Buick unveiled the 2013 Buick Encore at the Detroit auto show after a slow strip tease over the past week. The verdict? Macho SUV styling squashed into itty-bitty compact form factor. Nay, not even compact, think subcompact. This is the first Nissan Juke fighter that no one asked for. But before we dismiss the Encore, let’s take a look at what it’s good at and who the target buyers is. Who knows, maybe Buick is predicting a segment of the market that just about to explode in growth.
What surprises me most is the footprint of the Encore. Built on top of a modified Chevy Sonic platform, the Encore is going to be small – Juke and Mini small. And while I’ve always been a fan of small cars, America as a whole hasn’t shared my enthusiasm. But times are changing. Ford has adopted it’s one-world strategy to build basically the same models everywhere in the world to save on research and development. From the looks of it, GM is also toying around with the same idea. Compact and upscale have been a staple in the European markets for some time now. With high gas prices, high insurance, and carbon emissions taxes, it’s easy to see why our European counterparts choose the cars they do. With fuel economy and frugality in mind, the Encore makes a lot of sense. It’ll have the same 1.4L turbo that the Chevy Cruze uses and clever packaging will yield an impressive 48 foot-cubes of space with the seats folded. The main question is whether Americans are ready to embrace such a small car for midsize prices.
Buick's QuietTuning with noise cancellation and an inviting interior makes the Encore an inviting place to be
There’s a lot of back and forth on the topic in many comment threads I came across on the topic today, but the one that stood out to me was a comment from VelocityRed3 on The Truth About Cars. He or she writes:
“Well I’m a little older (44), divorced, almost empty nester (my youngest still lives with me & will be for at least 2 more years (hopefully graduating from Georgia State at that time) & this looks very, very interesting to me. Just big enough for me & my girlfriend to jot down to Savanah for the weekend & looks really comfortable for that 3 mile daily work commute. I too am awaiting pricing on this.”
What hit me is that with the right price (cheap), Buick could actually capture the interest of a younger generation of buyers than their current brand image. The styling isn’t winning any points for me, but the form factor is right in line with my 2006 Scion xB. If the Encore could achieve the same mileage and similar utility as my xB, but with a quieter and smoother ride, Buick has my attention.
