more like 170 hp and make it not seem like you are getting a Chevy Sonic SUV with leather.

For once, I have to agree with SMK. 24K for this is...absurd....

my sx4's are pretty much the exact same size and have more hp and are like 7-10 grand less. Although yes, i know they are not as nice nor new. Still, it's hard to ask that much premium over the 'commodity' level.

I'd say Buick is a bit ballsy here. I would have started the pricing at 23 or so for these things or upped the hp.

Price wise, it's probably about 10k more than the Chevy version (which isn't coming to the US?) and 10k less than the inevitable Cadillac version...

Man, that thing is ugly!

Makes you wonder why GM didn't develop a 1.6 liter turbo with 160 hp for not only this, but an optional engine for the Cruze and other small cars. Ford has waythe better engines on the Focus.

  On 9/21/2012 at 3:13 PM, Camino LS6 said:

Man, that thing is ugly!

Styling is always subjective!! Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

I think my wife is attracted to the Buick Encore because it reminds her of two vehicles she wanted back when she bought her Pontiac G6 (2008) - the new-for-2009 Pontiac Vibe GT and the Saturn VUE.

As long as she doesn't tell me she has to have a Toyota, I'm fine with the Encore. Her other two desires are the CTS Sedan and the LaCrosse.

What a joke. We aren't going to be able to give them away.

A Kia Soul even has 164 hp, I can't see people buying paying near $30k when optioned up for the Encore. It doesn't look very good because of how short and tall it is, interior looks like it is a dressed up Sonic, and a weak engine.

The Encore and Verano do give Buick two sub $25k cars though to try to attract buyers to the brand, or people that in the past would have looked to Saturn or Mercury. The Verano I think is a good idea, the Encore I however I do not.

That's a lot of money for a taller fancy Sonic.

Good Lord, it'd be $27,855 for the one I'd spec out. Convenience/AWD/Bose.

This is a girl's car though, and I personally believe a good number of girls will like this.

  On 9/21/2012 at 3:13 PM, Camino LS6 said:

Man, that thing is ugly!

Buicks design language doesn't translate well here...

Although I really like the Verano and Regal...they grow on me all of the time.

But given the price of fuel...Passat TDI FTW!

  On 9/22/2012 at 10:48 AM, ocnblu said:

Good Lord, it'd be $27,855 for the one I'd spec out. Convenience/AWD/Bose.

This is a girl's car though, and I personally believe a good number of girls will like this.

You may well be right....

Although at 24K, I'd rather have a base cooper S....

And if I was a chic, I would damn sure take a current gen Beetle over this thing.

But seriously...quite a few successful young females I know buy the Focus....no reason to buy the buick over the Ford in this case IMHO.

I'd prefer Buick had a Verano wagon and Chevrolet got the Trax over this. But I look forward to the next generation Equinox which will be Delta based and hopefully as roomy as the current model and less chunky.

If the Encore were a Verano based crossover with the 2.4 liter and the same price point, it might sell.

But did Buick notice that this has a higher base price (though slightly lower loaded price) than a Volkswagen Tiguan? And did they notice that the Tiguan even in base form has the award winning VW/Audi 2.0T engine with 200 hp and 207 lb-ft @1700 rpm. 138 hp vs 200 hp, really? And I think the Tiguan has a better interior also.

appliance.

I find the Tiguan to be nice, but one can tell where the money was saved to try to keep the MSRP competitive in its size class... the interior. It's a rather plain looking CUV, inside and out, imo. Now, I want to be clear, I always celebrate the way VW makes function a higher percentage of the whole visible package than some other manufacturers, but the Encore's interior is the most attractive part of the vehicle, imo, and if it is put together as well as a Tiguan while looking and feeling more luxurious, they'll find some buyers who don't care as much as we think they should about power.

This is a great CUV for my parents as a retirement awd fully loaded at $33,000. I like it allot.

Tiguan drives like a turd.......

Albert likes it... we'll probably end up with one. I'm not concerned about the engine, we already have a 160hp 4-cylinder with 4-speed in the driveway. I like the way the Sonic drives, so I expect the Encore to be similar.

GM does have a 1.6T coming (though I don't know what cars it will go in) that makes 200hp and 200 ft/lb of torque.

