Many people review cars on RU-vid... Your teaching history has really paid off when it comes to car journalism, difference with with you is you literally teach us the car manufacturer, the history of the car itself, review the car in-depth, then take it for a spin and give us your honest unbiased opinion of the performance, despite what class it falls in. I should get a diploma for attending Raiti’s University 👨🎓🗞 Keep up the awesome job Joe!!
My wife just got one of these. Not the top trim like this one but she got all the features she wanted and for a lot less than $34K. It's a nice car. Very comfortable to ride in and great for around town.
I own one of these. The manual passenger side front seatback allows for the back of the seat to fold flat for added cargo room. Very nice when you have something long to put in the vehicle.They knew what they were doing.
Joe, you seem to be one of the very few that like how it rides as quite a few journalists have complained that it didn’t ride all that well. Refreshing to hear a positive review on the Encore GX.
I have driven the biggest SUV they have as rental I have to drive back after 20 mins of driving can't stand driving it. Reminded me of the dodge caliber
Bruh!!!! Undisclosed location it is!!! Loving the look of this lil Buick here man!!! I feel like they should've just axed the regular Encore for this. It's barely bigger than the Encore🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔 At any rate, great review Joe!!! Shout out to Crown Vic, Lori and the entire crew!!! 👍🏼❤🚗💨💨💨💨
My girl just got and I’m impressed. Tech is great, that fold down on the front passenger is so you can put long items not for putting feet up. Also....Buick has quiet tuning so it’s very quiet compared to crv, cx5, rav 4. For my girl that was key plus super easy to drive and park in the big city.
I had the encore GX ST as a loaner from dealer. I think there’s definitely some pep as the one I had was a 1.2T with CVT. I’m sure of it that the 1.3 will be better. I’d go for the Encore GX if I was shopping for this class for sure if I wanted more premium ride than the mainstream counterparts and not breaking the bank and worry about reliability (I’m looking at you GLA and GLB and X1 and X2). Hyundai/Kia products if it’s judging by the Kia Forte rental I had I could say forget about it. I’m sure their upper end models would feel better. But judging by the rental I had, that’s pretty crappy from them in terms of ride quality and not having enough power going up the mountains.
This is great, we're thinking of going down to one car and the sub-compact SUV class seems to fill the bill. Plus fits in the garage with no problem and easy to park. We will put this on our shopping list. Thanks!!!
I’m so happy that I’m subscribed because your really the only person that reviewed this car.!And you upload more than almost car person. Except for Scotty.😂😂😁😁😂😂
I’ve always liked Buick. My buddy in Boston has a 1972 Riviera and it’s beautiful. My college roommate had a convertible 1970 Skylark which was a great, powerful ride. Awesome review!
I think the Buick name is a thing of the past. Most young people aren’t aware of it or think of it as their grandpa’s car. I can’t imagine who would pay 34k for this rather than a Kia, Hyundai, or even Mazda. Great video as always.
Another great review, as I struggle to decide between Encore, Encore GX or something else. (It looked like the shot of the nav display at 7:50 sort of gave away your undisclosed location.) ;-)
Better looking shape than the regular Encore but a three cylinder? That’s a zonk. With all these turbocharged vehicles nowadays Buick should bring back the Grand National. Nice job Joe! 👍🏻👍🏻🇺🇸
@@AbdullahHood I did a 2020 Hyundai Santa Fe SEL with all the safety features, larger in size with a 4cyl 175 hp engine. Can average 33 mpg on hwy..$26,000 with a long warranty !
@hiroshima thompson yes the Tucson was what I was looking at. Coming from a long time GM owner, including one of us has an Encore, this disappointed A LOT! They had to price it this way as they still have that Encore model. That is going away in 1-2 years. They already dumped the highest trim off the Encore, so it's on it's way out. Then maybe price will go down. The seat too was VERY cheap compared to the leather in Encore. Test drove it, it was louder too.
JOE ~ I have 126 thumb's up haha. nice lil SUV, good stuff for the money. seems like it rides nice - pretty impressed. great report - Joe receives no zonks & bonus Twinkies (happy face) - tony
Nice review. This new generation of the Encore looks much better than the last one in my opinion. But a 3-cylinder engine?! C’mon Buick. Do better than this. The fuel economy is great, but vehicles need enough power to get out their own way.
You wouldn't be making this comment if you actually drove one with the 1.3T engine. My wife has one and the acceleration is very responsive, much better than the 1.4T 4-cylinder that was in her previous "regular" Encore.
Peb Ble I’m glad you’re both happy with it. But it’s too small an engine and too slow for my taste, especially for a near-luxury car like a Buick. The engine bay can clearly accommodate something with more displacement. BTW, I’m not biased against Buick or GM. I had a terrific Regal GS for a couple years, just one of the 10-12 GM cars we’ve owned.
Peb Ble No, I haven’t, but according to Joe its 0-60 time is 8.9 seconds. That is not fast at all. It’s not even quick. I’ve read that the engine is “peppy,” so maybe it has some nice torque off the line, but almost 9 seconds 0-60 is pretty poor. I know that’s not what this car is designed for, and that’s fine, but for a car over $30K I think we should expect a little better.
Timothy Coyne well I mean the subcompact class you’re not gonna find anything that’s gonna be a 6 sec. let alone MB but those are somewhat just a tad bigger.
