2022 Buick Encore GX Reviews, Pricing & Specs

You'll be forgiven if you have difficulty positively identifying an Encore GX out of a lineup of Encores, especially if they're the same colour. Indeed, the family resemblance is undeniable. Both SUVs wear Buick's trapezoidal "waterfall" grille, feature a high beltline, and have similar headlight styling, front fascia designs, and fog light locations. The vehicles also share a similar silhouette, although the Encore GX's slightly longer wheelbase and additional length (7.7 centimetres longer than the Encore) help it look a little less tall and stubby.

The Encore GX is a handsome little SUV, especially when outfitted with the optional ST (Sport Touring) appearance package. The ST package dresses up the Encore GX with body-colour bodyside and rocker moldings, custom grille and front and rear sport bumpers with red accents, 18-inch aluminum wheels with gloss inserts, and an "ST" badge on the liftgate. Buyers can also choose a Black Roof package, though our test vehicle did not have it.

As mentioned earlier, the only changes for the 2022 Buick Encore GX involve extra-cost exterior paint. New for 2022 are Cinnabar Metallic, Sapphire Metallic, Sunset Glow Metallic, and Rosewood Metallic, none of which were on our tester.

Inside, the five-passenger Encore GX has an attractive, if not truly premium, cabin. Soft-touch materials are nicer than you'd expect, and there's not too much hard plastic. Cloth seats are standard on base models, while leather upholstery is standard on the top Essence trim. Our test vehicle had heated seats covered in Whisper Beige leather with Ebony accents, which helped break up what otherwise might have been a sea of black or gray plastics.

The available heated, leather-wrapped steering wheel was just the right size and thickness and offered lots of handy redundant controls, but we found the rotary toggles/dials embedded in the spokes to be a little cumbersome. That minor niggle aside, all other controls and instrumentation are straightforward, clearly legible, and easy to use—just the way Buick's customers like it.

If you weren't already confused about the differences between the Encore and the Encore GX, things aren't likely to improve when we look at the latter's powertrain options. Consider yourself warned.

In Canada, the 2022 Buick Encore GX is offered with a 1.3-litre turbocharged three-cylinder engine making power specs of 155 horsepower and 174 lb-ft of torque matched with a nine-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive (AWD). Neither front-wheel drive (FWD) nor the continuously variable transmission (CVT) are offered in our market.

We are pleased to report that, in our test vehicle at least, the 1.3-litre turbo engine is surprisingly capable. Sure, it's a little buzzy with some harshness thrown in for good measure, as you might expect from a small three-cylinder engine. But the power is there when you need it, like when hustling to merge into the gap between a line of semi-trucks while on a steep upgrade on the highway. The engine stop/start feature, while a boon to fuel efficiency, is a tad annoying, though our test vehicle did come with a system override.

While power is surprisingly adequate and the handling is drama-free, driving dynamics are generally uninspiring. The Encore GX's ride isn't as settled as you'd expect from a Buick, and it's much noisier inside, too. Buick makes a big deal about how quiet its vehicles are, thanks to its QuietTuning and active noise cancellation technologies. However, in the Encore GX, noise, vibration, and harshness levels are much more intrusive than we expected.

While the Encore GX is an SUV (of sorts), we resisted the urge to take it off-roading. The roughest terrain ours had to traverse was a couple of gravel driveways and a few patches of dirt—about the same level of overlanding most owners of subcompact crossovers will ever do.

While there's no denying the Buick Encore GX is a tiny vehicle, we never felt cramped or uncomfortable during our week of testing. Indeed, the Encore GX is a very easy vehicle to live with. Buick knows its customers, and making it easy for owners to get into and out of the vehicle, understand and operate the controls, and have a clear field of view are of utmost importance.

Sure enough, ingress and egress are about as easy as it gets, the seat hip points falling precisely where they should. Likewise, buttons, controls, and switchgear are all clearly marked and legible. Thanks to a slightly elevated ride height compared to a traditional passenger car, all-around visibility is excellent, aided by the handy optional camera-based rearview mirror.

Front-seat headroom and legroom are more than adequate and are not compromised a bit by the Encore GX's small dimensions. Rear-seat knee room is a bit tight, and although the back seat has three seat belts, comfortably fitting three adults back there is unlikely.

Cargo space in the Encore GX measures 665 litres behind the rear bench seat, and 1,422 litres with the seat folded. For comparison, the smaller Encore has 532 and 1,371 litres with the rear bench up and down, respectively. While not particularly spacious, the Encore GX's cargo area isn't a liability. With the front passenger seat and rear seats folded flat, the crossover can accommodate items up to eight feet in length (positioned diagonally). One neat feature is the two-level cargo floor, which creates a flat load floor when the rear seats are folded.