Is the Encore about the same size or smaller than an Equinox/Terrain/SRX?

Quite a bit smaller than Equinox/Terrain/SRX.

  On 9/25/2012 at 4:19 PM, ZL-1 said:

Quite a bit smaller than Equinox/Terrain/SRX.

Ya, the Equinox/etc are midsize CUVs, the Encore is a subcompact...think Sonic-sized CUV.

  On 9/24/2012 at 3:30 PM, regfootball said:

Tiguan drives like a turd.......

Then what to the RAV-4 and CR-V drive like?

well, ok, i'll qualify. the manual trans front drive cloth seat base tiguan drives like a turd. All the RAV4's I've driven have been sleep inducing. The CRV's while packaged nicely are sort of the same as the RAV's.

Times have certainly changed. Remember when Buick was known as a large car company? Now it will be known as a small/medium car company. The Encore will have a great interior and all, but not everyone will like the smallness of this vehicle.

  On 9/25/2012 at 7:59 PM, regfootball said:

well, ok, i'll qualify. the manual trans front drive cloth seat base tiguan drives like a turd. All the RAV4's I've driven have been sleep inducing. The CRV's while packaged nicely are sort of the same as the RAV's.

I concure that the Tiquan, Rav and CRV are turds as FWD appliances. I see no reason for them to exist since they truly have no benefit beyond sitting higher since they do not have true cuv/suv on road/off road capabilities.

  On 10/4/2012 at 2:12 PM, dfelt said:

  On 9/25/2012 at 7:59 PM, regfootball said:

well, ok, i'll qualify. the manual trans front drive cloth seat base tiguan drives like a turd. All the RAV4's I've driven have been sleep inducing. The CRV's while packaged nicely are sort of the same as the RAV's.

I concure that the Tiquan, Rav and CRV are turds as FWD appliances. I see no reason for them to exist since they truly have no benefit beyond sitting higher since they do not have true cuv/suv on road/off road capabilities.

LOL yet the Encore is a "great CUV" for your parents? Did I miss something about its capabilities over the much larger compact CUV's?

  On 10/4/2012 at 2:47 PM, frogger said:

  On 10/4/2012 at 2:12 PM, dfelt said:

  On 9/25/2012 at 7:59 PM, regfootball said:

well, ok, i'll qualify. the manual trans front drive cloth seat base tiguan drives like a turd. All the RAV4's I've driven have been sleep inducing. The CRV's while packaged nicely are sort of the same as the RAV's.

I concure that the Tiquan, Rav and CRV are turds as FWD appliances. I see no reason for them to exist since they truly have no benefit beyond sitting higher since they do not have true cuv/suv on road/off road capabilities.

LOL yet the Encore is a "great CUV" for your parents? Did I miss something about its capabilities over the much larger compact CUV's?

Yes as an AWD CUV, the Encore can at least give you far superior traction compared to FWD Turds. I will expand my feeling that any American, Asian or European FWD only CUV is a turd that should not be built/sold.

Womwn will love it because of what it has to offer inside and it is a Small SUV. This is not a vehicle targeted for a man.

I too think it needs not so much a different engine but more power. But till I have driven one I can not make full commnet there. The small engine may do well with this as it is not what you would call a performance vehicle nor is it that large. But on paper it need more power to me.

I also expect it will be a pleasant drive based on the platform.

I know this should have been a Chevy and would love to know why they made it a Buick? Were they reluctant with the new smaller Nox coming? Was it because Buick has so little product? I don't know?

I'm so old that when I hear "Encore", I think of AMC/Renault.

  On 10/4/2012 at 2:12 PM, dfelt said:

I concure that the Tiquan, Rav and CRV are turds as FWD appliances. I see no reason for them to exist since they truly have no benefit beyond sitting higher since they do not have true cuv/suv on road/off road capabilities.

I'm sure the FWD ones sell well in sunbelt states...99% of drivers don't need off road capabilities.

I live in the upper Midwest where the winters are generally intense. I haven't owned a 4WD or AWD vehicle since my pickup back when I was still farming. I really don't want the extra drag, cost, complexity and crummier fuel economy of the 4 corner drive. FWD has worked out well for me over the decades.