Waited for this GX and was somewhat disappointed for the price. Seats especially. Sister has an Encore and her leather seats are more supportive, bigger, plusher and more comfortable than GX. GX leather seat is thinner, narrower and less deep on seating surface, about 3-4" less for leg support. Chrome on infotainment is super blinding. BTW I've sat in my sis' Encore in back with front seat down, yup, pretty comfy lol.
Had the same zonks today but the smooth quiet drive blew me away compared to so many others seriously considering this one. Thank you much for your honest reviews.Been looking and test driving for more than 6 months now and I think this one might be the one. Now I'm hungry from snacks you shove into every crevice of a vehicle
GM replaced the Sonic and Cruze, Made in USA, with the Encore-EncoreGx-Trax-T:Blazer, Blazer made in Kore-Korea-Korea-Korea-Mexico. Getting the public to accept a 3 cyl with a CVT is amazing when a Honda CRV or Rav4 is so, so much better. Cant fault sales. Mind boggling. Amazing slight of hand.
2021 is same as 2020. The new version of 2022 was just shown off for first time yesterday. Search youtube for Hyundai and they have their preview with great visuals. Personally I think the exterior is not that great, too much going on and looks like a Rav 4 in many ways.
I’m not a grandma over 65 years old driving 15 under the speed limit. I will never buy a Buick for that reason. Also, it’s made by General Motors so it’s not gonna last more than five years without a big mechanical problem. However, I will admit that this is a great value for all the features that you get
Once you start noticing these cars you realize there's a lot on the road for a car no one talks about. Most GM small car's are FUGLY so good for them making a good looking one.
Love your reviews Raiti. I've been preparing to start my own automotive media website for several months now, really taking the time to research. Your content offers great inspiration into what makes a thorough and entertaining review. Keep it up 🤙
The only way I would have this vehicle is with the all-wheel drive and 9 speed automatic. While they are getting better (Toyota's CVT on their non-hybrid vehicles blends in a conventional 1st gear), I really don't care for CVT transmissions, not counting the eCVT found on Toyota hybrids; those are excellent.
I just wish they were a little more pretty and luxurious as when they first came out with the Enclave and Encore. My 2012 Enclave is so pretty that I don't want to give it up even though I'd like to downsize ☹
I personally really like Buick. It’s Europeans and Asian design what American car would be. This is a rebadged Darwoo from Korea. I also like the Regal X, a rebadged Opel, and made in Germany. Envision is made in China by Shanghai GM. I like them all. Very good cars that GM has given up on.
Nice looking but over priced for a 3 cylinder engine car. GM cut costs but didn't pass on the savings to the customer. A 4 cylinder with 20 more horses would've better justified the pricing GM is asking for. The vehicle isn't light considering the size and I have doubts about long term durability of the 3 cylinder pulling all that weight. The competition uses mostly 4 cylinders. They didn't cheap out like GM. $34k for a subcompact FWD is asking too much.
Would look better with a Pontiac emblem in the grill, and I can nearly guarantee the younger generation, Buick is trying to draw in, would suck 'em up! 🙄 🏁🏁 P.S... AWD would be the only way to go!
That keyfob is a big zonk for me. For such a compact SUV, you get a humungous keyfob for your pocket. If majority of the buyers are female, then it won't be a problem as most of the time they have it in their purse.
No one every really explains this car when they review it vs the regular Encore and why this came out. The Encore is a Buick copy of the Opel Mokka. Much like the Regal is an Opel Insignia and Cascada the Opel Cascada. All of those Buick versions will be going away because GM no longer owns Opel. Buick was able to continue to use these cars until Opel redesigned their versions. A new Mokka was shown recently and therefore Buick will no longer have the Encore soon. They needed a replacement vehicle for it, and this is it. They kept the Encore name in it so when the original Encore leaves, there's still a vehicle in the Buick lineup with that name which people have since become accustomed to. The Regal will soon be gone, and because Buick will be all CUVs, it won't get a replacement. Cascada is already out. This would have been better info for your history lesson segment. I don't think too many people realize this.
The trailblazer is the much nicer of the twins, Buick really zonked this thing from bumper to bumper in comparison. Despite being 22, I usually think Buick's are the best looking in GM's whole lineup, but the GX just has nothing to it. There is absolutely nothing special about this car. This is the kind of vehicle I would say is "generic branded" like there is no brand, no identity to this thing. It is just a rounded box on 4 wheels with a few seats and a motor. Honestly the best part about this thing is probably the 1.3 turbo and the 9 speed, as you get way higher low end torque than if this was an NA 2 liter, and that 9 speed is phenomenal. But once again you can get this same powertain in the trailblazer, which just wipes the floor with this. Usually things that completely invalidate other vehicles existences come from other companies, but this has to compete with its own brethren, and it is definitely not the favorite child.
To me, all the "specific" front treatment, wheels, etc looks as though it's meant to appeal to a 'mature' clientele. Buick can't get away from that & I'm sorry to say, they've distanced themselves light years from getting back to a re-release of the infamous GN - in proper form, not one of their 4 door cars rebadged!
The seat folds forward on the passenger side, allowing a long cargo area on the passenger side, so, no power-controlled seat back. He he . . . never mind, he found it!
They should replace those high numbers in the end of the speedometer with the word "Fantasy!"or maybe just stop at 15 and save money on printing extra numbers