The Buick Encore was rated the Best Small SUV in J.D. Power’s 2020 U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study.
The popular premium crossover beat out two key rivals in the U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study to earn top honors in its segment: the Kia Niro and the Volkswagen Tiguan. It’s worth noting the VW Tiguan is actually classified as a compact like the Chevrolet Equinox, rather than a subcompact like the Encore and Niro, though J.D. Power’s survey only specified this category had to be a “small SUV.”
For this study, J.D. Power surveyed owners of three-year-old vehicles and asking them to report the number of problems they had experienced in the past 12 months. The company then uses this data to rank brands and models based on the number of reported problems per 100 vehicles (PP100). Potential problem areas covered in the survey include exterior, features/controls/displays, seats, interior, driving experience, technology, HVAC and engine/transmission.
With this study, J.D. Power found that crossovers and SUVs like the Buick Encore “still have slightly more problems than cars, but the gap is narrowing.” The research company found that crossover and SUV owners experience problems at a rate of about 134 per 100 vehicles, compared to 127 per 100 vehicles for car owners. It also warned automakers that is “critical” that they learn to “achieve the same level of quality and dependability,” for crossovers, as they now account for more than 50% of new vehicle sales annually.
As we reported this week, Buick outperformed every other mainstream brand in the 2020 U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study. Owners experienced 103 problems per 100 vehicles, placing the American brand ahead of many other rival automakers, including Ford and Lincoln. The best-ranked brand in the study overall was Hyundai’s Genesis luxury brand, with owners of the Korean vehicles reporting 89 problems per 100 cars, while Lexus was second with 100 problems per 100 vehicles.
In addition to the Buick Encore, the Buick Regal also topped the mid-size SUV segment in the study. The Regal nameplate will soon be no longer, however, with the sedan set to go out of production after the 2020 model year.
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Comments
It appears if Buick has fixed some of he small glitches of the prior generation where the biggest complaint was that the Buick Encore wasn’t much fun to drive in comparisons to similar Japanese or Korean models.
This is a dependability study, only based on reported problems – fun-to-drive is not a factor.
If I’m not mistaken, I don’t think they changed anything “handling” wise in the 2017 change. From what I’ve read, it was only exterior and interior changes along with some upgrades to tech. Also, from what I’ve read, the Encore has always been known for driving and handling well. I can tell you one thing for a fact, my 2018 Encore preferred handles and drives better than the Mazda CX3 and CX5’s that I sell. In fact, I wouldn’t spend my personal money on either of those two vehicles. Now, the all new CX30 is much better than both the CX3/CX5 IMO, but after spending some time in them now I’d still rather drive my Encore.
They did offer a newer version of the 1.4 L that had noticeably more horsepower and did add a fun do drive factor. Originally only on the sport model, they increased it’s availability for a few years, then oddly dropped the better engine as well as the top model in recent years. Must have been the accountants at work again.
That is one I have never heard of and I have watched many You Tube test drives and read many news articles.
It’s made in Korea and the quality is outstanding. No wonder Americans love Korean cars.
The Encore is Not a US vehicle, It’s Made in China.
Bert, It doesn’t sound like you read the article?
David,
Did you?
For the US Market- The Encore is made in South Korea. The Envision is made in China.