12/2/2023 0 Comments 2016 buick encore priceIf you dig the monochrome style, you can order an Encore with an interior covered in black leather. Calming ambient interior lighting is courtesy of blue LEDs, but Buick does not offer Ford's trick of changing interior hues. At least Buick installed conventional rotary knobs to control the audio system. The instrument panel is plastered with myriad switches, knobs, and buttons-we counted 33 of them-a bit of fake “wood” trim with some metallic accents to brighten things up. But its interior more succesfully delivers an upmarket feel hidden in a compact package. The Encore's small size means there isn't much sheet metal for designers to worth with if they're going to stretch Buick's look onto a diminutive canvas. The rear-quarter view doesn't say “Buick” at all, but then the large, molded rear bumper shield ladles on more toughness again-and a spoiler mounted to the top of its tailgate stretches its roofline to help make this short crossover look a hair longer. An S-curve runs through the door panels and up around the rear glass. There's some bulldog in the nose, along with chrome-trimmed portholes laying inconspicuously on the flat top of the hood sides (a good thing).īut from the center of the crossover backwards, the rakish, broad-shouldered stance begins to morph into a simpler five-door compact hatchback. The front end of the Encore shows off Buick's toothy grille, a tough look standing on large 18-inch wheels. The Encore features Buick's portholes, but it doesn't quite pull off the bulbous corporate look to the same degree as some of the division's larger offerings like its LaCrosse four-door and the Enclave large crossover. Tick every box and the Encore comes in at about $33,000, which still comes under some rivals but is a lot of coin for not a lot of metal. From there, it's possible to add leather trim, Bose audio, and forward collision alerts. The base model stickers for about $25,000 and includes 10 airbags, a backup camera, and even a WiFi hotspot with a 4G LTE antenna. Where the Encore's price point begins to make more sense is its safety and equipment specifications. But its interior remains hugely flexible with a high degree of versatility thanks to the folding second row and even a passenger seat that flops down to accommodate longer objects like ladders. Three abreast in the rear seat isn't feasible and even front seat passengers may bump elbows. The Encore's tall roofline gives it good headroom, but it's narrow. We think that the all-wheel drive versions ride a little better perhaps because of their added weight.Īccommodations are excellent in certain aspects but rather more confining in others. It doesn't transform the Encore into a sports car, but all models handle fairly well for a tall, heavy wagon-like vehicle with a short wheelbase. All-wheel drive models push that to more like 10 seconds, meaning some planning is necessary for two-lane road passing.īut there's something of a fix this year: A direct-injected version of the 4-cylinder with 153 horsepower and 177 lb-ft of torque that offers more getup and go in any situation. Even minus the added weight of its optional all-wheel drive system, the 0-to-60-mph run is a leisurely 9 seconds. The Encore tips the scales at around 3,200 pounds, which is a lot of metal to motivate with a mere 138 horsepower and 148 pound-feet of torque. There's a single engine/transmission combination on offer, the turbocharged 1.4-liter 4 engine from the Sonic teamed with a 6-speed automatic. But the Chevy can't be ordered with all-wheel drive like the Buick can. Active noise canceling does keep engine rumble mostly silenced, however.Īlthough you'd probably never guess it, underneath the Encore sits some underpinnings shared with the humble Chevy Sonic hatchback. Befitting the almost luxury Buick label, the interior is fairly quiet, if not totally hushed, since a modicum of wind and road noise nonetheless penetrates the cabin. Inside, the cockpits of our test cars have been trimmed either in all-black materials or a multi-tone palette of cocoa-colored leather and two-tone brown trim that lend a jazzy buzz. Priced on the high side, with luxo-grade features, it remains fitted around a tidy hatchback shape, and saddled with tepid performance (though Buick promises more power on tap for a new Encore Sport Touring model coming soon). It has been something of a trailblazer, yet the Encore remains a crossover that is at odds with its Buick stablemates in some ways.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |