Buick Encore GX Three-Cylinders Match Or Exceed The Four-Cylinder Alternatives

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• how about comparing it with the competition instead of its previous self or its chevy brethren? talk about sticking your head in the sand ...

  • This is what you get when you use GM focus groups.

    GM people telling GM that the " new " product is better than the last.

    Look at the " new " trucks, they were supposed to be better than the last ones ?

    But when passed by the competition, GM just could not believe they had to do better to sell better !

    GM seems to try hard to make a better product than the last GM product, but is just behind the curve of the " win "
    Just maybe " Good Enough " for the sub-mid-sized line at GM.

    But according to Mark Reuss, GM is in it to win, with the full-size line.

    I guess we know what matters to him at least.

    In my opinion.

  • Next year GM will start making a bicycle without wheels!

• Just another underpowered sub-to-mid-sized GM SUV.

  But its " Good Enough "

  GM is only in the full-sized SUV market to " win "

  Just another average GM blah " Good Enough " SUV.

  In my opinion

  • The enclave is considered midsize and has 310 horsepower, not bad.
    Most other subcompact crossovers have HP in the 140's
    I mean it's pretty easy to say things and not back them up.

    • Steak,

      I just disagree with you.
      Yes the Enclave is a very nice vehicle, my mother-in-law has one.
      But the 3.6 v6, is a pooch at low rpm, and a fuel pig at the 310 HP rpm !
      And the torque to the road is the feel while driving, the shifting in traffic as you try to pass, etc.

      So is " not bad" the same as saying " Good Enough " ?
      That is what I get from that statement.
      Steak, back them up with what ?

      The GM sub-mid-sized lineup, for the weight of the vehicle, plus the load GM is rating the vehicle to carry, the whole lot of them are just plain old average GM blah " Good Enough " pooches of power, duds.

      Drive them !
      Drive the competition !
      And why is GM just trying to be equal to the competition in this huge vehicle segment ?
      Yet in the full-size vehicle segment, they offer three to four engine choices with the lowest engine option to equal the only engine option in most of the sub-mid-sized options.
      Then you just move up from there, 2.7T - 3.0TD - 5.3 - 6.2, three are a step up from the average GM blah in the full-size segment.
      And which are the most sold ?
      The 2.7T in the full-size ?
      NOPE, its the upper offerings !
      Yet one more time, you get, ZERO, upper offerings in the sub-mid-sized lineup !

      So its my opinion, yes it is.

      Drive them all, all of the GM and the competition, and add the lack of customer support on top of that, then calculate the value, piece of mind, honoring the warranty, known faulty parts, class action lawsuits, recalls, GM is not the winner here, in my opinion.

    • Yes, he generally doesn't know what he is saying.

  • Wait- isn't the question what is the Gas Mileage? Ok 3 cylinders match the 4 in power so now we need to why to buy it.

• Thanks GM / Buick Motor Division for the update on two of your fine vehicles. I will keep both Buicks in mind when shopping in 2020.

• I think the engines will be more than fine. It's the CVT that should never have happened.

  • Aren't all CVT transmissions noisy? My brief experience is they are, so this doesn't seem like it would work in a Buick?

    • @David:

      I can't say for sure on the noise of the CVT, but my guess is that most vehicles using them are cheaper models/brands and cost-cutting is huge with them. Take Toyota and Honda for example. They both use lots of CVT's and the cost cutting there has gone beyond anything I would ever desire. So they also cut sound blocking materials, thus maybe the more noise? I think this Buick will be super quiet, but just not as fun to drive and the current model like I have.

  • Good thing with the all wheel drive you get a nine speed transmission. The front wheel drive gets the CVT

  • Why not as an option use the turbocharged, 2.0-liter LSY four-cylinder, which develops 237 horsepower as well as 258 pound-feet of torque from 1,500 rpm. The engine is mated to the GM nine-speed automatic transmission with Electronic Precision Shift technology

• Curb weight is between 3,237 and 3,358 pounds. Torque is 162ft/lbs on the base model.

  3,358÷162=20.728...

  So, for every 20lbs of car, you have 1ft/lb of torque. That's somewhere between a minivan and a Geo Metro.

  That's not going to be good on gas; nor will it be good on driving up hills. And since it's a new car, you can expect half the engine sensors to break before the engine hits 100,000 miles.

  Not a good value for my money.

  • Ford is big with the small turbo charged engines. They promote that they have comparable torque with V8 engines, but when towing they are much worse in MPG than its V8 counterpart. Spooling up that turbo charger to achieve the torque sacrifices any efficiency it would otherwise have. Unloaded MPG is really not much different than a V8 engine as well.

• Again, I do think the GM engines of today 2019, are good engines, some great.

  GM is just a step or two below the right combination of vehicle to engine.

  The vehicles are just duds when needed.

  In my opinion.

• A three cylinder engine will never be as smooth as a four, unless it has balance shafts. This will be especially noticeable at idle and low rpms where the computer will try to keep it for maximum economy. A three banger might be OK for a Mirage, but not in a Buick.

• with the climate crisis looming I think references to fuel mileage should have been greater in this article. One can hardly find any mention of it.

• The 1.3L's peak torque is at 1500 rpm, 1000 lower than the old top engine. That's great for around town. Too bad they'll probably offer it only with rubber band tires that ruin the ride.

• I wanted to compare output on another vehicle that is fairly popular. So I went to the Subaru website and checked the 2.0L used in the Impreza and Crosstrex: 152HP @ 6000 RPM and 145 lb-ft torque at 4000 RPM. Now the Forester uses the 2.5L. Specs are: 182HP @ 5800 RPM and 176 lb-ft torque at 4400 RPM. This is not a complaint on Subaru, but engine displacement is much more but power at the low end for these 2 engines is not impressive. Compare that to the GM 1.3L and what especially stands out is the torque rating for the 1.3L: 174 lb-ft at 1500 RPM. Couple that engine to the 9 speed; these 2 vehicle are not underpowered. I won't comment on how the Trailblazer/Encore GX would do with their CVT transmission because I am not familiar with the GM CVT. And looking at their other features, it looks like both the Trailblazer and the Encore GX should be very competitive in their segment.

  • I used to own a Geo Metro. I've also owned a minivan. I currently own a Jeep Cherokee (1988) and a Chevy Sonic. (2013)

    The Sonic keeps losing engine sensors. It only has 89k miles, but so far, it's lost an O2 sensor, a mass airflow sensor, and the thermostat. Quite frankly, the 38-40mpg of the Sonic is good, but not good enough to make up for its issues. And there's no guarantee that if I fix it, those same components will last more than the 40k miles that the original components did.

    I'm currently driving the Jeep, and the Sonic is just not being used right now. And if things keep as they are, I'll never buy a new car. I might as well just fix the Jeep, or buy something even older, so that when something breaks, I can fix it easily, quickly, and cheaply.