Though easy to reach for taller owners, the optional hands-free power liftgate provides added convenience. A rotary dial located just above the speaker on the driver's door can adjust the maximum height at which the liftgate opens, making the open/close button on the bottom edge of the gate easier to reach for vertically or otherwise physically challenged operators.

The Encore GX offers decent tech for the price. For starters, a Buick infotainment system with an eight-inch touchscreen is standard. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone compatibility, Bluetooth audio streaming, Buick Connected Services including a built-in Wi-Fi hotspot, front and rear USB ports, OnStar telematics, and SiriusXM satellite radio are all standard.

A navigation system is available on Select and Essence trims. Our test Encore GX had a basic audio system—a bit surprising considering all the tech-related options on the vehicle.

On the driver-assistance and safety front, blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert are both optional. A Driver Confidence package is standard and includes automatic emergency braking, front pedestrian braking, following-distance indicator, forward-collision warning, and lane-keeping assistance with lane-departure warning.

Our test vehicle came with HD surround vision, a head-up display, adaptive cruise control, and rear park assist. The tech package also contained an upgraded Buick infotainment system with navigation, advanced voice recognition, in-vehicle apps, and the ability to create personal profiles and customize vehicle settings.

Also on our test Encore GX was a Convenience package, which included automatic parking assist with braking, wireless phone charging, a rear camera mirror and washer, and rain-sensing windshield wipers.

Pairing an iPhone via Bluetooth with the Encore GX's infotainment system was a breeze. Apps are laid out clearly and consistently on the screen, with an intuitive flow from one screen to the next. Everything was easy to find, and the voice-recognition system efficiently handled the tasks asked of it. Overall, it’s an intuitive, user-friendly design that even those with tech anxiety can manage.

As discussed above, the 2022 Buick Encore GX comes standard with a handful of driver assistance features. Check a few options boxes, and the crossover has all the safety features you could want in a vehicle costing around $35,000.

In addition to the features already discussed, the Encore GX comes with Teen Driver technology, which helps owners track driving habits, set speed and volume limits, and set up geographic boundary alerts. Also, a tire-fill alert system enables one to maintain proper tire pressures easily.

The 2022 Buick Encore GX performed very well in National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) crash tests, earning the maximum five stars for overall crash protection. The SUV gets five stars in both frontal and side crash protection and four stars for rollover resistance.

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the 2022 Encore GX earned the highest-possible "Good" ratings in all of the organization's crash tests. In terms of crash avoidance and mitigation, the Encore GX received differing results for its headlights. The top Essence trim, equipped with LED headlights, received an "Acceptable" rating, while Preferred and Select trims with their dimmer halogen headlights received a "Marginal" rating. The Encore GX also received "Superior" ratings for both vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention from the IIHS.

While Chevrolet is GM's value brand, and Cadillac is the flagship luxury brand, Buick fills a niche by offering an array of near-luxury products at near-luxury prices. Fittingly, the 2022 Buick Encore GX offers a respectable list of standard equipment—including some upscale features—for a higher price than similarly sized crossovers from non-premium brands.

Is it the cheapest subcompact crossover SUV on the market? No, and it shouldn't be. Leave that to Kia, Hyundai, and Chevrolet (the Trailblazer is Chevy's equivalent to the Encore GX). Is it overpriced for what it offers? Perhaps. Some competitive models provide the same level of equipment for a lower price—or more equipment for the same price. And therein lies the issue. Buick desperately wants to convey a more upscale image and has priced the Encore GX accordingly, but the brand fails to offer the added value that the higher price would warrant. It's a conundrum the brand will need to solve, and soon.

The 2022 Buick Encore GX is available in three trim levels: Preferred, Select, and Essence. Pricing starts at an MSRP of $28,198 (not including a $1,900 destination charge) for the Buick Encore GX Preferred. The mid-level Buick Encore GX Select starts at $29,598, and the top Buick Encore GX Essence trim starts at $32,298.

Our test vehicle, a 2022 Buick Encore GX in Satin Steel Metallic (a $495 option) with Whisper Beige leather seats and Ebony interior accents, had a base price of $34,718, including fees. Options included the Advanced Technology package ($2,195), Convenience package ($895), Sport Touring package ($795), and the aforementioned extra-cost paint. Including destination, the total price was $38,353.

According to Natural Resources Canada, the 2022 Buick Encore GX returns combined city/highway fuel economy of 8.6 litres per 100 kilometres combined. The Encore GX's fuel economy is comparable to other subcompact crossovers and, ironically, is substantially better than the smaller Encore.

During our week of testing, we averaged an indicated 7.4 L/100 km in mostly highway driving. With a fuel tank capacity of 50 litres, our maximum travel range would be approximately 676 kilometres, though your results may vary.

Note: Images show a US model.