That's me, in the post above. Trying to post from phone

Most people in the areas with the worst snow are not all hell bent on 4 wheel drive unless we have a mile long driveway. We are used to crummy ice and snow caked roads 4 days a week. It is just something we grew up with. Now if we did any off roading or plowing the 4 wheel drive is a must.

The fear of snow varies and often the more you have the less you fear it.

The FWD models do what most want them to do. No one really buys these for off road and only the fearful buy them with 4 wheel drive. These are targeted at women buyers who make up 50%+ of the market, They like to sit high up and the ease of loading in the rear hatch. These take the SUV and wagon and combine it into on package that women with families like.

We have a Terrain because that is what the wife wanted. I have come to enjoy it as it rides and drives nice, I prefer something that I can take the curving of ramps in at speed just to keep it interesting but that is just me and I am not the majority of the market.

I expect this thing to sell 70% to females or to families where the wife will do most of the driving. Also some older retired people may like it because it is more affordable and easier to drive.

This is just not a vehicle for a young or middle aged male.

  On 10/5/2012 at 6:31 PM, NeonLX said:

That's me, in the post above. Trying to post from phone

But the midwest is flat and I would agree that FWD should get you around even in the winter snow since it is so flat form what I have seen of the midwest. Yet on the coasts with mountains, AWD/4WD is the only way to go.

I drove a Terrain the other day, and MAN, coming out of my rough and ready Patriot, it was like driving a Cadillac! It was an AWD 4 cylinder SLT. Very nice vehicle.

The only real issue with the Terrain 4 cylinder is too many people buy it for the MPG and never see the numbers. The reason from what I can see is they try to drive it with the pedal to the floor on all on ramps etc. They are coming from a larger V8 SUV and expect the 4 cylinder to pull 2 tons around like a V8 did their old vehicle.

The 4 is not bad but you can not floor it all the time and expect the vehicl of this mass to get the top MPG numbers. Now drive normally it may not be as fast up to speed but the 4 will move it well enough.

I expect the next version to lose a lot of mass moving to the Delta 2.

So far we have been happy with ours as it rides very well, quiet and comfortable. The wife loves it and I have had no issue with it as her daily driver. Also to this point this the car has been Zero defect. Not one issue so far. The MPG with the V6 has been 19 city and 26 highway and she is not easy on the gas.

Here in WI, it isn't very flat. We are at the edge of several glaciations from way back. Whatever the case, I have been through some really horrendous snow storms over the years & drove rear wheel drive cars through many of them. My '74 Gremlin X was particularly tricky, but I never got stuck or ran off the road.

This thing had about 90% of its weight over the front wheels. Then I jacked the rear up even more to look "cool". I could burn rubber with hardly any effort.

  On 10/4/2012 at 2:12 PM, dfelt said:

  On 9/25/2012 at 7:59 PM, regfootball said:

well, ok, i'll qualify. the manual trans front drive cloth seat base tiguan drives like a turd. All the RAV4's I've driven have been sleep inducing. The CRV's while packaged nicely are sort of the same as the RAV's.

I concure that the Tiquan, Rav and CRV are turds as FWD appliances. I see no reason for them to exist since they truly have no benefit beyond sitting higher since they do not have true cuv/suv on road/off road capabilities.

Because not everyone is built to your size. As I've already said in this thread, Albert is 5'7" and 125lbs soaking wet. The Encore is perfect size for him. He refuses to drive anything much larger than his '04 CR-V, even that S-10 that I was looking at gives him concern (those of you who follow me on facebook know which one I'm talking about), 0-60 is meaningless to him, he never exceeds 45mph on his commute to work. He currently drives a 160hp crossover with a 4-speed automatic and is fine with it..... can't you imagine a whole bunch of other people (about a million CR-V drivers alone) who are just like Albert with their vehicles needs and wants?

Buick's job is to sell vehicles, not just cater to a certain set of car fanatics. I think Buick has a potentially very good thing here with the Encore as they will be just about the only brand on the market with a vehicle in this exact segment.

Gee an automaker is there to sell cars and not cater to the whims of a small segment of buyers. Where have I said that more than once.

Well I want to see the Encore in all the color combinations. The brown is already wearing on my nerves, it's the same color Buick introduced the Enclave in, it's all we saw during the intro phase. For example, a blue or Steel Green might be nifty to see. Black might look good.

I wonder how much money the 3.6L is over the 2.4 in an SLE-1 Terrain...

I think the 2.5L might be a better choice in the Terrain/Equinox v. the 2.4, I wonder when that's coming... I wonder why it wasn't ready for all appropriate vehicles for the '13 model yerr.

NeonLX, that is a WICKED Gremlin!

  On 10/8/2012 at 11:03 PM, ocnblu said:

Well I want to see the Encore in all the color combinations. The brown is already wearing on my nerves, it's the same color Buick introduced the Enclave in, it's all we saw during the intro phase. For example, a blue or Steel Green might be nifty to see. Black might look good.

I wonder how much money the 3.6L is over the 2.4 in an SLE-1 Terrain...

I think the 2.5L might be a better choice in the Terrain/Equinox v. the 2.4, I wonder when that's coming... I wonder why it wasn't ready for all appropriate vehicles for the '13 model yerr.

NeonLX, that is a WICKED Gremlin!

The 3.0 was if I recall $1200 or $1500 more than the 4 in my SLT2. But when we bought they had a rebate so the V6 was only $500 more.

I expect the 2.5 will not see the light of day till the new Terrain arrives. It was said it was to be released in 2014 but I have not seen much more on it. The new Terrain on the Delta 2 I expect will only be 2.5 and 2.0 Turbo. I will not be suprised if the V6 goes away when it gets smaller and lighter. I hope they keep the 6 but the way of most vehicles in this class seem to be 4 and Turbo 4.

  On 10/8/2012 at 11:03 PM, ocnblu said:

Well I want to see the Encore in all the color combinations. The brown is already wearing on my nerves, it's the same color Buick introduced the Enclave in, it's all we saw during the intro phase. For example, a blue or Steel Green might be nifty to see. Black might look good.

I wonder how much money the 3.6L is over the 2.4 in an SLE-1 Terrain...

I think the 2.5L might be a better choice in the Terrain/Equinox v. the 2.4, I wonder when that's coming... I wonder why it wasn't ready for all appropriate vehicles for the '13 model yerr.

NeonLX, that is a WICKED Gremlin!

I would love to see the Encore in a Gold mist hue. That color shift paint that can go from a greyish gold to a bright gold. I suspect it would look killer in a Blue Green shifting teal paint job.

I think car companies need to use more of the color shift paint jobs like ChromaFlair or Rust-Oleum color shift paints.

there is a 1.6L Turbo with 200hp and 200 lb-ft coming also. So of all of the engines you guys have listed, the answer may end up being "none of the above"

Encore is perfect for the times, but the price is too high.

Size is just right, one class size below the likes of the CRV etc....some folks think those are too big.

The SX4's I USED to sell, just a practical partial size larger.......think of the Encore as Vibe sized. But taller perhaps. Or maybe a bit smaller than the Vibe.....The Vibe that is gone, the same size as the Suzuki SX4 companion / replacement next year, the S-Cross.

  On 10/9/2012 at 5:10 PM, regfootball said:

Encore is perfect for the times, but the price is too high.

Size is just right, one class size below the likes of the CRV etc....some folks think those are too big.

The SX4's I USED to sell, just a practical partial size larger.......think of the Encore as Vibe sized. But taller perhaps. Or maybe a bit smaller than the Vibe.....The Vibe that is gone, the same size as the Suzuki SX4 companion / replacement next year, the S-Cross.

I just finished driving a 2013 Ford Escape with the 1.6T and cloth seats that has a sticker price of $29.3k. I'd say the Buick will be a pretty good deal at that price. Yes it is smaller, but it has more luxury appointments.

I wonder how long before people say enough is enough I am tired of being shoved into a sardine can.

I do not see compact/sub compact taking over the world from the mid size. I do sadly see the full size reducing to a niche market.

  On 10/9/2012 at 6:23 PM, dfelt said:

I wonder how long before people say enough is enough I am tired of being shoved into a sardine can.

I do not see compact/sub compact taking over the world from the mid size. I do sadly see the full size reducing to a niche market.

At 5'10" 170lbs, I am the statistical median American male. I don't at all feel the Encore or Escape are sardine cans. I really enjoyed my time in the Escape (as you will read in my review).